ONCORE Construction

July 2009

Lu-Lu Shows His True Color....Green

As we have all heard, the Card Check legislation is a hot topic on the Hill these days. ONCORE has been a merit shop contractor since inception, and as Bob MacDaniels is our witness, ONCORE will always be merit shop. ONCORE is a special place where a man or woman has the ability to shine through their talents and let their work speak for them; not some union lobbyist who’s never seen their face. In a little exercise in prudence, ONCORE passed a “sign-in” sheet around at our last safety meeting. A member of our Safety team told all in attendance that the sheet was a roll call sheet for the meeting. In the trusting way that ONCORE employees have, most of the people in attendance simply absent-mindedly signed the sheet trusting what the Safety Director had told them. All but one shining Carpenter Forman named Lu-Lu. FEATURED IN OUR ONCORE APRIL EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH SPOTLIGHT. Lu-Lu thought it strange that the sheet that is normally at the front of the warehouse for sign-in was being passed around. He decided to take a look at the “fine print” atop the sign-in sheet. As it turned out it was a declaration that the signee relinquished all of their rights to the Union in regards to salary, work & work conditions. Lu-Lu refused to sign the sheet, even under the behest of our Executive VP. It’s exactly this kind of keen awareness that ONCORE has been talking about over the last several months. Keeping an eye out for seemingly harmless situations in which someone is seeking a signature goes a long way in protecting ourselves from unethical tactics used by union organizers to bolster their numbers. Congratulations Lu-Lu, it’s for your commitment to yourself and to your family here at ONCORE that you so richly deserve Ray Sower’s $20.

Luis “LuLu” Febus accepting his $20 (Ray Sower’s money) from Jesus Hildalgo, human resources

And the Green Machine Keeps running like a Swiss Watch!!

As we all know, with the economy and the market being what they are, everyone has had to tighten their belts over the last several months. Lucky for ONCORE being competitive is what we do best. It’s in this spirit that ONCORE is proud to announce our FOUR new jobs!! We’ve been fortunate enough to land the Alexandria Public Safety renovation/partial replacement in northern Virginia.
And with our proud standing tradition of doing outstanding government work, ONCORE is keeping up our reputation at the United States Naval Academy. We’ve been awarded the diving board at their recreation/training center. The work may seem small, but the logistics have been challenging. Between the space being very limited and the pool remaining open during construction, ONCORE has a chance to flex our planning & means & method skills along with our glowing safety record.
Just when you thought we couldn’t get any busier, ONCORE landed another mixed cast-in-place/Infinity Structure. Isabella @ Monticello Mews is the latest in ONCORE’s growing queue of Design Assist projects. Working closely with the Engineer, ONCORE has come up with yet another winning product for another happy customer.
But wait! There’s more! ONCORE is doing yet ANOTHER ONCORE performance for our friends at Holder Construction. Bowie State University has just getting under way with its state of the Arts, Fine & Performing Arts Center. This monster project is just one more feather in ONCORE’s hard hat showing just how good we are when it comes to complex designs and smooth execution of CIP concrete. The job is 9,000 cubic yards of intricate details and complex sequencing and ONCORE can’t wait to show Holder what a great decision they’ve made in demanding an ONCORE!!

ABC Metro Washington Apprentice Graduation Ceremony

WAY TO GO ONCORE GRADS! The Green Machine keeps moving forward. This past month four of our ONCORE family members took part in the ABC Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony held at the ABC CraftMasters Training Academy in Hyattsville, MD. The Concrete Form Building program is a two year program. Each apprentice not only worked a full day, but participated in class lessons throughout the week. Job, class and coursework equals a heavy workload to say the least! This marks a total of 35 employees from our family participating in the ABC Craft Masters Program so far. ONCORE would like to express our sincere thanks to each graduate for your individual time and dedication to the program. We are so proud of your accomplishments.

