This summer Quinn Construction will celebrate 21 years in the Construction Industry. Quinn Construction was incorporated in December of 1992 in Sturgis, South Dakota by owner and President, Robert Quinn. Their current location in Rapid City was built in 1997. Bob graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology with a Civil Engineering Degree in 1977. During the next 15 years,Bob worked for various road construction companies in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado gaining valuable experience in the industry. He obtained his Professional Engineer (P.E.) license in 1987.

The first project undertaken by Quinn Construction was a floating rubbertire breakwater project at Angostura Reservoir near Hot Springs that is still in use today. The Project involved connecting 8,000 tires with galvanized chain and floatation devices. Quinn built 10,000 pound anchors, placed them in the water and hired divers to attach them to the bottom of the reservoir to hold the structure in place. They had to go through about 40,000 tires to get the 8,000 that met specifications. It was worth it though. “Now it’s avery enjoyable spot for fishing”, recalls Bob.

Today Quinn Construction has up to 50 employees that cover Western South Dakota and the Northeastern corner of Wyoming. The company handles all types of site work, both as a prime and subcontractor, including highway projects, dams, rock excavation, riprap, lagoons, and sewer & water projects. Quinn Construction’s clients include local, stateand federal entities and some private developments.

Bob is quick to give special thanks to his staff, both in the field and in the office, for making Quinn Construction a success. This includes his wife Judi who also works in the office! Bob has really enjoyed working with area vendors, dealers and other contractors during Quinn Construction’s 21 years in business.

Bob would also like to thank the Construction Industry Center staff for their quality services through the years. In the early days of Quinn Construction they didn’t have office space, so until their offices were built Bob spent many hours utilizing the back booths at CIC! Congratulations on your 21 successful years Quinn Construction, we look forward to working with you for many more to come.

In past Informers we've presented the difference between lagging and leading indicators, as well as the benefits of managing with leading indicators. There is no doubt about the effectiveness of managing with leading indicators, but is it realistic? What are the top construction companies doing to manage safety.

 The law firm Fisher & Phillips LLC Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management Practice Group recently conducted a survey of Associated General Contractors' members on this topic. The findings of the survey were published on EHS Today's website this month. The full article can be read here.

 It is not surprising to learn that many of the respondents use leading indicators, but are forced to report lagging indicators to prove safety performance to potential clients. As much as we've stressed the use of leading indicators, it is important to note that lagging indicators may represent the success of a company's safety program. Then again, the numbers may be the result of luck.

 Either way balancing your safety management of lagging and leading indicators is a profitable endeavor. In safety management, success comes from a full-orbed perspective, which comes from an accurate understanding of both lagging and leading factors.

 

 

In Memoriam

Marvin Hasvold

March 18, 1929 - March 20, 2013

 

Marvin Curtis Hasvold Marvin Hasvold was born the third of four children to Myrtle and Malcolm Hasvold of Flandreau, SD. The year was 1929; Marvin would remain in Flandreau until his graduation from high school in 1947. During his Flandreau years much time was spent with his grandfather working and learning about farming. Marvin grew to love the land and was disappointed in one sense that he did not become a farmer for the rest of his life. It was also in Flandreau that he met the love of his life and Mother of his children, Joyce Eide. Marvin and Joyce graduated from high school together and continued education at South Dakota State College from 1947 to 1951. Near the end of his time at SDSC during the Korean War Marvin was drafted by the Army and was allowed just enough time to finish his senior year and marry Joyce. His Army service took him through induction in Chicago, IL and basic training at Fort Riley KS. After completing basic training Marvin was offered the chance to serve as an Army Counter Intelligence officer. Counter Intelligence training and service lead Marvin and Joyce to Baltimore, MD, Gary, IN and finally Kansas City, MO. After military service Marvin moved to Kimball, SD and became owner of a small construction business primarily engaged in grading work; building dams and dugouts for farmers and ranchers in the region. Marvin's most important take away from the Kimball years were the good people there that would remain his friends for the rest of his life and also the way he and his family were welcomed to the community. All three of Marvin and Joyce's children were born during the Kimball years. By 1967 years of hard work and some risk taking made it possible for Marvin and Joyce to acquire Turner Construction Company of Sioux Falls, SD. Marvin and company built bridges and box culverts in every corner of South Dakota while Joyce took care of the office duties and raised the three children. The bridge business was competitive and tough…… but good. During one meeting with his banker, Marvin vowed that one day it would be the bank paying him interest and not the other way around. That is exactly what happened. Marvin's love of the land never really went away; as Turner Construction prospered he began to acquire land in Miner County and returned to farming on a part time basis. He was also one of four founding partners of Bierschbach Equipment and Supply Company now operating four locations in three states. Marvin retired in 1990. Service to community included the Kimball school board and the Kimball Lutheran church council. He also served his industry as President of the Associated General Contractors of South Dakota. Marvin was a member of the Naja Shrine, the Elks club and a long time supporter of anything that had to do with South Dakota State University. Forever a Jackrabbit! Perhaps his most important and meaningful associations in the later years of his life and the passing of Joyce in 2008 were his membership at First Lutheran Church and the Sanford Wellness Center in Sioux Falls. He sends sincere thanks to all of his friends and the staff people who made these two places so special to him. Marvin's family includes daughter Marne Guthmiller of Parsons, KS, two sons; David (Kelly) of Sioux Falls, SD, and Mark (Sharon) of Rapid City, SD., seven grandchildren; Abby (Joel) Thompson of Hutchinson, KS, Ali Guthmiller of Dallas, TX, Jen (Carson) Hasvold Phillips of Ann Arbor, MI, Matthew Hasvold of Rapid City, SD, Alison, Daniel and Lindsey Hasvold all of Sioux Falls, SD and three great grand children; Myles, Mya and Myka Thompson all of Hutchinson, KS. Funeral services will begin at 2:30 pm Saturday, March 23 at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. A private family burial will precede the service. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday at Heritage Funeral Home with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. www.heritage.com.

