Learn about the latest news regarding the people who will construct the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States are obtaining safety skills at a maritime college in Massachusetts that has been operating for 131 years. Meanwhile, on Monday, the groundbreaking ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr. took place at the Rec Center. Both the Mayor and the City Manager have praised the initiative’s dogged determination and collaborative spirit. In addition, according to a consulting firm, Amazon.com Inc. has pulled out of dozens of sites in the United States, both those that were already built and those that were still in the planning stages. Moreover, the OSHA office in Harrisburg is conducting an investigation into the building collapse that resulted in the death of a construction worker in Chambersburg.
US offshore wind hires and teaches safety
Original Source: Now hiring: US offshore wind ramps up, workers taught safety
People who will build the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm are acquiring safety skills at a 131-year-old maritime institution in Massachusetts.
Some do well because they’re marine or construction veterans. For others, using fall protection and maritime survival equipment, climbing from a boat to a turbine, and working hundreds of feet in the air are all new.
After years of promising tens of thousands of jobs, offshore wind developers started hiring. To develop this new sustainable energy industry, they need skilled personnel.
Vineyard Wind’s senior manager of labor relations and workforce development, Jennifer Cullen, said it’s the sheer quantity of employees needed. We’ve been talking about it for so long… is it coming? Yes, it’s here now.
“We’ll build more wind farms after next year,” she said.
Vineyard Wind will be the first U.S. commercial offshore wind farm. The project followed Cape Wind, which failed due to lawsuits and local opposition.
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the only place in Massachusetts offering basic safety training established by a charity founded by wind turbine manufacturers and operators. All offshore wind farm workers must receive safety training, and most developers use the GWO curriculum.
The Biden administration plans to build wind farms along U.S. beaches to combat climate change. We need to get to 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 to power 10 million homes and create 80,000 jobs.
Offshore wind trainees might earn $80,000 a year.
Students complete six hours of online work before attending the academy.
Then, donning waterproof suits, they practice stepping from a vessel in Buzzards Bay and onto a boarding ladder connected to a turbine.
Students jump off the pier into the bay to learn how to leave a ship or turbine safely. They inflate and right an upside-down life raft.
Ascending and descending a turbine’s ladder requires a harness and fall protection gear. In case of emergency evacuation, they practice lowering themselves from a 20-foot platform. They save a fake-injured classmate.
A day is spent learning first aid, CPR, and extinguishing a minor fire.
Many trainees will work on Vineyard Wind off the Massachusetts coast. Beginning in late 2023, 62 turbines will produce 800 megawatts, enough to power 400,000 households yearly. Late last year, construction began.
Daniel Szymkowiak, 36, worked offshore in oil and gas. He graduated from the maritime academy in August and is working on Vineyard Wind’s undersea cables.
Szymkowiak changed occupations because he wanted to help the world’s future.
“It’s hot.” It’s amazing to be the first commercial project in the U.S. I’m here to deliver positive change and new chances for our country. “
The 1891-founded maritime academy provides Coast Guard-approved instruction for professional seafarers. In 2019, it increased its offshore wind courses in anticipation of industry needs.
Over 200 people have undergone basic safety training at the academy’s Maritime Center for Responsible Energy. The center wants to use grant cash to extend its offshore wind courses with basic technical training, expanded first aid, and advanced rescue. The twice-monthly safety training is planned until December.
Burns said students are excited to work offshore, take on a new challenge, and launch the sector. To fulfill demand, he expects more schools and companies to offer training.
“We want to do everything we can to help these projects go on time,” Burns added.
Danish wind developer Orsted and utility Eversource are starting a basic safety training course in nearby Rhode Island. Orsted and Eversource plan to build a 400-megawatt wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
The first U.S. offshore wind farm opened off Block Island in 2016. Five turbines aren’t commercial-scale.
Vineyard Wind’s Cullen said the training qualifies people to work for various firms and boosts the workforce. Vineyard Wind works with a Martha’s Vineyard program to train technicians.
GE Offshore Wind hired Tyler Spofford in January. The 35-year-old tugboat skipper quit to be with his family.
Spofford is delighted that offshore wind is producing jobs, especially for Northeast seafarers. After he graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2009, workboat opportunities were scarce. He worked in oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.
