Posts by admin

History Has Shown the Construction Industry will Endure

Posted on by admin
By: Earl Hall, Executive Director, Syracuse Builders Exchange

It is early September.  The cool mornings and slight tint of colors in trees illustrate the beginning of change.  It is a timely and expected change, transitioning summer to fall.  The annual upstate New York tradition also means contractors are busy wrapping up projects over the next few months in preparation for the expected change to winter.

Unexpected change is inevitable, but how we as a society and construction industry executives react to uncertain changes can vary.  Although the country is still in the midst of a pandemic, construction industry employers have adapted to new “norms” both in the office and on the construction job site.  What are the new “norms” when bidding a project?  What lessons have been learned about how to bid on projects during a pandemic, and for how long will these new “norms” be in place?  Have contractors and project owners alike done all they can do to mitigate risk and liability exposures, and are those measures adequate protections in the event of unexpected issues?

Over the decades, the construction industry has endured many eras of uncertainty and recessions.  The industry has many wonderful success stories of second and third generation construction companies which have survived similar times.  Lessons have been learned and new best practices have been adopted during each occurrence, so I suspect the current economic and industry turmoil resulting from COVID-19 is no different – except for those who have no experience.

History is a great teacher of delivering the most difficult lessons.  Some examples of recessions in the United States that have led to eventual recoveries and survival of construction contractors include:

The Asian Flu Pandemic lasted from the summer of 1957 through April of 1958.  While the coronavirus originated in China, the Asian Flu originated in Hong Kong.  It ripped through India and Europe and eventually made its way to the United States.  It killed over 1 million people world-wide and initiated a global recession.  In an effort to end the recession, then President Dwight D. Eisenhower convinced congress to pass a stimulus package addressing national infrastructure needs in the Federal Aid Highway Act.  Notice any similarities today?

The Oil Embargo from 1973-1975 resulted in the longest U.S. economic recession since the Great Depression from 1929-1933.  Unemployment reached approximately 8.8% and gas prices soared, increasing the cost of consumer goods and services.  In an effort to end the recession, the Federal Reserve significantly lowered interest rates, which would later lead to high inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Sound familiar?

From July 1981 to November 1982, the U.S. endured yet another oil-related recession when the Iranian Revolution ended and the new regime exported oil at very low prices, keeping gas prices in the U.S. high.  With inflation in the U.S. at an all-time high, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to 21.5% which then lowered the inflation rate, however, the economy declined by 3.6% over the next 16 months while unemployment soared to over 10%.  Then President Ronald Reagan attacked this problem by reducing taxes and increasing military spending.

The Savings and Loan crisis and Gulf War lead to a recessionary era from July 1990 through March 1991.  This modest recession saw GDP decline to 1.5% while unemployment reached 6.8%.  Although the recession officially ended in 1991, the U.S. experienced 7 consecutive quarters thereafter of very slow growth.

Who could ever forget the short and swift Dot-Com crash in 2001, and the horrific events of September 11, 2001?  During this recession, the Nasdaq fell 75% while the S&P 500 lost 43% between 2001 and 2002.  What lead the U.S. economy out of this recession:  The housing market.  What later initiated the next recession?

From December 2007 to June 2009, the housing market imploded and triggered the Great Recession.  Some of the largest U.S. financial institutions collapsed under the default weight of mortgage-backed securities.  During this time, unemployment rates hit 10.5% and the GDP declined 4.4%.  What did the government do to re-energize the economy?  Congress passed a $1.5 trillion stimulus package.  

What lessons did the construction industry learn during these past recessions and why is history so important to those who are responsible for developing a strategy for 2021?  The circumstances and events we find the U.S. in today, and those in upstate New York, are not unique.  History has proven the construction industry has endured those same challenges we are experiencing today.  And while the politicization of the coronavirus is evident, some pundits have argued the over-reaching of governmental authority has crippled the economy more than the virus itself.  Through it all, the construction industry has learned how to not only endure times of uncertainty but position itself to be stronger when the crisis is over.

People often ask me what I think about the current state of the construction industry in upstate New York.  My answer is the current state of the industry is strong, despite the pandemic and the new “norms” mentioned above that has caused the industry much angst and money.  While 2020 is still in play, I do have concerns for 2021 and 2022 for the reasons mentioned in my prior article about the lack of funding for future public and private projects.  The many regional architects and engineers I speak with share my belief, in that this recession will end when a vaccine is developed and our elected officials in Washington, D.C. pass a meaningful infrastructure stimulus package to address the crumbling infrastructure in our country – but specifically in New York State.

During this time, and while planning for 2021, I would encourage construction industry executives to identify:

  • Means to become more efficient
  • Market segments that provide your company the best return on your investment
  • How to improve the quality of your team
  • How to improve your firm’s information technology
  • Future training and/or equipment needs
  • Other areas to achieve economies of scale

Recessions and market trends come and go.  Those of you who have been in the construction industry long enough know this and have positioned your company to endure the hardship, only to ultimately persevere and prosper in the long run.  What is new about the current environment?  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s ability to unilaterally control businesses opening and closing.  Such strict governmental mandates and regulations on businesses is unique in our history, so we have no history lessons to lean on to know how to react when governmental mandates adversely impact businesses and the employees they hire.

In the end, upstate New York’s construction industry and those executives who lead their companies will be resolute.  Perseverance will overcome fear and determination will overcome governmental mandates.  Lessons will be learned from COVID-19 that will resonate for generations. 

The construction industry will lead the way to our regional economic recovery; unfortunately, there will be tumultuous times ahead as I anticipate a very challenging time in 2021.