We extend our condolences to the Hasvold family.

 

The Other Factors in Your Business Bottom Line

by:  SD Division of Insurance

 

 

Workers' Compensation has not experienced the significant regulatory changes that have affected other lines of insurance.  However, it continues to be an area generating a lot of questions from employers and those in the industry.  Some of the more commonplace questions are in the areas of audit, interchange of labor rules, independent contractors, and election/rejection of coverage by owners and executive officers of the business.  

 

Payroll calculations are frequently an area of dispute, particularly when an audit results in an upward adjustment in payroll.  Payroll is a broad term and includes compensation in many forms including but not limited to bonuses, lodging and meals provided as part of the compensation (as opposed to reimbursement of extra expenses such as travel), employer merchandise provided, or other non-monetary considerations.  Pay for jury duty, holidays, vacations, and sick leave are excluded from payroll provided the adequate records are kept.  

 

A common question is whether a person is considered an independent contractor as opposed to an employee.  The method the department uses to make this determination involves a test using multiple factors.  Those factors used in determining whether a person is an employee include the extent to which the employer controls the work performed and when it is performed, the method of compensation used, what tools and equipment are furnished, and whether the person can work for others.  Inevitably, the determination as to whether someone is an independent contractor as opposed to an employee is driven by the individual facts of the situation.

 

Interchange of labor is permissible under certain circumstances.  As is the case with payroll, proper documentation is key to any determination that an interchange of labor is allowed.  Records need to detail each affected employee's time, payroll, and classification.  

 

Additionally in order for interchange of labor to apply, the affected employees cannot be accurately incorporated into an existing classification code.  

 

Not everyone needs to be provided with Workers' Compensation coverage.  A sole proprietor or the partners of a business may choose to elect the coverage, but unless elected, they are automatically excluded.  Likewise, executive officers of corporations can reject Workers' Compensation coverage if written notice is provided.  If no written notice is provided, the executive officers are included in the coverage.   

 

Dell Rapids, SD – Buskerud Construction has been a leader on South Dakota’s roads since 1962, and

to celebrate their growing successes and gain momentum in moving forward, they are honored and

pleased to announce that effective November 10, 2012, Buskerud Construction, Inc. is now BX Civil &

Construction, Inc.

Marking their 50th year in business, by a team effort they decided that changing their “brand” would

signal to all employees, customers, communities and the entire industry that they believe what they

all do matters.

BX is proud of their history under the Buskerud name and are proud of who they are today. The

name change simply signifies their vision for the next 50 years. They have high aspirations for the

future and the “X” in BX Civil & Construction stands for “EXCELLENT, a practice they perform every

day in the office and out on the jobsites. The black, white and green colors apparent in their current

Buskerud logo will stay, signaling unification of their past, present and future.

“This business name change has been in the back of my mind since the 1990’s when I purchased it.

