J. Ray McDermott awarded Shell module project

J. Ray McDermott announced recently that one of its subsidiaries was awarded the URSA Princess Water Flood topsides fabrication contract for Shell Offshore Inc.

J. Ray's Morgan City fabrication facility in Morgan City, La., will undertake the construction of the water filtration, water injection and sulphate removal topside modules, interconnecting structures and 1,700ST of associated water injection equipment, which will be installed on the top level of the existing URSA platform.

"Adjusting to market conditions, the Morgan City facility has positioned itself to be competitive on small and non-traditional projects as well as for the new cycle of deepwater jackets, platforms and subsea systems for the Gulf of Mexico and beyond," said Bob Deason, president and chief operating officer.

"Diversification is one of the keys to growing our Morgan City fabrication backlog."

Work on the topsides project is scheduled to be completed and installed on location in the last quarter of 2007.

Joint venture tops out Paragon hotel in Marksville, La.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and Ratcliff Construction Co. LLC-M.D. Descant Inc. (A Joint Venture) held a "topping out ceremony in October to commemorate the completion of the eighth story of Paragon Casino Resort's new hotel in Marksville, La.

To commemorate this milestone, the final piece of iron was hoisted into place with a small evergreen tree and an American flag attached. The evergreen tree symbolizes that the job went up without a loss of life, while also a good luck charm for the future occupants.

Opened in 1994, Paragon Casino Resort is located on LA 1 in Marksville. It is a land-based facility with a 354-room hotel, as well as a 72,120-sq-ft gaming floor offering more than 2,000 slot machines, 46 table games and a nine-table poker room.

GBRIA holds first Golf & Gumbo

The Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance Inc. held its first annual Golf & Gumbo fundraiser on Nov. 9 at the University Club Golf Course in Baton Rouge. The tournament served as a networking opportunity for GBRIA members and their contract companies.

More than 110 of the area's industrial managers, engineers, technicians and contractors participated in the afternoon competition. The event was held to raise funds to further the GBRIA mission of driving and coordinating sustainable, cost-effective solutions to common issues for industry, its affiliates and communities.

The tournament was a four-person scramble format, with $100 pro-shop credit prizes for the first place gross team and the first place net team, while the second place net team won $50 pro-shop credits. All the golfers enjoyed a boxed lunch and a gumbo social at the conclusion of the tournament.

First Place Gross Team included Michael LeBlanc and Moe Rome, PALA Interstate LLC; and Steve Tiek and Kurt Falgous with Motiva Enterprises. First Place Net Team included Larry Mann, Karl Kastner, Lou Frey and Adrian Wories, all with CF Industries Inc.

Steve Hartmann of Deltech Corporation won a Dell computer by making a hole-in-one.

GROUP Contractors awarded $1.5 million piling project

GROUP Contractors, a Baton Rouge-based industrial construction company, was recently awarded a $1.5 million contract for piling construction work at Occidental Chemical Corp. in Taft, La.

GROUP Contractors is in the process of installing more than 600 14-in. precast concrete pilings, as well as treated timber piling, limited access segmented pipe piling, and sheet pile cofferdam.

Group Contractors is a subsidiary of Group Industries LLC, a Baton Rouge-based industrial and commercial construction company with offices in New Orleans and Houston.

James Construction Group awarded LA 1 project

James Construction Group LLC of Baton Rouge is the apparent low bidder for a $137.5 million contract by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) to construct Phase 1A of the La. 1 Improvement Project between Port Fourchon and Leeville.

This elevated roadway project is part of a critical three-phase job consisting of a new two-lane overpass over Bayou Lafourche and associated ramps and approaches, both of which are already under construction.

The 6.8-mi roadway is a key element of the new, realigned LA 1 infrastructure, which will replace the existing floodprone section of the LA 1 corridor between Port Fourchon and Leeville. This section is important because it serves as the only evacuation route for lower Lafourche Parish and Grand Isle.

It is also plays a vital role as the main supply line for Louisiana's growing offshore oil and gas industry.

JCG crews plan to utilize precast concrete piles and pile caps with cast-in-place reinforced concrete deck to construct the new roadway, which will connect both to LA 3039 leading to Port Fourchon and to LA 1 leading to Grand Isle. The project is unique because of its planned use of end-on construction, a method that involves staging equipment off of the roadway itself rather than from barges.

This approach, required by DOTD, is designed to prevent any disruption of the sensitive wetlands ecosystem over which the roadway is being built. JCG brings experience to the work, having performed this type of construction on I-310 near New Orleans.

The project is slated to begin in fall 2007 and has a scheduled completion of summer 2011.

GBRIA receives CURT Safety Excellence Award

The Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance Inc. (GBRIA) received the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) Safety Excellence Award for a Local User Council at CURT's 2006 National Construction Conference in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 14.

Marcus Lewis, GBRIA chair and plant manager of Rhodia Inc.'s Baton Rouge facility, and Ed Allison, GBRIA/Safety Council Steering Committee chair and site engineering manager for the Pontchartrain and Burnside Louisiana facilities of DuPont, accepted the award on behalf of the GBRIA membership.

According to CURT, these prestigious awards "seek to encourage efforts to improve safety by recognizing safety leaders in all segments of the construction industry."

DOTD announces results of November bid letting

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) considered bids totaling more than $176 million at its Nov. 15 public bid opening, according to Gov. Kathleen Blanco and DOTD Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry.

With a bid of $166,698,939, Traylor/Kiewitsouth/Massman Joint Venture, Evansville, Ind., was the apparent low bidder on the state's most expensive job, a project in Orleans and St. Tammany parishes calling for construction layout, signs, timber piles, precast prestressed concrete girders, segmental box, cast-in-place substructure and segmental box precast substructure on the new I-10 Twin Span Bridge over Lake Pontchartrain.

Alexandria RSC Equipment Rental Store receives efficiency certification

The Alexandria location of RSC Equipment Rental was recently honored by the company for its dedication to efficiency and a positive customer experience.

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., RSC awarded a 5S certification to the Alexandria store upon its completion of a detailed program that focuses on organization and standardization within the workplace. It is the first RSC facility in Louisiana to receive this distinction.

"This 5S designation represents a corporate culture and way of doing business," says Kevin Chamberlain, the branch manager.

"It's about continually improving efficiency and making people proud to work and do business here."

This technique for workplace organization fosters continuous improvement, efficiency and pride, and is used by several leading global corporations.

The term 5S stands for sort, store flow, shine, standardization and self-discipline, and entails a detailed process to achieve certification.

Employees are first trained in the concept and then asked to identify and act upon areas for improvement in the work environment.

Even minor efficiencies can save each employee several hours per week.