The Best Defense For Risk Is a Strong Offense

Posted on by admin
Pierre Morrisseau, CEO, OneGroup

Risk has been around for as long as there have been people on this planet. What’s fascinating is the changing nature of risk. From the risk of becoming dinner for a hungry dinosaur while out hunting to the usual natural risks of meteorites, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods to sophisticated new risks like cyber attacks, risks are evolving right along with our own evolution.

Nowhere is this more evident than business risk. The very function of creating and operating a business is to run headlong into myriad risks while creating new ones. Sometimes, creating risk is even part of the business strategy. Let me explain that.

When businesses take on innovation and opportunity risk, they knowingly put themselves in a position to fail. That same risk can also lead to great reward, as other companies are either to fearful to take the risk or do indeed fail. Similarly, companies that start up or create a new division in a competitive market take on competitive risks that could damage or even kill their current business model. Again, knowingly putting the company at risk opens the door to potentially great success and rewards. The strategy is to identify all the other risks and take steps to reduce, eliminate or use financial tools like insurance to protect them.

During this long-running pandemic, we have been working with our clients and other companies to go on the offensive—to identify risks and accelerate learning to foresee and control risk. One example is our work with local and regional manufacturers. We saw their stress navigating as essential businesses while the virus was marching across the world. Instead of waiting to see how risks would play out—many of which were not yet recognized—we formed and facilitated a roundtable of manufacturers to share what they were seeing, what actions they were taking, and discuss new ways of operating. The results of these weekly ad-hock video calls were more than impressive.

These manufacturers were of every size from a hundred employees to more than 55,000. They openly shared their fears, failures and solutions as well as various vendors for PPE and other services. What would have been an agonizing and drawn out learning curve for each of them resulted in a greatly accelerated process of risk mitigation. While OneGroup was there merely to facilitate and answer any risk management questions, we learned a great deal about the value of openly communicating with others in your industry, even your competitors. When asked after several weeks of meeting every Friday if they would like to continue meeting, they unanimously said they felt they were getting great value out of sharing as well as having made valuable new contacts.

Taking what we learned, we quickly acted to form additional roundtables in other areas including construction and small business while clients asked about doing the same for them.

Interestingly, OneGroup was formed years ago with the vision of assembling hundreds of experts and specialists and developing the skills and technology tools to put them in front of business leaders—virtually—when they need help. The concept was to create a unique business model that would allow us to hire the best people anywhere, dramatically speed our ability to collaborate with each other regardless of geography, and meet clients’ needs without suffering the time and expense of travel, lodging and weather. Little did we know when we were designing our business that we were setting ourselves up to mitigate the risk of a global pandemic on our own operations.

To my peers reading this, I am always available to share what we have learned or to discuss facilitating a roundtable or virtual meetings. We are here to help you go on the offensive when it comes to risk and we believe the best way to do that is to share knowledge openly and freely.

CNY C-Suite V1N4

Posted on by admin

Keeping Residents and Employees Safe During a Crisis; Dr. Kimberly Townsend President, CEO, Loretto Management Corporation

Posted on by admin

By Sarah Hall

As of this writing, there are more than 1.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, and more than 100,000 confirmed deaths. According to a state-by-state analysis of reported COVID-19 fatalities compiled for the Freedom for Research on Equal Opportunity, some 42 percent occurred in nursing homes and residential care facilities, even though patients in such facilities only make up 0.6 percent of the American population.

“The tragedy,” said study co-author Avik Roy, “is that it didn’t have to be this way.”

Thanks to good planning, good people and strong leadership, the largest elder care agency in Central New York was able to avoid that tragedy. To date, Loretto has managed to keep positive cases down to roughly 1 percent overall out of 10,000 residents and 2,500 employees.

“We have 19 sites across Onondaga and Cayuga counties,” said Loretto CEO Dr. Kimberly Townsend. “With 10,000 vulnerable people in our care, it makes it a challenge to keep people safe. All you need is somebody to go to Target in Fayetteville at the wrong time.”

So how did Loretto manage to protect its vulnerable population? Townsend said the organization’s senior leadership took on planning for the pandemic as a long-term effort.

“COVID is not a spring 2020 problem,” she said. “It will be with us for months to come. Pace yourself—it’s a marathon, not a sprint… What we are looking at from an organizational perspective is just continued vigilance and keeping people safe.”

 

Longtime leader

Townsend came on as CEO at Loretto in January of 2014. She said her longevity at the company has been a blessing in this trying time.

“By now, I know all the players. I know all of our ins and outs,” she said. “It has a been a huge mobilization of every single member of Loretto to keep people safe. I’m really grateful that I’ve been here for a while and really know the organization inside and out, because it’s hard.”

Even before joining Loretto, Townsend was a well-respected leader in the healthcare field. She spent 14 years at Welch Allyn, first as an attorney, then as Associate General Counsel. When she left the medical devices firm for the job at Loretto, she was the Senior Director of Government Affairs. 

 

“Welch Allyn really was a seedbed of leadership greatness,” Townsend said. “Welch Allyn… was wholly focused on community engagement, and really heavily focused on providing opportunities for their employees to excel in many different ways to build their education and experience.”

Townsend benefitted directly from that generosity. Though she had several impressive qualifications going into the job—a law degree, a CPA and an MBA—Welch Allyn supported her as she got a Master’s in Public Administration from the Maxwell School in Health Economics and Policy. She has also earned a Doctorate in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher College.

“All of those things, plus the experiences that I had at Welch Allyn, interacting with large customers, the senior leadership team, who’s just a really fine group of leaders, really enabled me to do the job that I’m doing today,” she said.

