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THE SPAN<br />
Published for Aust<strong>in</strong> <strong>Industries</strong> employee-owners s<strong>in</strong>ce 1925<br />
Issue 777<br />
February/March 2012<br />
100% Employee Owned<br />
www.aust<strong>in</strong>-<strong>in</strong>d.com<br />
F Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial lands <strong>new</strong> contract<br />
<strong>in</strong> New Mexico, pg. 2.<br />
F Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial completes large<br />
solar panel system <strong>in</strong> Phoenix, pg. 2.<br />
F Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial manages<br />
construction tasks through Vela<br />
software and iPads, pg. 3.<br />
F Aust<strong>in</strong> Bridge & Road completes<br />
roadway project <strong>in</strong> Navajo Nation, pg. 4.<br />
F Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial achieves safety<br />
milestone at Motiva ref<strong>in</strong>ery, pg. 5.<br />
F Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial employee-owners<br />
volunteer for charitable events, pg.6.<br />
F 401(k): Don’t let a loan hurt your<br />
sav<strong>in</strong>gs, pg. 8.<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Bridge & Road completes road work <strong>in</strong> Native American territory, pg. 4.<br />
Roadway and dra<strong>in</strong>age work was recently performed <strong>in</strong> the Navajo Nation <strong>in</strong> New<br />
Mexico and Arizona - the largest Native American land area <strong>in</strong> the United States.<br />
February/March 2012<br />
THE SPAN
2 • NEWS<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial<br />
lands <strong>new</strong> contract<br />
<strong>in</strong> New Mexico<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial recently<br />
transitioned about 50 <strong>new</strong><br />
employee-owners at two Holly-<br />
Frontier sites where the company<br />
will provide ma<strong>in</strong>tenance services.<br />
HollyFrontier is an <strong>in</strong>dependent<br />
energy company <strong>in</strong>volved with<br />
crude oil ref<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and wholesale<br />
market<strong>in</strong>g of ref<strong>in</strong>ed petroleum<br />
products.<br />
With headquarters <strong>in</strong> Dallas,<br />
the company owns and operates<br />
five ref<strong>in</strong>eries with a total crude oil<br />
process<strong>in</strong>g capacity of 443,000 barrels<br />
a day.<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial is provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>tenance services at HollyFrontier’s<br />
Navajo Ref<strong>in</strong>ery <strong>in</strong> Artesia,<br />
New Mexico, and Lov<strong>in</strong>gton, New<br />
Mexico.<br />
A welcome d<strong>in</strong>ner was recently<br />
held <strong>in</strong> Artesia where workers and<br />
spouses learned about Aust<strong>in</strong>, its<br />
benefits and the transition process.<br />
“We were also pleased to <strong>in</strong>form<br />
those <strong>in</strong> attendance that we<br />
are proud to be work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Artesia<br />
Bulldogs territory,” said Jim Bruce,<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial operations manager<br />
The Bulldogs are the Artesia<br />
high school football team for which<br />
residents of the city take great<br />
pride. Dur<strong>in</strong>g football season, street<br />
names are replaced with the players’<br />
names.<br />
In addition to Bruce, other<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial employee-owners<br />
who attended the welcome d<strong>in</strong>ner<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded John Bourgeois, Francisco<br />
Canepa, Roger Gossett, Earl High<br />
and Darbie Morris. s<br />
THE SPAN<br />
February/March 2012<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial recently <strong>in</strong>stalled more than 16,000 solar modules at the Sky Harbor International<br />
Airport <strong>in</strong> Phoenix.<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial completes five megawatts<br />
of solar electric capacity at Phoenix airport<br />
At the<br />
end of<br />
2011, Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
Commercial<br />
(assisted<br />
by Empire<br />
Southwest)<br />
