A National Council on Compensation Insurance proposal to decrease workers' compensation rates in Florida by 4.9% met with no opposition during a state Office of Insurance Regulation hearing. NCCI said it is seeking the rate reduction because a decline in workplace accidents has contributed to robust underwriting profits, and it is also seeking a special assessment on workers' comp policies to generate sufficient premium in case a catastrophic event leads to an influx of claims.

House lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation to form a federal Office of Supply Chain Resiliency and Crisis Response as part of the Commerce Department. The office would work with private-sector stakeholders, track supply chain concerns and make recommendations every four years, all to prevent potential crises before they occur.

Data protection builds a foundation for customer experience, legal compliance and risk management, legal expert Michael Buckworth writes. "Understanding how your business uses personal data is absolutely crucial to its chances of success," Buckworth notes, even if it starts with only a privacy policy and email list.

A lidar-equipped reality-capture robot from Scaled Robotics can wheel about seemingly chaotic construction sites and map them at record speed, detecting out-of-place fittings with centimeter-specific accuracy, the company says. That ability, according to company founder Stuart Maggs, marks significant progress toward achieving a perfect linkage between digital models and actual building sites.

The evergreen issue of soaring prices for materials has led to more downloads of free samples of ConsensusDocs' material price-escalation clause in April than in all of 2020, according to AGC's Brian Perlberg. "Owners and other stakeholders in the process are willing to talk and do something reasonable," Perlberg said.

Drones can make construction job sites safer by preventing theft, measuring stockpiles of materials and monitoring progress on hazardous locations, writes Trent Cotney, CEO of Cotney Attorneys & Consultants. Drones can also conduct remote surveys and inspect concrete for any potential flaws, Cotney writes.

Paycheck Protection Program borrowers who are denied forgiveness have 30 days from receiving written notification to appeal. Businesses need three documents to file an appeal with the Small Business Administration: a dated copy of the SBA decision letter; signed documentation that supports the appeal, from tax filings to wage reports; and complete contact information with relevant signatures.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Construction Safety & Injury Prevention Program workbook offers tips on developing a culture of safety in construction. The process should begin with a clear message from management on why change is needed and how safety measures should be implemented, the workbook says.

The cost of mitigation and damages from loss of use are among the considerations beyond repair costs that contractors may face in lawsuits over defective units or components. Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP reviews these factors and advises taking a close look at just what insurance will cover.

Contractors cannot simply sidestep provisions for subcontractors to make corrections when they are deemed to be falling short of carrying out their obligations, according to a New York state court ruling. The decision highlights the importance of achieving a clear understanding of subcontract termination provisions and notice-to-cure requirements.

Chicago-based Pepper Construction was the grand prize winner of the AGC Innovation Awards, sponsored by Autodesk. The company was recognized for developing a virtual reality safety training program by leveraging tools and staffing resources that were already in place to create a “real life” safety learning environment. Learn more.

AGC has posted the fifth edition of the Construction Inflation Alert, a document to help owners, officials, AGC chapters, and others understand what contractors are experiencing regarding materials costs, production lead times, and supply-chain bottlenecks. For more economic news and information on supply chain disruption, be sure you are subscribed to AGC's Data DIGest. Data DIGest is free to AGC members and all chapter staff.