Author: Laura Black
Roughly 40-70% of a construction company’s total spending stems from procurement, and new research from McKinsey & Co., reveals many chief procurement officers in the industry believe consistent application of best-in-class procurement practices could lead to up to 12% cost savings. What’s more, procurement will play a pivotal role as construction companies navigate uncertainty and aim for sustainability targets. The insights come from McKinsey’s latest report, The Strategic Era of Procurement in Construction. Taking a closer look at this from a sustainability perspective provides deeper understandings. According to the research, the construction industry is directly and indirectly impacting 25% of global…
Green building is a growing trend, from construction through the lifecycle of a facility. Construction professionals are tasked with pushing the necessary data for certification throughout the entire building process, which can be challenging to say the least. Add into this equation that there is often more than one certification many construction organizations are looking to achieve—and the feat becomes even more difficult. The good news is, now, a new process aims to simplify requirements. Earlier in April, the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.), and the IWBI (Intl. WELL Building Institute) released a streamlined process…
There are myriad factors impacting the construction industry. Everything from the economy to the labor shortage is having an impact on how quickly, efficiently, and effectively work gets done in construction. The last half of 2022 saw declines in material prices, a winding down period of overheated inflation, and overall volatility. Some suggest we began to see the easing of supply chain issues and COVID measures at the end of last year. But what still lurks ahead for construction in 2023? Let’s take a look inside one crystal ball. JLL’s 2023 U.S. and Canada Construction Outlook suggests the construction industry…
Today’s homebuilder needs to craft structures that are sustainable, resilient, and meets the needs of the homeowner. Today’s homebuilder also needs to build homes quickly, with little workforce. Enter prefab housing, offsite manufacturing, and 3D printing, which are slowly starting to become a more viable option for many homebuilders. Consider the example of Mighty Buildings, which is a 3D printing company that is opening a factory to print climate-resilient homes for the U.S. market. A new factory in Monterrey, Mexico, can produce its components for an entire home during each day of operation and is focused on scaling the development…
Money makes the world go round—and it can help get new construction-technology ventures up and off the ground. This has been a growing trend in recent years where investors recognize the value of construction technology, and they are putting their money where their mouth is. There are several different iterations of this. Some construction companies have developed investment wings for their business. For example, since 2019, Suffolk Technologies has backed 24 companies across automation and robotics, supply chain marketplace, sustainability, financial technology, and smart building themes. As another instance, earlier this year, Hensel Phelps announced the launch of Diverge, an…
Smart cities are rising up—and construction companies are going to be tasked with building the city of the future. But often, as contractors know, it can be more nuanced than that, as local governments have regulations and directives for how to fuel smart city growth. Of course, all of this need to be done while keeping citizens’ best interests in mind. So, how exactly will this continue to unfold in the months ahead? A new report from the ITIF (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation) suggests in order to reap the benefits of the smart city, while still maintaining trust with…
We all have heard many of the statistics such as this one: 4,764 workers died on the job in 2020. The good news is worker deaths in America are down—on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2020—and worker injuries and illnesses are down from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to 2.7 per 100 in 2020. Still, 4,764 deaths are too many. This is why many companies are turning to technology to create a safer construction jobsite. Consider the example of Brivo, a smart-building tech provider, which has partnered with…
We all know the challenges the homebuilding industry faces—supply-chain delays, labor shortages, high inflation, and rising interest rates, just to name a few. Now, the question remains: How are these challenges actually impacting homebuilding? A new report points to some interesting trends. The Assn. of Professional Builders recently shared its 2023 trend forecast for custom builders and remodelers. Here is what it discovered. Builders reported 2022 as a record year for revenue and most importantly, their net profits were up. Many builders also reported signing contracts at record margins during the last quarter of 2022 even as the market softened.…
Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, so we can expect an onslaught of content about the importance of women’s equality—and it is important to talk about how we move toward a gender equal world, particularly in industries like construction that have historically been male-dominated. But I think right now the most important thing we can do is be honest. There are real hurdles that still stand in our way to #EmbraceEquity, as this year’s campaign suggests we should do. Let’s name three of these barriers right now. For one, women still carry the bulk of the workload at home. Research shows…
Construction is a unique industry in that work often needs to be done on site. But does it? Just because it has always been done that way, should it continue to be done that way? There are huge opportunities that exist if we can identify how best to move to offsite construction. With offsite construction, work can be done more efficiently, in a manner that is safer for workers, and has the potential to provide more affordable housing to all. Sounds great, right? So, why then aren’t we building more projects offsite yet? Markets like the United Kingdom, Japan, and…