Pictured above: Luis A. Joya, Maria Antonia Trochez-Brizo, Baltazar Salazar Guillen and Joel Argueta. Maria Antonia Trochez-Brizo captured the spotlight with an additional acknowledgement for the highest grade point average

Ft. Belvoir Keeps on Rising

Each month we get a little bit closer to finishing the state of the art medical facility for our wounded veterans. With the hospital foundations almost 90% complete and the parking structures not far behind, we’re very excited to see the job start to come to a close. This project has been a source of great pride for the Green Machine. It’s a rare opportunity for us to flex our concrete muscles while also doing something great for those who give so much for us. To all of our men and women in uniform oversees and here at home, we thank you for your immeasurable commitment to our great country.

Aerial Photographs of the Ft. Belvoir Jobs as of June 15, 2009

June 2009

Maria Saving ONCORE Dollars

Looking to acquire some of BobMac's money? Come up with a great money saving idea for ONCORE! Maria Ferraraccio of our estimating department recently created improved budgeting software on her own allowing the green machine to provide a more timely and accurate budget. Cost saving ideas around here are not only encouraged but has a dollar value as you can see. All cost saving ideas allow us to pass those savings onto our customers. Happy Spending Maria. Thanks for the cost saving idea!

Matt Kriston handing over the cash to Maria Ferraraccio

Matt Kriston Senior Estimator

One of the best things that can happen to a company, is being able to recognize hard working, talented employees and then be able to promote them from within. For this very reason, ONCORE is pleased to announce that Matt Kriston has been promoted to Head of our Estimating Department. Matt has been with ONCORE since the Spring of 2001 and first worked as an estimator and then moved forward working as our our preconstruction manager. When the estimating department head position became vacant, Matt really stepped forward providing leadership within the estimating department.

Safety STEP-ing it up to Gold Level

All of us here at ONCORE are very aware of the importance of safety. From 10 hour OSHA safety training to monthly main office safety meetings to daily/weekly tool box talks to our “red dot” program with our new hires. Priority #1 is Safety at ONCORE. This is why receiving the STEP Gold Level of recognition from Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington for the second year in a row is so important to us. Keeping our employees and jobsites safe also allows us to lower costs which we are able to pass on to our customers. A WIN WIN all the way around.

ONCORE wins Judge's Award

After being acknowledged as “Cultural Project of the Year” 2008 by Mid Atlantic Construction magazine; the Newseum project and the concrete work performed by the GREEN MACHINE is recognized by the National Capital Chapter of the American Concrete Institute and presented the 2009 Judge’s Award of Excellence. We turned up the heat on this fast tracked design build project. Acceleration of the construction process was a constant with the 13 month schedule and on time delivery. Kudos GREEN MACHINE!!! Well deserved.

ONCORE Construction,LLC Ray Sowers, Executive Vice President, Adam Godwin, Project Superintendent, Maria Ferraraccio, Estimator with Tommy Thomas of Aggregate Industries and Stephen M. Hattwick of Turner Construction Company

May 2009

Ft Belvoir Updated Aerials

It's getting closer and closer to the official start of summer and the GREEN MACHINE continues to roll along making more progress out at the Ft Belvoir jobsite. We can't say enough how proud we are to be putting our concrete skills to work on this project. This design build project is one of the largest ONCORE has worked on thus far. We're looking forward to many more.

Aerial Photographs of Ft. Belvoir Jobs as of April 15, 2009

ONCORE Goes Dumpster Diving!!

With the world economy on everyone’s mind, ONCORE, like everyone else, is constantly looking to find ways to cut costs. The management staff has been regularly asking for suggestions from the ONCORE family for ways to eliminate waste and superfluous spending. Enter Oscar Fuentes. This enterprising young Chief Engineer is constantly looking for ways to tighten up the schedule and construct more efficiently in any job in which ONCORE is privileged to have him. When he noticed how much perfectly usable construction debris was being thrown out my other trades, Oscar sent in the Green Machine to do a little dumpster diving. Over the last few months, Oscar has saved the company tens of thousands of dollars salvaging materials discarded by other trades and earned himself one of the $20 bills of BobMac’s money. ONCORE would like to extend very sincere thank you to all of the other trades that have been so kind as to lend a helping hand to ONCORE during these troubled economic times! And, as always, ONCORE is passing the savings on to the customer.