<strong>in</strong>stalled more<br />
than five<br />
megawatts of<br />
solar electric<br />
capacity at<br />
Phoenix’s Sky<br />
Harbor International Airport.<br />
At the peak of construction,<br />
more than 200 workers were<br />
busy complet<strong>in</strong>g one of Arizona’s<br />
largest commercial solar panel<br />
systems. The team completed the<br />
project on-time despite hav<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
compressed project schedule of<br />
less than two months and multiple<br />
moratorium days. The system will<br />
help the airport reduce its energy<br />
consumption<br />
from<br />
the local<br />
utility,<br />
APS.<br />
The<br />
project was<br />
divided<br />
<strong>in</strong>to two<br />
systems<br />
located at<br />
the airport’s<br />
east<br />
economy park<strong>in</strong>g garage and rental<br />
car center. A total of 16,512 Sun-<br />
Power solar modules were <strong>in</strong>stalled<br />
between the two sites. More than<br />
4,000 modules (1.3 megawatts)<br />
connected to four <strong>in</strong>verters were<br />
<strong>in</strong>stalled at the east economy park<strong>in</strong>g<br />
garage, and more than 12,000<br />
modules (3.8 megawatts) connected<br />
to seven <strong>in</strong>verters were <strong>in</strong>stalled at<br />
the rental car center. s<br />
Core Value: Integrity
Super<strong>in</strong>tendents on the Parkland Hospital project use iPads to track construction checklists,<br />
punchlists and other construction tasks.<br />
‘There’s an app for that’: Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial uses<br />
Vela software to manage construction issues<br />
Note: Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial field and<br />
office staff are us<strong>in</strong>g a software named<br />
Vela through iPads to better manage<br />
construction issues. The Span talked to<br />
Ryan Evans, Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial project<br />
eng<strong>in</strong>eer on the Parkland Hospital project,<br />
about how this <strong>new</strong> technology is mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
manag<strong>in</strong>g projects more efficient. (Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
Commercial is build<strong>in</strong>g Parkland as part<br />
of a jo<strong>in</strong>t venture, BARA, comprised of<br />
Balfour Beatty, Aust<strong>in</strong>, H. J. Russell and<br />
Azteca Enterprises.)<br />
Span: What is the Vela software?<br />
Evans: Named after a constellation,<br />
Vela is a web-based application<br />
that allows you to track<br />
multiple types of issues with a<br />
community of users. An issue is any<br />
task that is outstand<strong>in</strong>g. And you<br />
can assign responsibilty to any Vela<br />
user.<br />
Span: What does it do?<br />
Core Value: Performance<br />
Evans: Vela allows users to create<br />
and assign issues or outstand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
tasks to other users <strong>in</strong> the system. It<br />
also has the capability of creat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
checklist templates for use <strong>in</strong> quality<br />
control <strong>in</strong>spections. It can also<br />
allow equipment commission<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
be adm<strong>in</strong>istered.<br />
Span: How is Aust<strong>in</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g Vela?<br />
Evans: At Parkland, we are us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Vela to track issues; and perform<br />
quality control <strong>in</strong>spections, equipment<br />
commission<strong>in</strong>g, and punch<br />
lists. There is a free iPad app (Vela<br />
Mobile) that allows users to perform<br />
all activities <strong>in</strong> the field.<br />
Span: Which Aust<strong>in</strong> projects use Vela?<br />
Evans: To my knowledge Methodist<br />
West Houston, Tarrant County<br />
College, Museum Tower, W Hotel<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> and Parkland all are us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Cont<strong>in</strong>ued on page 8.<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial<br />
w<strong>in</strong>s Project of Year<br />
award from ASA<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial was<br />
awarded a Project of the<br />