Top priorities

Right now, that job looks different than Townsend could ever have imagined.

“The word unprecedented really has been overused at this point, but it is unprecedented,” she said. “At the end of the day, the most important thing is that we care for the people who work for us and that we care for the people whose lives are entrusted to us. We are planning just how we continue to do that, but it’s a challenge.”

Once news of the pandemic hit, Townsend and her executive staff knew they had to act quickly to protect their residents. What wasn’t as clear was what actions were necessary.

“I think as we looked at it and really understood how enormous the tasks were, when you’re looking at a global pandemic, that we came down as a senior leadership team to three critical things that we had the ability to control,” she said.

Those three things involved focusing on basic needs first: personal protection equipment (PPE) for the staff, restricting visitors and early and aggressive screening.

“We could have focused on a hundred different things, because certainly there were a hundred different facets to the crisis,” she said. “But those are all the three focus areas, the priority areas that I think has helped us have very good outcomes today.”

Once tests were available, Loretto performed widespread testing, which became a critical priority for the organization. Loretto coordinated mandatory testing of all nursing home residents with the State Department of Health, supported the executive order to conduct mandatory testing of staff twice a week, and offered testing for certain other residents throughout the organization. This put additional strain on staffing access to PPE, developing a process to conduct testing safely for employees, and a major cost impact to the bottom line.

“But we never hesitated, not even for a single minute, because it’s the right thing to do for the safety and security of our staff and residents,” Townsend said.

‘One has to be somewhat comfortable with uncertainty’

Because the COVID-19 pandemic is a constantly evolving situation, additional planning is difficult, to say the least.

“There is so much we don’t know,” Townsend said. “I think one has to be somewhat comfortable with uncertainty, right?”

That said, Townsend and her staff are hardly flying blind. The team did extensive scenario planning and financial modeling to best prepare themselves and made sure everything was flexible enough to respond to rapid changes in circumstance.

“Our screening tool was a living document,” Townsend said. “As you know more, you have to evolve your processes.”

But she said the most important task at hand is to keep all stakeholders informed at all times.

“Communicate, communicate, communicate,” Townsend said. “You cannot communicate too much with our families, with our residents, with our staff with our managers, even with the media. It’s important that we are honest with people in terms of what we know and honest with them about what we don’t know.”

She said it’s also important to acknowledge moves the team has made that could have been handled better. For example, Townsend said they could have been more efficient in procuring PPE.

“In late February, early March, we just went out into the market and we just started buying PPE from everywhere,” she said. “As it turned out we were able to get everything that we needed, but there were things that didn’t pan out. There was a lot of energy put into it that might have been put into other areas.”

Townsend said it’s important to highlight the failures along with the successes to maintain a good relationship with the people she serves.

“Just having that organizational honesty is important to continue to maintain trust, reach those expectations,” she said. “But you can’t just do it in a crisis. If you didn’t have people’s trust prior to COVID-19, you’re probably not going to get it now.”

Helping employees

Townsend said it’s also critical to maintain a culture of trust and integrity between Loretto’s leadership and its employees.

“Here at Loretto, it’s part of our leadership paradigm,” she said. “We try to be open, and good listeners, and good leaders. We try to listen to the needs of our staff and to meet those needs.”

The company distributed 400 emergency food bags, and its free diaper program, started two years ago, continues to give out 13,000 diapers every month.

“We heard from employees with their children home from school, employees had less than a day’s worth of food on hand. They’re working all day or working double shifts. They get to the grocery store, the shelves are empty,” Townsend said. “We try to do things that meet people’s needs.”

While the experience has been stressful, Townsend said it’s also shown her how many great people are associated with Loretto.

“It has really reinforced my faith in all the members of the Loretto family, in my organization—that’s our staff, that’s our leadership, that’s our residents and their families,” she said. “It just reinforces my faith in the lengths that people will go to, to show up and bring their best self to a situation for the care of someone other than themselves.”

While Loretto leadership is still closely monitoring the health and safety of employees and residents in each of its facilities, neither a specific date nor specific protocols have been finalized for when and how the facilities will reopen for visitors.

Five Star Equipment; Building For The Future

Posted on by admin
By: Sarah Hall
Building

Five Star Equipment prides itself on, above all else, five core values: customer focus, integrity, accountability, teamwork and excellence.

Five Star Equipment is a full-service dealer for a number of major construction equipment brands, including John Deere, Hitachi, Bomag, Topcon, Fecon and dozens of other manufacturers. Their client list is made up of private and municipal customers in the construction, forestry, and commercial worksite industries in northern Pennsylvania and central and western New York state.

“We are a full-service dealer, which means we provide all of the support to our customers before, during and after the sale,” said Five Star Equipment’s Marketing Director Patricia O’Brien. “We provide our customers with virtually all of their equipment and attachment needs, as well as product support after the sale by John Deere factory-certified service technicians.”

The company has seven locations: Dunmore, Williamsport, and Waterford, Pennsylvania, and Kirkwood, Syracuse, Rochester and Orchard Park, New York.

Five Star Equipment was founded in 1980 by business partners Frank Gallo, Bill Bochicchio, Sr. and Louis DeNaples. After a few years of successful business operations with a full-line GMC truck dealership located just outside of Scranton, PA, the entrepreneurs acquired a John Deere Construction and Forestry dealership in the area. John Deere continued to offer the company expansion opportunities in New York and Pennsylvania. 

Over the following decades the company adjusted its dealer footprint and now serves customers from seven locations covering 57 counties in the neighboring states.

