Engineering & General Contractors Association | San Diego General Contractors

Job No. 1 - Advocacy
for Our Members

EGCA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

By Mike Shaw,
President, EGCA

In a discussion with Debbie Day, we were listing those services most important to the membership. The number one service is the advocacy provided by EGCA with public agencies for issues that affect both public and private works. Our association is not big with lots of glitter, but rather small and focused. We are not an everything-to-everyone group. We provide limited and very specific services to a certain type of contractor and its supporting affiliates. And the job of providing these services is well done.

A great example of this is the recent determination by the City of San Diego that will allow aggregates generated from cobble rock formations to be used in A.C. mix design for city projects. The city’s specification for years has limited the aggregate source to the hard-rock type quarries, which is in very limited supply. The local cobble rock quarries did not make spec. A concentrated effort by EGCA and interested members over the last several years in working through this issue led to the change allowing the use of the cobble aggregate. This was not a simple process in that it required the navigation of a significant bureaucratic “maze” to come to a desired resolution.

Another example is the current status of the diesel regulations. The CARB will address mandated legislative changes that will provide significant front-end relief from these regulations at a time when we need all the help we can get. These changes came about as a direct result of endless hours of work by industry and EGCA staff and members fighting for what is right and against what is wrong.

EGCA is currently working with a number of other associates and groups to try to find solutions to the aggregate shortage in San Diego County. This is a tough problem. The process to finding good solutions will be long and hard. This is a bureaucratic and environmental mindfield. And this is the type of industry issue that EGCA can tackle and be effective at resolving.

The message is that you, as a member, need to understand that if you have a situation—regardless of how “big” or “small”—that you believe needs to be addressed by the industry, you need to bring it to the attention of the EGCA staff. The best way to do this is to contact Debbie Day directly, explain the issue and probably set up a meeting with Debbie and perhaps other members who might share your concern. The issue can be discussed in a safe environment and, if it merits action, strategies can be laid out to tackle the issue.

These issues can be problems such as getting paid in a timely manner, difficult, unfair, or poor inspection, specifications that don’t make sense or could be better, inconsistent bidding procedures, etc. Or you might just see a better way to accomplish the job.

This resource is the most underutilized resource offered by the EGCA. Take advantage of this helping hand. It is one of the primary reasons the EGCA exists, and it is your resource to use when you need it.