Year award (between $5 million<br />
and $15 million) by the<br />
American Subcontractors Association<br />
(ASA) for the Methodist<br />
Sugar Land Hospital<br />
Level Renovation 6 project.<br />
Several obstacles were<br />
overcome dur<strong>in</strong>g the five<br />
months of hospital renovation:<br />
a significant amount of<br />
under-floor plumb<strong>in</strong>g work<br />
to facilitate program changes<br />
on Level 6; the relocation of<br />
medical gas and domestic water<br />
risers for the east tower; the<br />
challenge of work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a fully<br />
occupied hospital; the need for<br />
all deliveries to be on pallets<br />
and shr<strong>in</strong>k wrapped; and all<br />
material handl<strong>in</strong>g/deliveries by<br />
subcontractors had to be made<br />
before 7 a.m. and after 6 p.m.<br />
Headwall units (small<br />
reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g walls placed at the<br />
outlet of a stormwater pipe or<br />
culvert) were prefabricated and<br />
shipped to the project, which<br />
took extensive coord<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
between Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial<br />
and its subcontractors.<br />
In spite of the complexities<br />
of the project, the renovation<br />
to Methodist Sugar Land Hospital’s<br />
Level 6 was completed<br />
under budget and three weeks<br />
ahead of schedule. s<br />
February/March 2012<br />
3 •NEWS<br />
THE SPAN
4 • Performance<br />
THE SPAN<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Bridge & Road builds roads <strong>in</strong> Navajo Nation<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Bridge & Road recently<br />
completed a project<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Navajo Nation with<br />
the Navajo Hous<strong>in</strong>g Authority<br />
<strong>in</strong> New Mexico and Arizona.<br />
The project <strong>in</strong>volved the<br />
design and construction of<br />
roadway and dra<strong>in</strong>age improvements,<br />
along with the<br />
addition of speed bumps, <strong>in</strong><br />
10 communities with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
Native American territory.<br />
Several months <strong>in</strong>to the job,<br />
the Navajo Nation was granted<br />
additional funds from the<br />
Bureau of Indian Affairs for<br />
improvements to 10 additional<br />
communities across the two<br />
states, and Aust<strong>in</strong> contracted separately<br />
for work <strong>in</strong> three more communities.<br />
The <strong>new</strong> work <strong>in</strong>creased<br />
the orig<strong>in</strong>al $3.2 million contract to<br />
$5.3 million.<br />
To perform the work, the<br />
Southwest regional office of Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
Bridge & Road teamed up with<br />
local Native-American contractor,<br />
Arrow Indian Contractors; and<br />
eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g firm, Michael Baker.<br />
To hire Native American work-<br />
February/March 2012<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Bridge & Road recently completed a project for roadway<br />
work <strong>in</strong> Navajo Nation, a Native American territory, spann<strong>in</strong>g two<br />
states, Arizona and New Mexico. A luncheon was hosted by the<br />
construction team for officials of Navajo Nation and the Navajo<br />
Hous<strong>in</strong>g Autbority to celebrate the on-time completion.<br />
ers for the job, Aust<strong>in</strong> held job fairs<br />
<strong>in</strong> Navajo Nation, advertised on<br />
Navajo radio stations and targeted<br />
local residents with flyers.<br />
To celebrate the on-time, successful<br />
completion of the job, the<br />
project team hosted a luncheon at a<br />
local restaurant and <strong>in</strong>vited officials<br />
from the Navajo Nation and the<br />
Navajo Hous<strong>in</strong>g Authority. Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
team members <strong>in</strong>cluded Jerod Teller,<br />
project super<strong>in</strong>tendent; Stuart<br />
Black and Randy L<strong>in</strong>iger,<br />
super<strong>in</strong>tendents; Don Davis,<br />
preconstruction manager;<br />
Brad Folczyk, project coord<strong>in</strong>ator;<br />
and Deanna Millar,<br />