Fast forward to 2016, when Bill Farrell was brought on board as the company’s first Chief Executive Officer. Farrell and Five Star Equipment’s Senior Leadership Team have created a long-range strategic plan to reinvest in the business to carry it into the future.

New Syracuse facility

A significant part of that strategic plan is the construction of a new facility in Syracuse, New York. The current building was constructed in 1991 and, according to Farrell, has outgrown the ability to service the needs of Five Star Equipment’s customers and its employees.

“Syracuse is a growing, vibrant market. This new facility is an investment in our employees and the customers that we serve,” Farrell said. “Our goal in Syracuse is to create an environment that provides our people with the tools and infrastructure they need to achieve success, which, in turn, provides our valued customers with world class equipment backed by outstanding service.”

Located in Airport Business Park at 5801 E. Taft Road along I-81 North, the 25,000-square-foot facility is situated on approximately 10 acres and includes the following features:

  • Building design is geared towards maximizing efficiency and service capabilities
  • An outdoor equipment “playground” will allow customers the opportunity to demo equipment on-site
  • Expansive showroom/reception area with a modern, computerized parts counter plus a designated customer portal parts pick-up counter
  • Curbside/external parts pickup area
  • Parts warehouse with garage door access for receiving and parts dispatch
  • Eight-bay service area equipped with four 10-ton overhead cranes
  • Separate equipment wash bay
  • Sales and administrative offices and conference rooms for training sessions and customer meetings
  • Breakroom, locker rooms and rest rooms

“Everyone in the Syracuse branch is very excited about the new facility. It’s really taking shape with the exterior just about buttoned up. We are looking forward to a new shop with capabilities to perform work at ease,” said Syracuse interim General Manager Valerie Smith, who joined the company in 1990. “Personally, I’m very happy to be a part of this next phase that Five Star Equipment has taken. I love what I’m seeing with the growing success of this company.”

From this location, customers will receive full product support in the shop or in the field by John Deere Certified Service Technicians. This location provides service to Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Oswego, Madison, Oneida and Herkimer counties. Field service work is completed using two fully stocked road service trucks.

The construction in Syracuse follows the construction of a new facility in Orchard Park, New York, as well as renovations of the locations in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and Kirkwood, New York, all of which have taken place over the last two years.

Recruiting—and keeping—the best

Having the best possible facilities will allow Five Star Equipment to continue to meet the high standards set by the brands they represent.

“We are very proud to represent all of these brands, particularly John Deere,” O’Brien said. “Our employees are regularly trained via online courses and in-person training by John Deere and other manufacturers to ensure our product knowledge is at the highest level to allow us to best serve our customers.”

And it’s representing those brands that draws employees to work for Five Star Equipment —though finding qualified workers can be a challenge.

“There is a nationwide shortage of experienced service technicians that are capable of working on heavy equipment and large diesel machines,” O’Brien said. “We are continuing to build relationships with area colleges that offer the types of programs that produce service technicians who are ready to work on machines, but we are also looking for more experienced service technicians. That’s probably the biggest challenge for us as an organization from a Human Resources perspective.”

Once employees have hired on with the company, however, they’re likely to stay. Many employees, like Valerie Smith, have been with Five Star Equipment for decades. Farrell said that’s thanks to the culture of teamwork, accountability and transparency built by the organization’s senior leadership.

“Our doors are always open,” he said. “Anyone at any time can approach a branch General Manager, a member of the corporate Senior Leadership Team or me with an idea, suggestion or concern and they are heard.”

That’s the idea behind Five Star Equipment’s Powering Your Success tagline, which seeks to empower both employees and customers.

“We introduced Powering Your Success as our corporate tagline in the fall of 2018,” Farrell said. “For our employees, it means the company is powering their success by providing them with the tools they need to do their job including new and remodeled facilities, a new Human Resources system, opportunities for growth and development, and much more. For our customers, it means that we are an important contributor to their success by providing outstanding equipment, support and service throughout the life of the machines or parts they purchase from us.”

A bright future

At the moment, Five Star Equipment, like everyone else, is in uncharted territory due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But leadership is confident this is little more than a bump in the road.

“For the immediate future, we are looking for the economy to bounce back so that our customers can return to their full workload as the COVID-19 pandemic continues,” O’Brien said. “We have kept in regular contact with our customers to help them weather this storm however we could, by offering special programs and discounts on rentals, purchases and service programs.”

And as things return to normal, O’Brien said Five Star Equipment is looking to expand is customer base in its existing seven locations. She said the best way to do that is by investing in the business.

“One way to grow is by recruiting, retaining and training top talent at all levels of the company,” she said. “Another way to grow is by providing our customers and employees with modern facilities, like the one we are building in Syracuse. These facilities will enable our employees to work more efficiently and have the right tools in place to best serve our customers.”

Abscope Environmental Takes On New Leadership

Posted on by admin
By: Tami S. Scott

More About the Major Players

  • President and CEO Bob Romagnoli has spent all of his career in the environmental world, primarily on the consulting side. He has led multi-million-dollar Superfund remediation programs from investigation/design to construction and developed turn-key environmental strategies for numerous Fortune 100 companies. He served as Sr. Vice President at Arcadis and Managing Director at TIG Environmental before joining Abscope in January 2019.
  • Executive Vice President Rob Gray has more than 28 years of experience in the Environmental Remediation field. He has been an instrumental member of the Abscope Team since 1995. He has extensive project experience with MGP remediation, Hazardous Waste Remediation, Stream Sediment Removal, ISS, Sheet Pile Installation, Deep Excavations, and Site Development Projects.
  • Executive Vice President Robert Duffy has been a key employee of Abscope Environmental since 1989 and Vice President since 2009. Prior to 2009, Robert was General Manager for five years, managing and coordinating a variety of asbestos abatement projects throughout the Northeastern and Midwestern US. Since 1989, he has successfully supervised and/or managed more than 3,500 asbestos abatement projects.