Donald “Yankee” McKay handing over a fresh GREEN $20 to Oscar Fuentes

March 2009

Ft. Belvoir Updated Aerials

Well, the Green Machine survived a pretty grueling winter down at the Ft. Belvoir jobsite. Not even Old Man Winter could dissuade the motivated locomotive. ONCORE is proud to take part in this massive project and even more proud to know that our hard work will go to benefit the wounded veterans of our nations Armed Services. It looks like we’re going to be on site through the spring and we’re looking forward to making even bigger progress on our already glowing track record. The design build aspect of the project is perhaps the most exciting part. We’re very proud of our efforts here and the hundreds of thousands of dollars that we are able to help the owner save by hiring a structural engineer with whom we could confer on the most cost effective and at the same time aesthetically pleasing way possible.

Aerial Photographs of Ft. Belvoir Jobs as of February 14, 2009

February 2009

As you may have noticed, ONCORE has a great deal of respect for the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) organization. One of BobMac’s greatest points of pride is his “Hall of Fame Silver Level Beam Club membership.” Along with bringing new members to the organization at every turn, ONCORE loves to promote the business, goods and services of those who are already members of the ABC. Just this year, the ABC named ONCORE Construction, LLC the winner of their “Members Working with Members Program” for the 4th quarter of 2008. ONCORE has made every successful effort to make sure to hire on other ABC/Merit Shop businesses for subs and other construction related businesses exclusively; and continuing to show our staunch support of the Merit Shop philosophy. ABC sent over a letter of thanks and congratulations to ONCORE, and anyone can see how BobMac is “beaming” with pride. Congratulations to ONCORE and all members of the ABC!

2008 has been quite a year for the Green Machine. For three separate projects, ONCORE has been awarded “Best of 2008” by Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine. The Newseum in Washington, DC was awarded “Cultural Project of the Year” and is a point of particular pride for ONCORE as the project was such a design challenge and it really gave the Green a chance to show its true colors. The Silo Point project along the waterfront in Baltimore was awarded the “High-Rise Residential Award of Merit,” which is no small feat in that bustling area of Baltimore. Finally the Gaylord Resort at the National Harbor was awarded the “Hospitality Project of the Year.” Congratulations to all owners/GC’s/subcontractors who participated in the aforementioned projects! ONCORE is proud to have been part of the team.


Newseum, Washington, DC	Silo Point, Baltimore, MD	Gaylord National Harbor, Ft Washington MD

January 2009

After a long 9 months at our Ft. Belvoir jobsite, ONCORE is about 80% complete with the foundations to the Veteran’s Hospital. ONCORE is extremely proud of our contribution to this project and honored to be able to do this for our nation’s wounded veterans. The design build aspect of the job has been a challenge, but one that ONCORE and our fellow subs have met with the greatest of zeal and success. We are very excited to be working on this mammoth project and cannot wait to see all of our hard work completed!


Aerial photograph of Ft Belvoir Jobs as of January 14, 2009

December 2008

Tis The Season...

Perhaps the most rewarding thing about being in business is when you have the opportunity to give something back to the community in which you work. This year, ONCORE was proud to be able to participate in the Operation Sugar Plum program in Ft. Belvoir near the veterans’ hospital, of which we are so honored to be a part. ONCORE was able to “adopt” two families with members on active duty in the army in the area and we had the honor and privilege to bring Christmas to them just before the holidays. Our own ONCORE matriarchs put the whole ordeal together, shopping for the presents, organizing the event and picking up our own “Green Santa”, Jimmy Poulin. All in all, the event was a smashing success and we’re looking forward to participating again next year. It is in that spirit that ONCORE would like to take a moment to wish happy holidays to everyone and their families. Happy Holidays!!


Bob & Ray "testing" some of the toys.	Joy & Jimmy with Vonnie & Sharon of Operation Sugar Plum	The proverbial "Loot."