Since he left school, offshore wind has been considered, but nothing significant has happened.
The “stars aligned,” Spofford remarked. He helps assess Vineyard Wind’s vessel needs, sources and contracts for them, and manages them. In August, he attended the marine academy.
“We feel like part of this startup,” he remarked. “We have several problems. It’s fun to think them out and find a solution.
New community center starts construction
Original Source: City breaks ground on new community center building
Monday was the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center’s groundbreaking. The Mayor and City Manager said this initiative shows tenacity and teamwork. Locals deem this long-awaited addition a blessing. The current building, known as “the rec center,” has hosted innumerable celebrations for generations of Huntsville residents.
Deloris Massey gave a moving invocation. City Manager Aron Kulhavy said breaking ground was “a long time coming.” Mayor Andy Brauninger thanked city staff, the council, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and the Steering Committee for bringing the project to this stage.
George Perry, MLK Community Center Caretaker and Huntsville Parks and Recreation staffer, observed, “A blessing delayed is not a blessing denied.” “I was born to a child who lived in this region when it was a wooded dead-end street. We grew up here during good and awful times. I had high school dances here.”
My family used to celebrate Thanksgiving here, and now my kids have high school celebrations. This effort is a blessing. All races have visited. Love trumps hate; remember this. Perry: “We may differ, but we’re all family.”
Nate Grisby, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for 16 years, says it’s been a terrific experience. This building is black history. Today, we see Huntsville fulfill a promise. I’m convinced the city will make this park fantastic, and I hope to fulfill our goals.
Many mayors and councils have promised to do something since this building opened. This squad was the anchor in a long relay race. We’re almost there. Our parks are better because of this team and community members. I love everyone here. ” Keith Jenkins, a 30-year Parks and Recreation Advisory Board member.
Councilwoman Dee Mullins Howard said most Huntsville residents remember Mr. Murray, who owned the property next door. His heirs helped us buy this land after he died. We appreciate Chris Tyson and the community support.
Howard said Burditt Land and Place dispatched two women to help with the project. Gana Gamie is the Project Designer. Rebecca Krohn is the Assistant Director of Architecture. Both helped create modern, useful, and aesthetically-pleasing building plans. At the event, visitors saw full-color replicas of their work.
Chris Tyson thanked Mayor Brauninger for acting. I asked Mayor Brauninger to organize a committee six years ago during a storm shelter meeting. I told him what I expected as a citizen. I wanted to help others. My kids grew up here, and I want my daughters to know I’m still here.
The project was in the 2016 Parks Master Plan, according to Mayor Brauninger. Property acquisition takes a year. A pandemic delays progress, and city grants don’t materialize. More grants are being sought to expand the facility.
Kulhavy: “We’re handing off to Frost Construction.” “We welcome working with them.” In a year, construction will be finished. A new playground is planned for the Emancipation Park building site. The Powell Foundation and KABOOM are building seven playgrounds for Huntsville’s youngsters.
Mayor Brauninger: “It’s more than a building.” When I first visited this facility, it was utilized for Boys & Girls Clubs during the week and community events on weekends. It’s a good day today, Huntsville’s most-used public building. I’m happy. When I’m gone, I hope people remember we built this together. “
Amazon closes and abandons US warehouse plans
Original Source: Amazon Closes, Abandons Plans for Dozens of US Warehouses
Amazon.com Inc. has abandoned dozens of existing and planned sites in the US, according to a consulting firm.
MWPVL International Inc., which follows Amazon’s real estate portfolio, believes the corporation has closed or terminated 42 sites totaling approximately 25 million square feet of usable space. The corporation has postponed establishing 21 locations totaling 28 million square feet, per MWPVL. The e-commerce behemoth also scrapped other European initiatives, mostly in Spain.
This week, Amazon told Maryland officials that it expects to eliminate two delivery facilities next month in Hanover and Essex, near Baltimore. In previous years, the world’s largest e-commerce giant rushed to establish new facilities and hire thousands of staff in the fall to prepare for holiday shopping. Amazon continues to expand to fulfill customer demand.