Based in small-town Canastota, New York, Abscope Environmental’s roots reach back to the early 1970s when John Romagnoli established Canastota Constructors, a company that focused on heavy highway construction and site development.

It was 18 years later in 1989, when John, together with his sons, Jack and Jerry, founded Abscope, once described by Jerry as a spin-off of his dad’s livelihood. Over time, the company has grown to become one of the premier environmental remediation construction firms in the country. Today, Abscope embraces an era of new leadership, and is proud to announce its most recent developments.    

A New Era

Over the past two years, Jack and Jerry gradually hung up their Abscope hats for new roles as retirees, and gracefully passed the torch to their youngest brother, Bob Romagnoli. It was somewhat an expected rotation of ownership as the trio had talked about it for years, but as Bob explained, the timing now was finally right. With more than 30 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry, Bob is more than prepared to take on the family dynasty—and with good company.

In March 2020, long-time employees and minority owners since 2010, Robert Duffy and Rob Gray, signed on as majority partners, having an opportunity to own a larger percentage of the company. The contract was signed about two weeks prior to the coronavirus outbreak, and Robert joked that had the deal been further delayed, he might have run the other way. As with Bob Romagnoli, timing is everything, and fortunately, Abscope is surviving the pandemic with minimal upset, having been deemed “essential” from the start. 

“[Rob Gray and Robert Duffy] have been an integral part of the company for decades now, and together with my brothers, developed the successful business that we have today,” President and CEO Bob Romagnoli said.

General Manager Steve Mitchell, who has been with the company for 30 years, has also been a critical piece in the growth and success of Abscope. Mitchell handles the day-to-day coordination of resources and equipment, and according to Romagnoli, “stands on his head” to keep things running smoothly. “Stevie is laser focused on ensuring that all of our projects are properly staffed and equipped; his attention to detail is extraordinary,” he said.    

The New Normal

Though the current pandemic has postponed some state-funded school-related projects, overall, it has been business as usual — with just a few tweaks. Since COVID-19 has surfaced, there has been a heightened need for both preventative and reactive office cleaning to ensure a safe workspace. This type of service is a natural fit for Abscope’s Industrial Decontamination capabilities. Abscope can provide all surface sanitization and disinfection (aggressive industrial cleans), or it can serve a client through containment, decontamination, and remediation of coronavirus infectious sites and waste.

The company’s response methods are in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approved antimicrobial products, and OSHA’s COVID-19 planning guidance.

The team has had no active cases of the coronavirus to date.

Areas of Expertise — Rob Gray

Executive Vice President Rob Gray heads up both the remediation and geotechnical divisions, the former having gained “expert” status, the latter being a relatively new area for Abscope.

“Over the last 10 or 15 years we’ve been a pretty strong player in the MGP market,” which is short for Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation, Gray said. “We do much of that work for utilities such as NYSEG, National Grid and Rochester Gas & Electric Company (RG&E). This is an area where we’ve established a solid presence, and get a good share of the work, given our expertise.”

New York State has numerous MGP sites, Gray said, adding that “the list of sites gets longer each year [and] utility companies are doing all they can to get the sites cleaned up.”

While Abscope also provides a variety of geotechnical services such as shoreline stabilization, sheet piling, groundwater cut-off wall installation, and in-situ soil stabilization (ISS), they tend to fly under the radar a bit. Despite that, Abscope has worked on numerous geotechnical projects throughout its history, inspired by the company’s civil construction roots. Most recently, Abscope completed a shoreline stabilization project on Onondaga Lake, located directly in front of the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater. The next shoreline stabilization project may be out of state. “It’s an active market in Michigan right now, and we’re accustomed to working throughout the Mid-West,” Gray said.

Abscope is also gaining traction in another new territory, providing civil works for windfarm repowering projects. The work generally includes developing lay down areas, access roads, crane pads, and various other site improvements needed to replace wind turbine components. This relatively new market for Abscope began in 2018 when a “green energy” developer contacted the company for support at a local windfarm. They selected Abscope due to its stellar safety record and reputation in the region. Since then, Abscope has continued to service this client throughout the US.

Areas of Expertise — Robert Duffy

Executive Vice President Robert Duffy, alongside General Manager Steve Mitchell, is charged with leading the asbestos abatement and industrial decontamination division.

Asbestos abatement services include the removal, encapsulation, enclosure, transportation, and disposal of asbestos-containing materials, as well as building demolition or selective demolition of building components. It also entails both lead and mold remediation.

Like Gray, Duffy’s involvement at Abscope goes back decades. He has been, and continues to be, a key player at Abscope, interacting daily with clients, regulatory personnel, subcontractors, and project engineers. He is also responsible for estimating, proposal development, submittal generation, waste disposal coordination, and final report development. Duffy has been instrumental in the development of project-specific health and safety work plans and Abscope’s company-wide, behavior-based Health and Safety program.

Reflecting on his years of dedication and service to Abscope, Gray said the opportunity that Jack and Jerry gave both him and Duffy has meant a lot to him. “They saw a lot of potential in us and determined that we were guys they should hold onto to help keep the company going when they retired,” he said. “I appreciate and thank them for the opportunity they gave [us].”