The Green Machine Meets

Green Construction

In keeping with all things green, The Green Machine has implemented a new waste reduction program. The intention is to help the environment and at the same time allow that ONCORE can save some of our production costs and as usual, pass the savings on to you! We’ve put together a comprehensive, company wide documentation and enforcement program. Among other things, we’re reinforcing to our staff how important it is not to leave nails out in the rain to get rusted, and rather than throwing away a ripped sheet of plywood, trying to find just one more use for it before it gets tossed. As anyone in this industry knows, concerns about the environment and materials costs are constantly on the rise, and here at ONCORE, both of these are very serious concerns. We have made it our mission over the next year and years to come to reduce our waste, and thereby our impact on the environment and cost while continuing to provide the Baltimore DC area with premier cast-in-place concrete.

The Green Machine is a Safety First

We say it all the time but it’s always worth repeating: if there’s one thing that ONCORE holds more important than anything else, it’s safety. Next to the perfect pour; equally important to ONCORE is the pursuit of an accident free workplace. The ABC Safety Training and Evaluation Process (S.T.E.P.) Program companies are among the safest construction companies in the country. This year, ONCORE was awarded a Gold membership into the program. ONCORE’s history of constructing concrete frames with minimal accidents and injuries over the last 10 years has gained the recognition of the S.T.E.P. program and ONCORE couldn’t be more proud. The S.T.E.P. Program members had 58% fewer accidents over the 2008 calender year. Among other things, the S.T.E.P. Program members boast a 60 minute (or more) safety orientation program; a substance abuse program with testing; daily toolbox safety meetings; use and maintenance of PPE; accident investigation and new hire orientation. Congratulations go out to Yankee Mackay, Yessica Salinas and Ray Sowers for all of their efforts to make sure that ONCORE’s family makes it home safely to their families each night.

Building 160 Topping Out

One of the really nice things about a job well done is when the GC takes the time to say “thanks.” This month marks the closing weeks of ONCORE’s Building 160 project in Baltimore Md. After two months of working at break neck speed, ONCORE completed the project with great success and the GC, KBS was eager to show their appreciation for all of our hard work. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank KBS for the opportunity to do the work and say that we are looking forward to new work with them in the future!

NEW JOBS!!

As Dylan once said: “The times, they are a changin.” One thing that never seems to change is ONCORE’s ability to procure and produce new work. The Green Machine has been hard at work over the last few months, trying to tighten up our G&A costs so that we can pass the savings on to the customer. It looks like the strategy is working. ONCORE has been making incredibly competitive bids and winning over customers at every turn. Our partnership with Infinity Structures has proven to be a boon to both customers and owners alike. Owners love the competitive pricing that our Infinity/ONCORE package provides, and Customers love our ability to keep a tight schedule. The UB Fitzgerald is a 294,000 sft of mixed use facility that includes, a parking structure, retail space and residential living above. Congratulations to ONCORE and Infinity on your latest success!

Artist's Rendering of UB Fitzgerald

November 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

There’s nothing quite like family around the holidays. And there is no place to work if you like family. ONCORE’s first annual Thanksgiving Pot Luck was a smashing success. On Friday, November 21, ONCORE’s office staff met in the main conference room to enjoy each other’s cooking and company. The spread was really something amazing. There was a veritable cornucopia of styles of food and cooking. Needless to say, no one went back to work hungry!


Cindy, our Field Office Manager/company matriarch takes some time to enjoy everyone’s good cheer.	BobMac and his Thanksgiving smile.	The Spread of good cheer.

Santy, Joy & Cindy bring one in close for the camera.	Justin, Maria & Tony take a rare moment away from work to enjoy some "family" time.	Ray & Phil enjoying what is sure to be too much food.

The Infinity side of ONCORE sharing a smile with the Project Engineering side of ONCORE.	Tony and his team, Justin & Ceasar. Apparently Justin didn't get the memo about the blue button down.	Representation from the Project Management department, Accounts Payable & Estimating all coalesc to give thanks.

Spend BobMac's Money!

What’s more fun than spending your hard earned money over the weekend? Spending BobMac’s hard earned money over the weekend. On Friday Nov. 7, Yessica Salinas, Diann Sullivan and Cindy Daily all received $20 of BobMac’s money for coming up with a great cost saving idea for the company. After taking a long hard look at the paperwork that goes with managing a project, these three crafty ladies found a way to save a huge amount of physical paper through various housekeeping and recycling efforts that they have recently employed and will make sure that ONCORE employs in the future. And the customers couldn’t be happier. Why are the customers happy about this new effort? Well, as our regular readers know, the first thing that ONCORE does with administrative cost saving measures is pass those cost savings on to our customers. The Green Machine is getting its green on and we’re loving every minute of it! Congratulations ladies, keep up the great work!!

