Beacon's President Dennis O'Neill was recently the featured speaker on the podcast "Surety Today" hosted by Michael Stover, a partner at the law firm of Wright, Constable & Skeen LLP. The episode, which lasts about 45 minutes, focuses on various new technologies and software used in the construction industry. Dennis started off the interview by providing some interesting facts and figures about the current state of the construction industry in the U.S. He then transitioned into the how the construction industry is now using advanced project management software, remote site monitoring, drones, and other technologies. In the podcast, Dennis also talks about some of the impacts of Covid-19 on the industry and how technology is being used in response...
Congratulations to Kieran O'Connor, who was recently promoted to Vice President, Southeast U.S. Kieran has been a key team member of Beacon's construction consulting team since joining us 10 years ago. His drive, experience, and deep technical knowledge have helped him to evolve into a true leader... Later this month, we will celebrate a bittersweet event--the retirement of Karen Anderson, who has been a key member of Beacon's team since 2007. Karen, we will truly miss you. But, we will save the goodbyes. laughter, and tears for your retirement party! In recent weeks, we also welcomed a new member to our team, Michelle Punch...
In the summer of 2020, Beacon Consulting was retained by a leading Surety to provide Construction Consulting services for a public library renovation and expansion project in Sherborn, MA. The project consists of a two-story addition totaling 9160 square feet, featuring a children’s library on the first floor, a community hall with multi-purpose room on the lower level, and renovations to the existing library. Work also included selective demolition and removal of sections of the existing building including hazardous materials removal and abatement, as well as site work, landscaping, and site utility work...
Edward Forester is an experienced project engineer with the ability to take on a broad range of construction consulting assignments. Since joining Beacon’s team in 2019, Edward has assisted on a number of important construction consulting and surety consulting assignments, including one very high-profile project involving some of the largest bridge renovation projects in North America. A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Edward worked for Beacon in its NYC office until relocating from New York to Galway, Ireland in late 2020. He now lives next to Galway Bay in the heart of the city's historic downtown. From his base in Galway, Edward is playing an active role on Beacon's Europe-based consulting team...
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)...
The Catskill Aqueduct Repair & Rehabilitation Project is a $158-million water tunnel repair, cleaning, and rehabilitation project being undertaken by New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This is an important, high-profile project because the aqueduct is a critical part of New York City’s water supply system. The project, which started in late 2018, involves the rehabilitation of a 74-mile stretch of the aqueduct by cleaning the inside and repairing a number of leaks, replacing numerous valves at chambers connected to the aqueduct, and performing other structural and mechanical upgrades to ensure the proper function of the structure for many years to come...
Andrew Lem, E.I.T., joined Beacon in 2017 and quickly became a key member of our New York City construction consulting team. A native New Yorker who grew up in Northern Westchester County, Andrew is a graduate of Villanova University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. Since joining Beacon, Andrew has been involved in a wide variety of construction consulting assignments, covering all of the following areas. Andrew has also become the "go-to team member" in our New York office for construction loan monitoring and related services. His experience includes...
Mike Kinahan is a Project Manager in Beacon's Medford, MA office. We asked Mike to weigh in on some of the ways Construction Project Cash Flow issues can get contractors in trouble and what can be done to head off cash-flow-related problems before they get out of hand.
Question: Mike, how do contractors typically get in trouble when it comes to managing cash flow on construction projects?...
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....
Elizabeth Paquet joined Beacon Consulting Group's team in 2019. With more than 20 years of construction industry experience and a Master’s Degree in Construction Management from Steven's Institute of Technology, Elizabeth’s background and deep industry knowledge have made her an invaluable member of Beacon's Construction Consulting team.
Elizabeth's experience in the construction industry goes back to her early teen years when she started working part time at her father's firm M.J. Paquet, Inc., a construction company specializing in complex heavy transportation projects for the public and private sector. During her high school and college years, Elizabeth started working full time during school breaks as an administrative assistant and intern at the company where she played an active role helping to support and manage large highway / infrastructure projects...