Oswego Health: Center for Orthopedic Care; Care Close to Home

Posted on by admin
John Ayres headshot
Oswego Health logo

Dr. Kamaljeet Banga, MD, DNB, FRCSC, practiced orthopedics for 18 years, coming to Oswego Health’s Center for Orthopedic Care from Auburn Community Hospital. Dr. Michael Diaz, DO, practiced orthopedic care for 20 years at Bassett Healthcare’s Oneonta Surgeons and Specialists office before joining the team. Now both doctors, who knew from childhood they wanted to be doctors, share space at Oswego Health’s Center for Orthopedic Care.

Banga has two uncles who are doctors, and Diaz said he knew at age 6 it was his path.

During his orthopedics rotation in Canada, Banga, who now specializes in sports medicine, decided he loves the field. About a year ago while looking for a change, he learned another surgeon in the same specialty was leaving Oswego Health.

“The people are so welcoming and accepting,” Banga said. “I work close to home, and I really like the hospital administration. The timing was perfect.”

Diaz said he also is impressed with the administration.

“They are good business people, but they are refreshingly not all about the money,” Diaz said. “They are so positive and supportive, make sure we have everything we need and hire good, qualified people. My wife – an interior designer – even helped with the design.”

A couple of years ago when the kids were out of school, Diaz decided to transition out of a healthcare system that had grown far bigger than he cared to be part of. A headhunter called: Dr. Ayres was looking for someone at Oswego Health, would Diaz be interested?

“I said, ‘As a matter of fact…,’” Diaz said. “This was an opportunity to build the ideal practice and facility from the ground up.”

Now, like Banga, he’s minutes from work.

“It’s on the Great Lakes,” Diaz said. “I get to enjoy sitting on a bench and watching the sunsets, and it’s still close to my parents in New Jersey.”

Jamie Leszczynski, senior director of communications for Oswego Health, said the Center for Orthopedic Care opened in April 2019. She said Oswego Health has two locations: the new facility in Fulton and a smaller Oswego facility staffed by Dr. John Ayres and his team.
Banga and Diaz agreed there’s a misconception that surgeons immediately opt for surgery.

“We try all non-surgical options first,” Banga said. “After we’ve exhausted those, we discuss surgery. If a patient is managing their symptoms, we send them on their way.”

Both men said trust is essential in making a patient comfortable.

“People fear complications,” Banga said. “Nobody likes surgery. If they haven’t tried everything non-surgical, we do that before talking through surgical options.”

Diaz agreed.

“We have a calming staff and atmosphere,” he said. “People sigh in relief when we don’t jump right into surgery, that we don’t see them as dollar signs.”

“If someone gets relief with an injection, we see in five or six months if they are doing well,” Banga said. “I think a lot of people believe if they visit a surgeon, they’ll be booked for surgery.”

“The Center is ideal in many ways,” Diaz said. “People don’t want to drive or take time off from work. Some people even walk to the clinic. It’s care close to home. The quality can’t be beat. You are near family in private rooms with low infection rates. It’s got a much more home-like vibe, not a factory conveyor belt. The doctors and nurses employed here are your neighbors.”

Banga said he specializes in child and adult trauma, arthritis, sports injuries, hand injuries, rotator cuff and total shoulder repair. He said most patients can be seen within a day or two.

Diaz, who tackles adult trauma injuries and total knee and hip replacements at Oswego Health’s Center for Orthopedic Care, also brought with him his NAVIO robotics expertise.

“At Bassett, I was tasked with becoming a pro with robotics,” Diaz said. “I was reluctant at first, but it’s proven to be the best system.”

Like DaVinci for general surgeries, NAVIO-assisted surgery offers speedier recovery times, reduced pain, less scarring and other benefits for many; however, many fewer are trained in NAVIO, Diaz said.

Diaz said his definition of success is two-pronged.

“My wife and kids are everything to me, and I always dreamed of being my sons’ Little League coach,” Diaz said. “I wasn’t going to be that doctor-dad who was never there. Providing good care is the other measure. Others may be cavalier with diagnoses, but I believe in performing absolutely no unnecessary surgery. I always do my best for the patient. If I don’t get the results I want, I take it very personally.”

“Patients go out and talk about this experience with their family and friends,” Banga said. “It’s better than any advertisement. It’s also a state-of-the-art center. It’s spacious and accommodating; we have all the diagnostic tools you could need here.”

In addition to CT, x-ray and MRI technologies, an urgent care is co-located, as well as other specialties and several primary care physicians.

“They can refer patients, and we’re right here ready to deliver excellent service – as good as any place,” he said. “Among us, there’s nothing we can’t do. We are a great team; if I’m not here, Dr. Diaz can see my patients and vice-versa. We cover each other.”

Diaz said when you aim for perfect, you get excellent; when you aim for excellent you get good; when you aim for good, you get fair.

“We aim for perfect,” Diaz said, “and I won’t do anything to a patient I wouldn’t recommend for my own parents.”

Diaz earned his doctor of osteopathic medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. While at Bassett, Diaz performed about 250 joint replacement surgeries yearly. He serves as clinical assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Upstate Medical University and Columbia University Medical Center.

Banga earned his medical degree from Punjab University in Chandigarh, India. He completed fellowships in upper extremity and sports medicine and serves as clinical assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Upstate Medical University.

For more information on the Center or its surgeons,
visit oswegohealth.org/services/orthopedics/
or call 315.349.5873

From CNY C-Suite V1-N3

Construction in the Post-Pandemic World

Posted on by admin
By: Diana I. Plue, Esq. and Anthony C. Galli, Esq., Sheats & Bailey, PLLC

Construction projects in New York State are back in action.  Owners are happy to have their projects progress, and anxious to complete them as close to their original schedule as possible.  The desire to meet the original deadlines may lead to an owner or general contractor accelerating a project or demanding a subcontractor increase its workforce.  Work will likely be performed out of sequence.  All of this could be problematic because the simultaneous restart of the majority of construction projects will strain the already dwindling labor force.  There are only so many carpenters, electricians, masons, etc. available.  Contractors may find themselves unable to procure the skilled labor needed to perform the work as contracted—and on time.