October 2008

New Jobs!

The locomotive that is the Green Machine is at it again! This month ONCORE/Infinity was awarded a job by the new GC firm, Kinsley Construction, out of York PA. Though this is our first job w/ Kinsley, this will also be an ONCORE performance for the owner, Sky Development. Our last job w/ Sky gave us the opportunity to show off our VE skills on our first job with the owner. The job was previously not designed as an ONCORE/Infinity Structure but ONCORE was able to show a significant savings to the owner by switching over to the Infinity System. The savings were so great previously that this time around the owner asked to have the ONCORE/Infinity System designed into the job without even considering a cast in place concrete frame. Through ONCORE’s extensive experience with the Infinity System frame, we have been able to offer many customers a tremendous savings of both time and money. ONCORE can’t wait to get started on this exciting project. We can’t wait to build one for you either!

Baby Board!

You may have noticed that we refer to ourselves quite often as the ONCORE family. This is because ONCORE genuinely feels that we are a family, we place a lot of emphasis on family around here and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than on the walls of Zulma Vasquez’s office. Pictured above is what has affectionately come to be known as Zulma’s Baby Board. Every employee that has a baby while working for ONCORE gets their 15 minutes on Zulma’s board. To everyone who has welcomed a new family member this year, ONCORE would like to offer our congratulations well wishes.

Zulma pays tribute to all of the working families here at ONCORE.

September 2008

New Jobs!

New jobs seem to be old news around here at ONCORE. September was a busy month for the estimating department but all of their hard work has paid off. The new Yale Steam Laundry Apartments were awarded to ONCORE by Donohoe Construction. The apartments are in an up and coming area of Washington, DC on NY Ave. The 14 story 315 thousand square foot facility is our second project on NY Ave and surely won’t be the last! Also on the list of the estimating department’s accomplishments this month is the award of the Alexan South Glebe project. This Trammell Crow Residential project is a below grade parking structure that will support a four level, stick built 225 thousand square foot apartment complex above. Congratulations to the estimating department and keep up the good work!!

Promotion Announcement

ONCORE would like to extend our congratulations to one of our own on a job well done. Dan Coleman, who you may remember from our July installment of “What’s New” that Dan was just hired on to our project management department as an assistant PM, has just been promoted to PM. Congratulations Dan!

Dan joins ONCORE from the Amry Corps Of Engineers and makes good w/ in weeks of being hired.

Promotion Announcement

Also being promoted this month is Justin Freedman. Justin spent his summer as a field engineer at our Thames Street Wharf jobsite in Baltimore. Justin is now a Assistant Project Manager in the office, assisting with two of our other ongoing projects. Congratulations Justin, we’re all excited to have you aboard.

Justin is in from the feild and anxious to flex his skills here in the office.

2008 Construction Industry Crane Safety

Summit

Coupled w/ our unmatched expertise and insight into concrete construction, ONCORE takes its greatest pride in our safety efforts and record. It is in that spirit that ONCORE’s Safety Director, Donald “Yankee” Mackay attended the 2008 Construction Industry Crane Safety Summit this month in Houston, TX. The Summit was called for ABC members to discuss and formulate the “best practices” in the construction industry for crane safety. The discussion was broken down into 6 subcategories: Operators Certifications/Signal Persons Qualifications; Rigging Standards; Rigging Certifications; Crane Inspections; Accident Investigations; and Implementation of these practices and standards. In the coming weeks, the ABC will be developing a handbook of “best practices” based on the information put forth by the companies attending the Summit. Within four weeks of the Summit, the aforementioned subgroups will meet vis-a-vis conference call to draft a “best practices” “white paper” from the information gained in the Summit. Two to four weeks after the conference call, the ABC will put those reports in for publication and they will be emailed to all members who attended the Summit, along w/ being posted on the web. Within the next month, the ABC should be calling a press conference to promote the publication of the best practices manual. The goal is to have the best practices manual in publication within the next 4 weeks. ONCORE is very proud to be one of the 26 thousand participating companies in this monumental undertaking.