It’s a vision I’ve wanted for the company as a whole – a unity of all of our divisions,” Said BX President,

Kari Karst.

BX’s mission is striving “to provide the highest quality service to our customers, to provide a safe,

stable and rewarding work environment for our employees, to provide leadership to our industry, and

to attain a fair profit in the construction and construction service industries that we serve.”

BX Civil & Construction, Inc has worked on South Dakota Department of Transportation projects

covering the entire state of South Dakota, along with Corps of Engineer projects, and numerous City

and County projects.

In Memoriam

Kenas H. “Ken” Brenneise

May 5 1926 – Sept. 17 2012

 

Kenas H. "Ken" Brenneise, 86, died Monday, Sept. 17, 2012, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Ken was born May 5, 1926, at home in Greenway, SD, to Henry H. and Kathryn (Losing) Brenneise, assisted by a midwife. He was raised in a 20' x 26' two-story farm house, the fifth of seven siblings. Ken also had another sibling, Emil, who drowned in a horse tank at two-years-old, shortly before Ken was born. Ken's father died of a ruptured appendix in 1934.

Ken attended a one-room country school along with 14 other students during the Great Depression and drought. He told of how it was so dry in 1936, that there was no feed for the cattle from Texas to Canada. The cattle were dying of starvation so the government bought them for $15 a head, herded them into a huge ditch, and shot them. Grown men cried as they watched.

After graduating from the country school, Ken attended the Seventh Day Adventist boarding school at Plainview Academy in Redfield, SD. To attend this school, students had to work on the school dairy farm where the cows were milked by hand. Ken received 18 cents an hour and milked from 3:00 to 6:00 in the morning and from 3:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon. That was 42 hours of work a week for a 16-year-old going to school from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. After graduating from Plainview Academy, Ken attended Union College in Lincoln, NE, for a year. He was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1946 and served in Italy. While in the Army, Ken sent home $72 a month to help his mother support the younger siblings. After his discharge from the Army, Ken and his brother built a house in Greenway for their mother.

In 1947, he married Betty Binder and moved to Bowdle, SD. In 1949, at the age of 23, Ken hired eight men and built a brick hardware store and a drug store in Eureka, SD. He moved to Rapid City in 1952 and started building homes and apartment buildings. During the next 56 years, he built over 500 homes and apartments, retiring at the age of 83.

In 1957 Ken married Maida Schultz and to that marriage six daughters were born: Kelly, Robin, Daena, Carol, Holly and Heather. Over the next 20 years, the young family did a lot of traveling, visiting most of the United States and Mexico. They also lived in five new homes built by Brenneise Construction. Shortly after he married Maida, Ken built a house for his mother-in-law, Emilige Schultz. He paid for all of the material and when the house was finished, he gave it to her as a gift. Emilige lived in that home until her death at the age of 94.

During his contracting years, Ken served on the Rapid City Builders Exchange Board for three years and served one year as president. He was also a member of the Black Hills Home Builders Association, serving as president in 1979 and 1984, and serving on the national board for three years. In 2000, Ken was inducted into the Black Hills Home Builders Hall of Fame. One of his major contributions was signing up 163 new members into the association.

In 1977, Ken joined Toastmasters International, achieving a D.T.M., (Distinguished Toastmaster), and was a member until his death. Ken chartered three new clubs, brought many men and women into the organization and mentored many young people, helping them gain self-confidence and leadership skills.

On Nov. 24, 2007, he married Reva Maas and the following April 15th she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Reva died on August 28, 2008. On May 8, 2010, Ken married Donna Dwyer and they built a new home together. Ken and Donna loved to travel and spent the last years traveling around the United States.

Ken is survived by his wife, Donna Brenneise, Rapid City; his daughters, Kelly Commet and her husband, Jim, Rapid City, Robin Brenneise, Louisville, CO, Daena McKenzie, Aurora, CO, Carol Harrington, West Hartford, VT, Holly Brenneise, Niantic, CT, and Heather Andrews, Washington, DC; eight grandchildren, Joslyn and Lindsey Sarshad, Sean and Emily McKenzie, Nathaniel and Zachary Mealman, Anna and Forrest Harrington; two step-children, Nancy Sass and her husband Greg, Rapid City, and Larry Dwyer, South Sioux City, NE; four step-grandchildren, Catherine and Mathew Sass, Scott and Andrew Dwyer; a brother, Nathan Brenneise and his wife, Muriel, Payette, ID; and two sisters, Ruth Duerksen and her husband, Jim, Loma Linda, CA, and Orpha Benson and her husband Chuck, Eureka, SD. Ken was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Reva; three brothers, Emil, Jonathan and Samuel Brenneise; and two sisters, Sarah Liebelt and Adah Heinrich.