Furthermore, other coronavirus-related factors may further burden the labor force, such as construction owners and contractors being required to conduct daily health screenings of their employees, clean and disinfect job areas after every shift, maintain a log of visitors and workers on site, and adjust shifts and sequencing of work to maintain social distancing as much as feasibly possible. These mandatory changes may affect a contractor’s ability to timely complete their work as contracted or cause additional expenses.

What should a contractor do when confronted with increased costs due to inefficiency on a job site, an owner accelerating the work, and/or increased costs due to delays in completing the work?  A contractor must give notice of its claim for additional compensation or more time.  Construction contracts often have requirements for processing claims for additional money and additional time.  A notice of claim clause is a “condition precedent” clause; meaning something must be done before something else can happen.  A notice of a claim must be provided before getting paid for the claim/additional work.  These clauses are strictly enforced.  A contractor’s failure to comply with a notice of claim clause can destroy its right to get paid for that additional work. 

On a public works project, a statute might also govern the time and method of filing a notice of claim.  For example, on a school project, a contractor must file a Verified Notice of Claim with the governing body of the school district within 90 days after a claim accrues (Education Law § 3813).  A claim on a school project accrues when a request for payment for a sum of money/extra work is denied.  This can happen in an obvious way with a request and a denial in writing.  It can also happen in a less obvious way, such as a partial denial of an application for payment, or denial of a change order request.  The 90-day clock starts to tick from that point in time. 

Examples of other public entities with statutory requirements for notice of claims are included in the following chart.  These statutes might also contain statutes of limitations to sue.  On school projects, the Education Law requires a lawsuit to be commenced against a school within one (1) year after that date the claim accrues. 

Public Entity

Notice of Claim

Statute of Limitations

Villages (CPLR § 9802).

File a written verified notice of claim within one year of claim accrual.

Must commence action within 18 months after claim accrues.

Town Law (Town Law § 65(3)).

Must file a written verified notice of claim within 6 months of the date the claim accrued.

Commence action within 18 months of date claim accrues.

School Districts and Schools (Education Law § 3813).

File a detailed written verified complaint with the school board within 3 months after the accrual of the claim.

Commence action within one year of the date the claim accrues.

City of Syracuse.

File a written verified complaint within 90 days of the date the claim arises.

Commence action within one year and 90 days from the date the claim accrued.

Contractors must know about both contractual and statutory notice of claims requirements.  Read your contract and read your supplementary general conditions.  Consult with qualified and experienced counsel who can provide guidance with regard to construction claim processing requirements on public works projects.  Make sure you protect your rights by filing a notice of claim as required by either or both your contract and statute.  Failure to know and follow the contractual and statutory requirements for a notice of claim could lead to you not being paid thousands of dollars in legitimate claims.  

For more information, contact Diana I. Plue, Esq. or Anthony C. Galli, Esq. at Sheats & Bailey, PLLC; a law firm dedicated to serving the construction industry.  Tel:  (315) 676-7314 / Email:  dplue@theconstructionlaw.com, agalli@theconstructionlaw.com.

 

The information provided in this article is not intended to serve as specific legal advice for any particular situation.  Competent legal and experienced counsel should be consulted.

Focus on Indoor Air Quality and Safety

Posted on by admin
By: Pierre Morrisseau, CEO, OneGroup

As a chemical engineer with a background in indoor air quality, I am keenly aware of the invisible risks associated with indoor air pollution, which can be up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. Add to this the new coronavirus and the need for effective air cleaning and sanitizing has never been more critical. We’re seeing a major shift in thinking from companies relative to the indoor air quality and how it is affecting their operations. They are adjusting to current circumstances with a renewed focus on employee and customer safety.

By now, we have all heard that New York State is requiring malls to install filters or other systems to remove the new coronavirus from indoor air, and may likely expand this to include many other types of business. Smart companies are getting ahead of the curve and we are sharing what we had already learned from our own research and practical applications.

At OneGroup, we have always included indoor air quality when considering our clients’ risk profiles, not only for potential risk to employees, but also in terms of employee productivity and engagement. We’ve seen the research that shows how indoor work conditions and circumstances affect a person’s mood and behavior resulting in employees feeling irritable, lethargic, or physically ill. Often, this silent and invisible risk is driving decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and higher healthcare costs to name a few of its impacts. According to studies, one’s ability to focus, concentrate, and abilities to reason can be hindered by inadequate ventilation, elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), and indoor pollutants. In extreme conditions, life and health are threatened. This pandemic has brought this issue into clear focus.

Even prior to the new virus, the impact on business was staggering:

  • The American Lung Association estimates U.S. adults miss about 14.5 million work days due to asthma;
  • The CDC estimates that U.S. workers miss an average of four days each year due to sinus infections;
  • Studies show an average worker productivity loss of 7 percent or higher with individual productivity losses as high as 33%;
  • Total cost to the U.S. economy from poor IAQ range as high as $168 billion each year.

OneGroup has for some time tested and installed various air filtration systems in our own facilities to better understand how to help our clients. As a result, we have partnered with Healthway, another great Central New York Company, and an internationally recognized leader in indoor air purification and wellness.

I asked Vinny Lobdell, indoor air quality expert and Global President of Healthway family of brands to weigh in. 