ABC Members address crane safety concerns at the Summit.	The hope is to have a comprehensive "Best Practices" handbook before the end of the year.

Promotion Announcement!

ONCORE would like to extend congratulations to our new Senior Project Managers, Mario Riano and Anthony Horos! Both of these outstanding Project Managers have shown exemplary leadership skills and exceptional knowledge of the construction process. For their years of loyalty and unmatched productivity, along with a true sense of Green pride, ONCORE has promoted each of them to Senior Project Manager.

Each sporting their own company issued 2008 Chevrolet Equinox Sport, Mario Riano and Anthony Horos pose above showing the team attitude that has taken them so far here at ONCORE.

August 2008

Every summer, ONCORE likes to take a day and give a little something back to all of those who make the Green Machine what it has come to be. Every year, all of the ONCORE employees gather at Smokey Glenn Farms in Gaithersburg, Maryland for food and festivities and the company of good friends. As the tradition goes, Bob and Ray stand at the gate and greet all of the employees as they come in while handing out door prizes and good cheer. There are some staples at every company picnic, such as the Health and Wellness exhibits that include games and information booths to help employees better understand their bodies and how to keep them in optimum working order. Unique to this year's celebration, however, is that 2008 marks ONCORE's 10th completed year in business! This year all of the employees pitched in to get Bob a solid gold ring emblazoned w/ the ONCORE logo. Congratulations Bob on 10 years of laying solid "concrete" foundations upon which to grow! Below are some of the memories from this years extravaganza!


Two faces always happy to see happy employees.	The Crooks and Master Carpenter Mitch making their grand entrance	Don't worry little guy, the food's coming, we promise.

BobMac trying out his beer goggles at one of this year's Health & Wellness games.	Sunshine + Waterslide = FUN!	Ever so proud of it's accident free Employees Bob & Ray pose w/ our 10 year accident free crew!

The presentation of the ONCORE ring.	Very proud of ONCORE's collective health efforts, the rope in the background represents the total inches lost by our St. Elizabeth's jobsite! A wopping 83 inches!	Mario Riano, last year's pie eating "winner" makes his entrance w/ little Camilo in tow and the expectant mother, Paula in short steps behind him.

Level	Members Recruited	Gift
Entry	5	Plaque, Lapel Pin, Golf Shirt
Merit Bronze	10	Varsity Jacket, Lapel Pin
Merit Silver	15	Plaque, Lapel Pin
Merit Gold	20	Desk Set, Lapel Pin
Presidential	25	Plaque, Lapel Pin (Ruby), Article in ABC Today
Hall of Fame-Bronze	50	Plaque, Lapel Pin (Emerald), National Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame-Silver	75	Coach Document Portfolio, Lapel Pin (Saphire)
Hall of Fame-Gold	100	Swiss Army Watch, Lapel Pin (Diamond)

Never missing an opportunity, Bob MacDaniels (Silver Level & 2005 Beam Club Member of the Year) has made it his mission to bring as much support and credibility to the ABC as possible.

Click Here to Download an Application

In the Summer 2006 issue of Mid-Atlantic Construction

ONCORE has been ranked the #2-concrete contractor in their listing of Top 50 Specialty Contractors in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

The Entire ONCORE Fleet

In an effort to better serve our customers, ONCORE has added new equipment to our arsenal: A 420 E/C-H Liebher Tower crane with state of the art safety features was added to our fleet. Another Mack Truck with a 42 ft. boom lift that can pick 5600lbs to load/off load materials and also serve as a roll off trash truck. We can't get Bob Mac out of it!!!! An All Terrain, 10k, all wheel drive forklift. Bob Sloper's favorite piece of equipment.

Congratulations to us! ONCORE was awarded The 2005 Concrete Contractor of the Year by ABC's Metro Washington Chapter. The trophy is proudly displayed in our lobby.

Associated Builders and Contractors