Happy Memorial Day! For many people, this weekend represents the first time in more than a year that get-togethers with friends and family members will finally feel normal again. It sure feels good! On behalf of everyone here at Beacon Consulting Group, I hope you have a fun and relaxing holiday weekend!
Happy New Year! On behalf of everyone here at Beacon Consulting Group, I would like to wish you the very best life has to offer in 2021. May the coming year bring you continued good health, prosperity, and lots of happy times...
To all of our clients, friends, and industry partners...We’re so thankful to have the opportunity to work with you every year! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break with your family and loved ones (even if it may be virtual this year)!
Well, the World Series is over (congratulations Dodger fans), Covid-19 is boomeranging, and the Presidential Election is upon us. What a year...it seems to be lasting forever! On the bright side, in the construction industry we are seeing some positive news in recent weeks as some large construction projects continue to make progress and plans for some very large new projects are being announced. Let’s hope we will see a good resurgence in the economy and many new project announcements over the next year. This month, we profile a very interesting assignment which Beacon has been consulting on: The Catskill Aqueduct Repair & Rehabilitation Project. We have been providing construction consulting services to a leading Surety related to part of this project, which is a major rehabilitation project of a 104-year-old, 74-mile-long, water-supply aqueduct running from the Catskill Mountains to just north of New York City. Our team has consulted on many critical infrastructure projects over the years, but this is an important one because the aqueduct provides almost half of New York City’s water (more than 8.3 million people count on that aqueduct working right)...
Happy Fall! I hope this message finds you well. As we enter the last quarter of this challenging year, there is some positive news in the construction industry. Recent reports show the U.S. construction industry bouncing back faster than most other sectors of the economy. For example, there have been solid gains in new construction starts, hiring, and project backlog (source: ConstructionDrive.com). In addition, a 2nd Quarter report by Marcum LLP indicates that the U.S. construction industry unemployment rate dropped down to 8.9%, a big improvement compared to the bleak situation back in the late Spring.
As we cautiously return to more normal conditions (at work and at home), Beacon's growing team continues to work hard on a diverse range of construction consulting projects for our clients. In this month's E-News we profile Elizabeth Paquet, one of our Construction Consultants working out of Beacons' New York office. Elizabeth has been working hard for our clients on a number of different high-profile Surety Consulting assignments over the past year. With more than two decades of industry experience, she is a great addition to our team. In other exciting news, Beacon has established a physical presence in Florida, as well as a European presence based in Ireland....
I hope your summer is going well. We are keeping busy here at Beacon, assisting our clients on a wide range of projects, including consulting on a number of construction projects delayed by Covid-19 and finding ways to help get them back on schedule asap. The construction industry is adjusting to the "new normal," which includes dealing with many postponed / delayed projects, managing construction sites differently to protect workers, and, for some GCs and Subcontractors, finding ways to survive through a period of economic uncertainty. In this month's E-News, we highlight some of the consulting services Beacon provides which help sureties, insurers, and construction companies during this challenging period. In particular, we have been very active in recent months working on Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) consulting assignments.
I hope this message finds you well and that things are beginning to feel more normal in your area. As the first half of 2020 comes to a close, we are living in a much different world compared to just 4 months ago. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to drastically change how we live and work. In the construction industry, we saw many job sites close down for weeks or months starting in early March, with re-openings varying on a state by state basis. As we enter the summer, many states have already given the green light for construction projects to restart. In some areas, construction never stopped (unless a project was directly affected by on-site personnel catching the virus). However, the pandemic continues to have a major impact on the industry...
Our thoughts go out to the many people impacted by the current pandemic, especially those battling the illness and the medical personnel on the front lines helping those who have become sick. Like many of our clients and partners, Beacon's construction consulting team has transitioned to remote working as of Monday March 16th. With the exception of specific consultants (who must help monitor or manage active construction projects), Beacon's team members are working remotely from home. We have cut out all non-essential business travel. Any Beacon team members who must go on site are taking all recommended precautions to stay safe. We have also added a page on our website to post links to useful Coronavirus resources as they become available...
Dear Friends, Clients & Partners - As we wind down another busy year, I would like to wish all of our friends, clients, and partners a wonderful Holiday Season! Here at Beacon, 2019 was an action-packed year, full of interesting projects, unique challenges, and lots of learning and professional growth. I hope you have a great break this week, whatever your plans, and best wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Successful 2020!
Dear Friends, Clients & Partners - It's hard to believe we are already into the Holiday Season! On behalf of everyone here at Beacon Consulting Group, I would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. This time of year, we truly have to stop and count our blessings. Here at Beacon, we are especially thankful to all of our clients who entrust us to help them with important construction consulting assignments every day. So many of you have become friends over the years. It's an honor and a privilege to work with you all.