News

DEAR FMCA MEMBERS, Hurricane Ian was extremely devastating to much of the lower half of Florida. It’s hard to even digest what some of you are having to go through right now. Thoughts and Prayers for ALL of you! Here is a list of measures I have moved forward today as follows: 1. I have…

I always try to stay in town for the Christmas holidays as I believed that most marine contractors closed down for around a week and there were bid opportunities that they would miss. I would be here ready to quote the docks, decks, seawalls, pile driving, boardwalks and bridges for potential customers. Funny thing is,…

In the last article, we discussed a safety initiative set by OSHA and the ADCI to limit the amount of injuries to unqualified divers working for marine contractors. In this second part, we will be discussing the importance of job safety analysis prior to the start of any job and questions you, as the prime…

I have been traveling all over the State of Florida visiting with many of our members and the one common issue is permitting. Whether it’s the local building department, state or federal, it seems that is the one common problem in addition to competing with properly insured/licensed contractors. The majority of the coastal counties are…

I have been a member of your FMCA since its inception. During that time, I have seen the economy and business go through the ups and downs. Right now I believe we are on the way up as our company is very busy. We have a very strong web presence as well as some old…

All work that is to be conducted in, on, over, or directly adjacent to a body of water is potentially jurisdictional and is subject to agency authorization, or permits. The world of agency permits changes constantly. Things that were at one time difficult may be simpler now and inversely things that were once simple can…

There have been some recent situations with contractors, where the IRS determined their “subcontractors” were really employees under their definition. Not only did the tax issue come up but the penalties as well. Per irs.gov the definition of a subcontractor is: “The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer…

Additional Insured wording. What is it? Why do municipalities and contractors I am subcontracting for require it? When should I require it? What could it do to my company? I am most certain that these are questions you have thought about when bidding a job and looking over the insurance requirements. These are questions that…

Dave Lowell, Ram Marine Services, Inc. Are you OSHA compliant? If an OSHA inspector walked in your front door this morning and asked to look at your operations would you be worried? Would you even know some of the things the inspector would be looking for? Are you more likely to have an OSHA inspector…

Ferreira Southern Division: Yesterday , September 9th, The crews working on barges at City Side discovered a dusky pigmy rattle snake in the wood crane mats. These snakes are highly venomous and pose a very serious threat to life and limb. The seemingly unlikely location of this snake, on a barge, points out the fact…