News

We are excited and honored to share that JLD’s Principal, John Drentlaw, recently joined David Corson, chief editor of Commercial Construction & Renovation Magazine, for the latest episode of the Commercial Construction Coffee Talk podcast. John...

While a student at Grant High School in Northeast Portland, Eli discovered a knack for building and repairing bicycles, a hobby that helped him earn extra money (and made sure he always had a great bike). This experience, combined with his natural skills in math and...

Alexei Marin-Cortes graduated from The University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and project management in 2015. Knowing that he wanted to pursue earthwork estimation, Alexei first got his industry start with several civil construction and...

How Owners Can Prepare for Black Swan Events Even if you weren't familiar with the term "black swan event" a few years ago, you likely became intimately familiar with what one looks like in the last year. Coined by author Nassim Taleb in his book The Black Swan: The...

In May 2020, when James Millius graduated from Hillsdale College with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Philosophy, the pandemic was well underway and casting a shadow of uncertainty on how to survive (and thrive) in a new remote work reality. While the future...

Steel is an essential U.S. commodity. It is arguably the most valuable engineering and construction material used in everyday life, from roads and buildings to household appliances and utensils. Its ubiquity means that the value of steel is reflective of our economy’s...

Defining the Project Delivery Method In all project delivery methods—design-bid-build, CM/GC, design-build, cost plus or other progressive delivery methods—you should have an Independent Cost Estimator (ICE) through each design and construction phase to ensure...

The term value engineering (VE) is commonly taken out of context and used to cut budgets and does not add value. The Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) tends to have a rudimentary understanding of payback periods, which are critical to decision-making....

With environmental realities bearing down, the construction industry is faced with both finding and implementing sustainable solutions to significantly reduce projects’ carbon footprints. According to Architecture 2030, the built environment contributes to greenhouse...