MWPVL’s founder and president, Marc Wulfraat, says, “There’s some severe downsizing to be accomplished by year’s end.” Despite this, they continue to open additional facilities at a rapid pace.
Maria Boschetti, an Amazon spokesman, said the business often explores numerous places at once and adjusts “depending on network needs.”
“We examine a range of factors when selecting where to build future sites.” We have dozens of fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and delivery stations worldwide.
Amazon said the Maryland closings are part of a plan to move to newer structures. Boschetti: “We continuously look at ways to improve the experience for our staff, partners, drivers, and consumers, and that includes updating our facilities.” “As part of this initiative, we’ll close our Hanover and Essex delivery stations and transfer all staff to nearby stations.”
CEO Andy Jassy committed to undoing part of a pandemic-era expansion that gave Amazon too much warehouse space and too many people. The corporation has reduced its hourly workforce by leaving available positions, limiting hiring, and enforcing discipline and productivity standards. But warehouse closings are also happening, and workers expect more. During the second quarter, Amazon’s workforce decreased by 100,000 employees to 1.52 million, the worst quarterly decline in company history.
The Seattle company wants to sublease 10 million square feet of warehouse space, Bloomberg reported in May.
When homebound buyers rushed online during the epidemic, Amazon doubled its logistics network in two years, outpacing rivals and partners like Walmart, UPS, and FedEx. For a time, Amazon opened a new warehouse every 24 hours in the U.S. Jassy told Bloomberg in June that the company decided in early 2021 to build toward the high end of its shopper demand forecasts, erring on the side of too much warehouse space rather than too little.
Most of this year’s closings are delivery stations, tiny structures that pass off packaged commodities to drivers, Wulfraat said. Several proposed fulfillment sites with millions of goods were scrapped. MWPVL estimates that Amazon maintains 1,200 logistics facilities in the US.
Amazon’s already tense relationship with organized labor could worsen with more cost-cutting. This year, a union founded by a fired Amazon worker won a landmark victory at a facility on Staten Island, New York. On Thursday, a federal labor official denied Amazon’s appeal. Last month, Amazon workers near Albany, New York, petitioned for a union election.
It’s hard to say how much overcapacity Amazon has, but some analysts think the extra space will help during the holidays.
OSHA investigates tragic bakery collapse
Original Source: OSHA investigating fatal building collapse at Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe
OSHA in Harrisburg is investigating the building collapse that killed a Chambersburg construction worker.
Leni Fortson, regional director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Labor, confirmed that OSHA is investigating a fatality.
Martin’s is establishing a new bakery line along Wayne Road to accommodate demand for potato rolls. Several walls collapsed Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. Storms were sweeping through the area, but it’s unknown if they caused the collapse.
One of Martin’s Potato Rolls construction site buildings collapsed, killing one, authorities said.
The collapse killed Steven Garrett Graby of Washington, Pa. The 30-year- old was found seven hours after first responders arrived.
Kevin Chambers, local director for OSHA in Harrisburg, says death investigations undergo many reviews.
“Every workplace death is tragic. We’re cautious, “Chambers said.” “Chambers: the family has our condolences.”
Graby worked at High Industries in Lancaster, Pa.
Lancaster’s Wohlsen Construction is the general contractor.
Summary of today’s construction news
In today’s construction news, developers of offshore wind projects have begun recruiting people after years of promising tens of thousands of jobs. They want skilled individuals in order to create this new business that focuses on renewable energy.
Meanwhile, the current building, affectionately referred to as “the rec center,” has been the scene of countless joyous occasions for countless generations of Huntsville citizens. Since the opening of this facility, a number of mayors and councils have expressed their desire to take action in response to the situation. This group was responsible for acting as the anchor for their leg during a protracted relay competition.
Furthermore, according to Marc Wulfraat, who is both the founder and president of MWPVL, regarding the closing of Amazon, “There is some significant reduction to be achieved before the end of the year.” Despite this, they continue to rapidly open up new locations for their operations.
Over and above that, in order to meet customer demand for potato rolls, Martin’s is in the process of constructing a new baking line along Wayne Road. At approximately 2:15 o’clock on Tuesday, multiple walls gave way. It is unknown whether the storms that were passing through the area were the cause of the collapse or not.