Visitation was from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Thursday, Sept. 20, at Edstrom & Rooks Funeral Service at Serenity Springs in Rapid City. A time for sharing began at 7 p.m. where guests told stories or remembrances of Ken. Funeral services were at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at Edstrom & Rooks Funeral Service at Serenity Springs with the Rev. John E. Mcknight Jr. officiating. Interment was at 2 p.m. CDT Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Greenway (SD) Seventh Day Adventist Cemetery with the Rev. Nancy Manning officiating. Military honors were provided by the American Legion Post of Eureka.

Memorials have been established for Ken at Storybook Island in Rapid City and the Burn Center at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Friends may sign his online guest register at www.serenityspringsfuneralchapel.com.

 

Ken served on the Rapid City Builders Exchange Board for four years & served as President in 1979.

 We extend our condolences to the Brenneise family.

2012 Scholarship Winners

 

Construction Industry Center

2012 Scholarship Recipients

 

Construction Industry Center, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 C.I.C. Scholarships.  Each student will receive a $500.00 award. The scholarship program is an effort by the association to encourage and assist young people in our communities who have chosen to study a field in the construction industry.

 

Matthew Alan Bunge, Rapid City, SD     Affiliated CIC Member Firm: Rapid Insulation, Inc.       School Choice/Major: SDSMT/Mechanical Engineering	Colin Davis Karst, Dell Rapids, SD    Affiliated CIC Member Firm: Buskerud Construction, Inc.       School Choice/Major: SDSU/Construction        Management
Tyler J. Davis, Hot Springs, SD    Affiliated CIC Member Firm: Nelson’s Oil & Gas       School Choice/Major: Mitchell Technical         Institute/Telecommunications	Luke Peter Larson, Spearfish, SD     Affiliated CIC Member Firm: Tessier’s Inc.        School Choice/Major: SDSMT/Civil and/or         Structural Engineering
Kolton Douglas Emery, Black Hawk, SD    Affiliated CIC Member Firm: Mr. Carpet       School Choice/Major: SDSU/Civil Engineering	Josiah James Scull, Rapid City, SD     Affiliated CIC Member Firm: R.C.S. Construction, Inc.       School Choice/Major: SDSU/Construction       Management
Nathan Ronald Horsley, Rapid City, SD    Affiliated CIC Member Firm: Horsley Specialties, Inc.       School Choice/Major: SDSMT/Mechanical Engineering	Adam Paul Wegner, Rapid City, SD    Affiliated CIC Member Firm: J. Scull Construction      Service, Inc.       School Choice/Major: BHSU/Industrial         Technology
Michala Dione Jones, Pierre, SD    Affiliated CIC Member Firm: MJ Specialties Inc.       School Choice/Major: SDSU/Construction         Management

 

A recent report by ABC News regarding a home in Bozeman, Montana that is being constructed completely with American made materials notes that if every construction job used just 5% more products that are Made in America over 200,000 jobs would be created. 

 

If you are a local manufacturer or supplier you might be interested in this Made in America movement to promote your business. If you are a Construction Firm you may be interested in using local and American Made manufacturers and suppliers to help stimulate the economy in your area as well as our country.  There are many websites promoting American Made Products that you can contact.  

 

Here’s the link to the ABC News story and a sampling of links to sites with American Made stories and product lists.  If you are a manufacturer, most of these sites allow you to add your company information to their product lists.  Construction Industry Center does not necessarily endorse this movement or any particular site listed below. This compilation of sites we found while surfing the web is simply meant for informational purposes only.

Stories

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/made-america-blueprint-creating-jobs/story?id=14719487#.TzVvFsWJfNU

http://theallamericanhome.com/

http://www.builderonline.com/business/made-in-america-builders-create-their-own-stimulus-plan.aspx

http://americanmadebuildingproducts.org/

 

Product List

 

http://www.b4usa.com/category/building-construction/

  http://americansworking.com/buildingmaterial.html

  http://www.usaonly.us/Category/3/business-industrial-construction/42/building-materials.aspx 

http://www.americansworking.com/sdbuilding.html

  http://www.buyusmadeproductstoday.com/buildingmaterial.html

http://americanmadebuildingproducts.org/

 

T.W. Enterprises, Inc has partnered with TOSHIBA Uninterruptible Power Systems to become the Manufacturer’s Representative for Montana and Idaho .  We will also support Wyoming , North Dakota and South Dakota for TOSHIBA  Uninterruptible Power Systems as a Dealer.