field office manager.<br />
Navajo Nation is a Native<br />
American-governed<br />
territory cover<strong>in</strong>g more<br />
than 27,000 square miles. It<br />
occupies all of northeastern<br />
Arizona, the southeastern<br />
portion of Utah and northwestern<br />
New Mexico. It is<br />
the largest Native American<br />
land area with<strong>in</strong> the United<br />
States. It was established<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Treaty<br />
of 1868 and expansion cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />
through 1934.<br />
The discovery of oil on its land<br />
<strong>in</strong> the 1920s prompted the need for<br />
a more systematic government. A<br />
tribal government was established<br />
to work with oil companies that<br />
wanted to lease Navajo land for<br />
exploration. The government was<br />
reorganized <strong>in</strong> 1991 as a threebranch<br />
system - executive, legislative<br />
and judicial. s<br />
Core Value: Responsibility
5 • PERFORMANCE<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial reaches two million safe hours at Motiva<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial employee-owners<br />
on the<br />
Crude Expansion Project<br />
(CEP) at the Motiva Port<br />
Arthur Ref<strong>in</strong>ery set a safety<br />
milestone on January 4.<br />
Workers celebrated two million<br />
safe work hours without<br />
a recordable <strong>in</strong>jury and<br />
3.2 million safe work hours<br />
without a lost-time <strong>in</strong>jury.<br />
The last OSHA recordable<br />
was on August 7, 2010.<br />
Nick Smallwood with<br />
Motiva, and Bob Foster and<br />
Chris Pulver with the Bechtel<br />
Jacobs Jo<strong>in</strong>t Venture presented<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> with awards<br />
for this safety achievement.<br />
Management from Aust<strong>in</strong>,<br />
Motiva and Bechtel Jacobs<br />
commended the workers<br />
for their cont<strong>in</strong>ued efforts<br />
toward quality and safety.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the safety<br />
celebration that <strong>in</strong>cluded a<br />
shrimp and catfish lunch,<br />
the rock band, “The Band<br />
with No Name,” comprised<br />
of CEP employees, enter-<br />
Core Value: Safety<br />
The 1,100 Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial employee-owners at this Motiva ref<strong>in</strong>ery <strong>in</strong><br />
Port Arthur, Texas, recently achieved a significant safety milestone.<br />
From left: Joe McKee, senior projects director, and John Brightwell,<br />
health, safety and environmental manager, are presented with a plaque<br />
commemorat<strong>in</strong>g Aust<strong>in</strong>’s safety achievement by Nick Smallwood, Motiva’s<br />
project manager on the CEP project.<br />
The Band with No Name (left photo),<br />
comprised of Motiva CEP employees,<br />
performed bluesy rock and roll dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the recent safety celebration at the Motiva<br />
Port Arthur Ref<strong>in</strong>ery while workers<br />
were treated to a catfish and shrimp<br />
lunch (right photo).<br />
ta<strong>in</strong>ed the crowd with their<br />
bluesy rock follow<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
awards ceremony.<br />
After complet<strong>in</strong>g<br />
two units at this ref<strong>in</strong>ery,<br />
Motiva asked Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
Industrial to help with<br />
pre-commission<strong>in</strong>g work.<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial’s 1,100<br />
employee-owners at the<br />
site are now assist<strong>in</strong>g with<br />
pre-commission<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
all discipl<strong>in</strong>es - scaffold<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
<strong>in</strong>sulation, pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
electrical, mechanical and<br />
pip<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
When this CEP project<br />
is completed, the Motiva<br />
Port Arthur Ref<strong>in</strong>ery<br />
will be the largest <strong>in</strong> the<br />
United States.<br />
Motiva is a jo<strong>in</strong>t venture<br />
between Shell and<br />
Saudi Arabia Ref<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g.<br />
It ref<strong>in</strong>es, distributes and<br />