“Pre COVID, the World Health Organization ranked air pollution the number one health epidemic of our time, contributing to more than 7 million premature deaths each year,” said Lobdell. “A silver lining in all of this may be that people will start taking air pollution and the impact it has on humans occupying the built environment more seriously. Two years ago IAQ was on OneGroup’s radar and a plan put in place to educate business owners on the risks associated with not properly managing IAQ. OneGroup’s client-first focus always puts them well ahead of the curve and the competition.”

Healthway’s technology is the only air purification system capable of eliminating all three indoor air contaminants: particles (dust, dust mites, pollen, dander, mold and more), volatiles organic compounds (paints, solvents, cleaning solutions, perfumes, etc.), and microorganisms (fungi, viruses and bacteria). More importantly, their systems are capable of removing dangerous ultra-fine particles down to .0007 micron in size, far smaller than the new coronavirus. In fact, we are so impressed with Healthway’s products, technology and processes, that we asked them to design a variety of their systems for our own various offices to ensure our employees were breathing the safest air possible.

We all can do better and now it is an imperative. We are happy to share any knowledge we have gained as we continue to research the topic of indoor air quality and its effect on businesses and their employees.

Pierre Morrisseau is the CEO of OneGroup and can be reached at 800-268-1830.

From CNY C-Suite V1-N3

Telehealth—How the Technology Benefits Businesses

Posted on by admin
By: Kimberly Townsend, President and CEO, Loretto Management Corporation 
Dr Townsend headshot

Telehealth, the use of electronic and telecommunications technology to deliver healthcare at a distance, is gaining momentum across the nation. Eighty four percent of Americans report they would use video or online health services if available, but only one-third of hospitals and 45% of outpatient facilities offer it. Telehealth can be a key tool to improve employees’ health across all industries, particularly in rural and underserved locations where available medical services are few.   

The use of telecommunications and electronic technologies to deliver care outside of traditional healthcare facilities means it’s easier, faster and more affordable for everyone – employers and employees – to receive care. This translates to healthier, happier employees who are more present and productive at work.

Healthcare providers face many challenges: a severe shortage of qualified workers, an aging population dealing with complex health issues and the lack of funding, to name a few. The use of technology to ‘bridge the gap’ through remote access to physicians and medical staff allows healthcare providers to do more with limited resources.  

Loretto debuted telemedicine services in its Restorative Care Unit in 2018 and expanded remote patient monitoring services to the PACE-CNY program in 2019. To date, feedback from PACE and Loretto’s staff have been overwhelmingly positive – staff were able to provide more care to residents without sacrificing the quality of their outcomes and experiences. PACE participants also appreciate the easy access to medical professionals 24/7.

 

The availability of anytime/anywhere healthcare gave providers, employees and those we serve peace of mind.

Loretto saw that offering telemedicine services was not just a solution for staffing shortages, but it is a significant opportunity for strategic business growth and operational efficiencies. For this reason, Loretto expanded its use of remote patient monitoring to include two more locations: the Cunningham skilled nursing program and Fahey rehabilitation buildings on Loretto’s main campus.

Aside from easing the pressure of clinical workforce shortages we’re facing in the United States, telehealth lowers the cost of care by reducing unnecessary hospital and emergency room visits. The American Medical Association reports that over 70% of doctor’s visits can be done over the phone and 50% of ER visits are actually non-emergencies that could be manged by video or online telehealth solutions.

The rising costs of healthcare are the focus of employers who provide health insurance, and employees who pay for portions of insurance and other medical expenses. If there’s a way we can start to regain control of these costs, it will benefit everyone in our community and in our country.

Telehealth can work two ways: to track and prevent issues, or to provide immediate access to a professional healthcare provider for non-emergent issues. The use of remote patient monitoring can reduce hospital visits by closely tracking a patient’s vital signs and detecting early indicators of significant health issues. When potential health risks are identified and addressed early, unnecessary hospital visits are avoided. Telemedicine, or the use of electronic and telecommunications like video conferences, allows patients to access care 24/7.

One of our new telemedicine programs has already seen a 67% reduction in hospitalization in 2019 (compared to 2018), saving thousands of dollars in medical expenses. The new technology has also shown that a third of the calls to medical professionals were made after hours on weekdays and another third were made on weekends – times when the only other options for medical care are urgent care or an emergency department.

For insurers, this means fewer and/or lower claim costs. For employers, this (hopefully) means lower insurance plan premiums. For our residents and for patients across the country, this means fewer out-of-pocket expenses. It’s certainly a win-win-win scenario.

As we forge a new path in the future of healthcare, I believe telehealth technologies will play a key role in keeping the overall cost of healthcare down. The recent proposed federal and state budget cuts in Medicare and Medicaid have added a new layer of challenges to an already strained healthcare system.

Our society is aging at a rapid pace, and this population faces even more health issues than previous generations because people are living longer lives and staying in their homes longer. This means they are coming to Loretto older, sicker, frailer, and with more complex health conditions.

Likewise, with increasing healthcare costs, fewer people are seeking the treatment they need – at any stage in life – because they fear the bills they will receive following a visit to their doctor. And I don’t need to tell you the trickle-down effect that has on work performance or the overall well-being of our community. So, we must find ways to provide quality care while containing costs across the healthcare continuum.

As local business leaders and decision makers, we need to embrace technology and healthcare delivery system innovations, and further explore how technology can benefit our businesses and our community. Loretto will continue to innovate and deliver high quality care and diversify our programs to keep up with the ever-changing demands of our aging population. I welcome a discussion on these important topics with other leaders.

Dr. Kimberly Townsend is President and CEO, Loretto Management Corporation, and author of “Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary.”