 

TOSHIBA offers a full line of industrial and data center rated UPS Systems from 1kVA – 750kVA, parallelable up to 8 modules.

TOSHIBA UPS’s have:

              The most advanced technology for true double conversion systems.

               The highest efficiency available for a true double conversion UPS, up to 97% at low and full loads.

               The best warranty available in the industry, 3 years onsite full parts and labor.

               The most generator friendly UPS on the market sizing down to 1.1 to 1 generator power to UPS capacity.

 

Please expect the same excellent engineering support, sales support and customer service from T.W. Enterprises for TOSHIBA UPS’S as is given for all our other on-site Power Solutions.

 

 For more information please contact:

TWEnterprises, Inc.

636 Logan Lane

Billings MT 59105

406-245-4600 Ext 14

406-245-4333 Fax

 www.twegen.com

This past May, Lind-Exco, Inc. celebrated 40 years in the construction industry. Lind Excavating was formed in May 1971 in Vermillion, South Dakota by two brothers, Doug and Greg Lind, with the help of their father, Sterling, as a means of paying for college expenses. Their first job consisted of installing approximately 1000 l.f. of polyethylene waterline for a new water system for the family farm, in return for a three month rental of a very well used Ford 4500 Tractor Backhoe. After the initial rental period had expired, a work backlog had grown and the brothers decided to extend the rent for another three month period, and ultimately ended up purchasing a newer and less well-used Ford 4500 Tractor Backhoe, and that was the start of the fleet! Their primary scope of business for the first three years was residential and agricultural utility service work, including installation of farm and water systems, septic systems, residential municipal sewer and water services along with small excavation projects, while attending college at USD full-time

In 1974, the company incorporated, becoming Lind-Exco, Inc. At that time Doug and Greg split the responsibilities with Doug Lind becoming President and Greg Lind Secretary/Treasurer. From 1974 to 1980 the company concentrated on installation of mainline municipal utilities, working in towns and cities from the northeastern corner of South Dakota, to central South Dakota, as far east as western Minnesota and Iowa, and as far south as central Nebraska.

Due to a severely depressed underground utilities market in their market area at that time, the brothers were glad, but apprehensive, when they were given a subcontract by Sheesley Plumbing of Mitchell, SD, to construct a new Sanitary Sewer System on Reservoir Road in the Rapid Valley area of Rapid City, on the other side of the state. After completing an extremely challenging project full of rocks and water, and actually “breaking even” on the job, they performed their first site development project for Dean Kurtz Construction, in 1982, helping to build the first phase of the new Rapid City Regional Airport Terminal. Later that summer, Groathouse Construction of Laramie, WY hired Lind-Exco to do site development for the new Field Maintenance Shop at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and since then, Lind-Exco has had an almost-constant presence at Ellsworth Air Force Base and earned a great deal of respect by both U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel and Air Force Engineering, for a high degree of excellence in performing contracts of all types at the base.

1988 brought new opportunities, when Lind-Exco, Inc. began an environmental services division with the EPA and SD DENR- mandated underground fuel storage tank removals and removal and remediation of associated contaminated soils. The environmental division of Lind-Exco remains an active and vital division of the company.

Lind-Exco, Inc. began marketing itself as a full service site development contractor in 1996, acting as the general contractor on large site development projects in charge of all phases of civil construction. In the fall of 1999, Lind-Exco was awarded the first phase of Estates at Red Rock, which eventually led to construction of all phases of Red Rock, as well as the adjacent Red Rock Golf Course, and several years later, Red Rock Meadows. In total, over 900 lots with adjacent streets and infrastructure were developed, and the project is indeed the company’s landmark achievement. The Lind-Exco mission statement “To provide a safe and rewarding work environment for our employees while providing top quality workmanship at a fair price to our customers”, continues to be the foundation of their success!

CIC Note:

Please join us in congratulating Lind-Exco, Inc. on this momentous milestone!

We invite and encourage you to share your news of interest with the CIC membership. Please contact Beverly Wittmeier at (605) 343-5252 or email: cic@constructionindustrycenter.com to submit your news.