markets oil products <strong>in</strong> the<br />
eastern and southern U.S.<br />
The company owns and<br />
operates three ref<strong>in</strong>eries <strong>in</strong><br />
Texas and Louisiana. s<br />
February/March 2012<br />
THE SPAN
6 • Community serviCe<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial employee-owners give back to their community<br />
THE SPAN<br />
February/March 2012<br />
Employee-owners at ConocoPhillips<br />
Employee-owners at the ConocoPhillips site <strong>in</strong><br />
Ponca City, Oklahoma, were <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> multiple<br />
charitable events last year. Coat drive - Employee-owners’<br />
donated 90 coats to a local church<br />
that then distributed them among needy families.<br />
Playground - Aust<strong>in</strong> employee-owners braved<br />
cold weather on a Saturday to assist Conoco Phillips<br />
build a playground at the Ponca City Lake. Volleyball<br />
for March of Dimes - The Aust<strong>in</strong> team took<br />
second and third place <strong>in</strong> a volleyball tournament<br />
benefitt<strong>in</strong>g the March of Dimes. s<br />
Employee-owners participate <strong>in</strong> Candlelighters banquet;<br />
Br<strong>in</strong>g cheer to ‘adopted’ familes at Christmas<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial employee-owners <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Houston area participated <strong>in</strong> the Candlelighters<br />
event dur<strong>in</strong>g Christmas. It was created to help<br />
give families with a sick child (normally cancer) a<br />
wonderful Christmas. This year Aust<strong>in</strong> adopted 12<br />
families. More than 300 gifts were purchased by<br />
employee-owners. All the gifts, plus donated money,<br />
totaled more than $7,000. Participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the<br />
event were workers from the home office, equipment<br />
yard, employment office, and the Lubrizol,<br />
Bayer, Exxon, Baker Petrolite, Oxyv<strong>in</strong>yls, Total,<br />
Lyondell Ref<strong>in</strong>ery and Lyondell Bayport sites.<br />
“No one deserved a great Christmas more<br />
than these children, and I am so proud we helped<br />
give them that,” said Paige Clark of Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial<br />
who helped organize the event. s<br />
Core Value: Employee-ownership
Aus t i n Br i d g e & ro A d<br />
Promotions<br />
Alexis Briggs, to account<strong>in</strong>g supervisor<br />
for equipment operations<br />
Joanna Nguyen, to controller<br />
New Employee-owners<br />
Adalberto Baca, foreman, North<br />
Texas<br />
Richard Crosby, senior project manager,<br />
North Texas<br />
Just<strong>in</strong> Ebersole, eng<strong>in</strong>eer 1, North<br />
Texas<br />
Archie Lark<strong>in</strong>, foreman, North Texas<br />
Chris Leahy, assistant project manager,<br />
North Texas<br />
Todd Wilson, eng<strong>in</strong>eer 2, Southeast<br />
Aus t i n Co m m e r C i A l<br />
Promotions<br />
Ruben Arias, to project adm<strong>in</strong>istrator,<br />
University of Texas<br />
Southwestern Medical Center<br />
(UTSWMC)<br />
Chris Harren, to project manager,<br />
Rice Unversity<br />
Rick Moore, to senior MEP coord<strong>in</strong>ator,<br />
Tr<strong>in</strong>ity Heart<br />
Marti Morton, to assistant field office<br />
manager, Phoenix district office<br />
Kyle Priesmeyer, to super<strong>in</strong>tendent<br />
II, Methodist Sugar Land<br />
Rehired<br />
Marcus Ruiz, super<strong>in</strong>tendent I,<br />
Museum Tower<br />
New Employee-owners<br />
Beau Beaupre, office eng<strong>in</strong>eer,<br />
COP aviation signage<br />
Trenton Beeler, safety representation,<br />
UTSWMC<br />
Richard Brooks, super<strong>in</strong>tendent<br />
II, California<br />
Chip Buchan, senior super<strong>in</strong>tendent,<br />
California district office<br />
Jeff Featherston, PE-BIM coord<strong>in</strong>ator,<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> district office<br />
Les Goolsby, super<strong>in</strong>tendent II,<br />
California<br />
Jeff Graham, super<strong>in</strong>tendent I,<br />
California<br />
Stephen Gulfoile, estimator PM,<br />
California<br />
Brett Krause, office eng<strong>in</strong>eer,<br />
Charlton Methodist<br />
Denzil Lee, super<strong>in</strong>tendent II, California<br />
Casey Plummer, project eng<strong>in</strong>eer,<br />
Museum Tower<br />
Jeff Sasich, super<strong>in</strong>tendent II,<br />
California<br />
Gabriel Slye, assistant super<strong>in</strong>tendent<br />
I, HMS host, Arizona<br />
Randy Stephenson, senior project<br />
manager, California district office<br />
Mary Welch, market<strong>in</strong>g assistant,<br />
California district office<br />
Diversity Award<br />
Simeon Terry was recently named<br />
to the Champions of Diversity list<br />
for 2012 by DiversityBus<strong>in</strong>ess.com.<br />
The list is determ<strong>in</strong>ed by nom<strong>in</strong>ations<br />
submitted by peers with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
diversity practitioner community.<br />
Wedd<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Congratulations to Nicole He<strong>in</strong>le<br />
on her January 14 marriage to Just<strong>in</strong><br />
Simone.<br />
New Arrival<br />
Josh Burress, a son, Nathan Michael,<br />
born December 28.<br />
In Memoriam<br />
Sympathy is extended to Brett<br />
Edmondson whose father, Thomas<br />
Edmondson, died January 7.<br />
Sympathy is also extended to<br />
John Heise whose mother died<br />
January 3.<br />
Aus t i n <strong>in</strong> d u s t r i A l<br />
New Employee-owner<br />
Brandy Reed, adm<strong>in</strong>istrative assistant<br />
In Memoriam<br />
Sympathy is extended to Chuck<br />
Daniels whose mother died Jan. 6.<br />
Sympathy is extended to Reygan<br />
Farris whose grandmother died<br />
December 30.<br />
7 • people<br />
Sympathy is extended to Fred<br />
Gertzel whose wife died recently.<br />
Sympathy is extended to Gene<br />
Sanders whose brother died December<br />
8.<br />
Sympathy is also extended to the<br />
family of Charlie Williams who<br />
died December 11.<br />
Aus t i n <strong>in</strong> d u s t r i e s<br />
Promotion<br />
Valerie Adair, to controller, corporate<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial services<br />
Role change<br />
Dana Bartholomew, to corporate<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ance adviser provid<strong>in</strong>g strategic<br />
support to the operat<strong>in</strong>g companies<br />
Open Door and Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
Hotl<strong>in</strong>e merge <strong>in</strong>to one<br />
<strong>in</strong>dependent, third-party<br />
resolution process<br />
The Open Door and Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
Hotl<strong>in</strong>e dispute resolution<br />
processes have been comb<strong>in</strong>ed.<br />
All Open Door issues should be<br />
directed to the Aust<strong>in</strong> Hotl<strong>in</strong>e<br />
number, (800) 880-4991.<br />
Now called the Aust<strong>in</strong> Open<br />
Door Hotl<strong>in</strong>e, all calls are answered<br />
24 hours, seven days a<br />
week, by an <strong>in</strong>dependent third<br />
party.<br />
Employee-owners can call<br />
this one toll-free number to<br />
report <strong>in</strong>appropriate or unethical<br />
activity or to get assistance with<br />
work-related compla<strong>in</strong>ts or questions.<br />
The decision to comb<strong>in</strong>e the<br />
programs <strong>in</strong>to one was meant to<br />
lessen employee-owner confusion<br />
as to which number to call and<br />
for what purpose, and to make<br />
the process more efficient. s<br />
February/March 2012<br />
THE SPAN
8 • Feature<br />
Request<strong>in</strong>g a loan from your<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> 401(k) plan may seem<br />
like a good idea, but it may reduce<br />
the retirement sav<strong>in</strong>gs that you<br />
have worked hard to accumulate.<br />
Before tak<strong>in</strong>g a loan from your<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> 401(k) plan, consider all of<br />
your f<strong>in</strong>ancial options and the effect<br />
the loan can have on your future<br />
comfort and sav<strong>in</strong>gs. Tapp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to<br />
your sav<strong>in</strong>gs for short-term expenditures<br />
rarely offsets the long-term<br />
consequences.<br />
Before tapp<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to your Aust<strong>in</strong><br />
401(k) plan sav<strong>in</strong>gs, ask these questions:<br />
(Cont<strong>in</strong>ued from page 3.)<br />
or have used Vela. It really comes<br />
down to cost when consider<strong>in</strong>g us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
it for a project. I would recommend<br />
it for all projects.<br />
Span: What are the benefits?<br />
Evans: All issues, checklists,<br />
punchlists, etc., that you create <strong>in</strong><br />
Vela are available <strong>in</strong> a searchable<br />
format to all project-specific users.<br />
For example, if you are the drywall<br />
subcontractor you can log <strong>in</strong>to Vela<br />
and run a report of all outstand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
issues that apply only to your<br />
company. This allows the different<br />
trades to focus on their tasks without<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g distracted by all the other<br />
issues. Conversely, as the general<br />
contractor we can use this data to<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>e such th<strong>in</strong>gs as who is<br />
fall<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d and who is do<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
good job. s<br />
THE SPAN<br />
The Aust<strong>in</strong> Advantage 401(k) Plan<br />
Don’t let a loan hurt your sav<strong>in</strong>gs THE SPAN<br />
• Vela software manages<br />
construction tasks<br />
February/March 2012<br />
• Am I liv<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>in</strong> my means?<br />
• Is this money really that important?<br />
• Can the money come from another<br />
source?<br />
• Do I want to sacrifice part of my<br />
paycheck to pay off the loan?<br />
• Will I wish that I had this money<br />
at retirement?<br />
• What if I leave Aust<strong>in</strong> <strong>Industries</strong>?<br />
The after-effects<br />
Is it a good idea to request a loan?<br />
Consider:<br />
• You reduce the amount of sav<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
available to grow and compound.<br />
• You may have to work longer to<br />
make up lost ground.<br />
• If you leave Aust<strong>in</strong> <strong>Industries</strong>, you<br />
have to pay off your entire balance<br />
with<strong>in</strong> 90 days <strong>in</strong> order to avoid a<br />
taxable distribution.<br />
• You must pay fees, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
one time loan application fee ($35<br />
when apply<strong>in</strong>g onl<strong>in</strong>e or through<br />
the VOICE® Network, $85 when<br />
apply<strong>in</strong>g by phone with personal<br />
assistance from a Vanguard associate),<br />
and an annual ma<strong>in</strong>tenance<br />
fee of $20. And these fees can not<br />
be paid by check; <strong>in</strong>stead, they’re<br />
swept from your account balance,<br />
reduc<strong>in</strong>g your assets even more.<br />
Get all the facts<br />
You can get even more <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
by go<strong>in</strong>g to vanguard.com anytime<br />
or by call<strong>in</strong>g a Vanguard Participant<br />
Services associate at (800)<br />
523-1188 from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.<br />
Central time. s<br />
All <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g is subject to risk.<br />
Vanguard.com and VOICE are trademarks of The<br />
Vanguard Group, Inc.<br />
© 2012 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights<br />
reserved. Used with permission.<br />
Au s t i n <strong>in</strong>dustr ies<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Bridge & Road<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Commercial<br />
Aust<strong>in</strong> Industrial<br />
Kay Bishop......................Editor<br />
The Span is published bimonthly by<br />
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for Aust<strong>in</strong> <strong>Industries</strong> employee-owners.<br />
Address all correspondence to:<br />
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e-mail <strong>in</strong>formation to:<br />
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© 2012 by Aust<strong>in</strong> <strong>Industries</strong>, Inc.<br />
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Build<strong>in</strong>g on the base of our proud past, we’re<br />
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