Author: Peggy Smedley

As the talk of AI (artificial intelligence) rages on among consumers and within a host of vertical industries, many sectors know delivering on the promise of AI will take some work. In order to make the future of AI sustainable, we must consider the foundational technology and the connectivity to spur this along. Certainly, 5G comes into this conversation in a big way. GSMA Intelligence suggests 5G connections are expected to represent 51% of mobile connections by 2029, rising to 56% by the end of the decade. 5G has been the fastest mobile generation rollout to date, surpassing one billion…

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The way the construction industry works is evolving due to several factors. For almost a decade, we have been sounding the horn here at Constructech that the worker shortage is a challenge that every construction company needs to consider. In that time, the lack of skilled talent has only intensified. We have seen a pandemic that has reshaped the way we work, creating a hybrid environment for several industries. Many of today’s workers often want fully remote work—or a hybrid option, to have a greater level of freedom and autonomy at work. Our research shows some construction field workers say…

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Welcome to March, National Women’s History Month. As the way we work continues to evolve, there is no greater time than now to consider how women’s roles have evolved—and will continue to evolve in the workplace. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are roughly 2.2 million open jobs and not enough skilled people to fill them. While there are opportunities for all workers to step up, women can certainly also help fill in this gap. A closer look at the history of how we got to where we are today, and the worker of tomorrow might be in…

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Is the smart home finally here? One big topic of conversation at last week’s NAHB (National Assn. of Home Builders) IBS (Intl. Builders Show) was the rise of smarter, more energy-efficient homes built with smarter, more energy-efficient building techniques. Let’s look at the state of the smart home. To start, let’s review some numbers. At the very end of last year, CEDIA released its 2023 Professional Smart Home Market Analysis in partnership with Ancrage Consulting. Data was collected through short surveys fielded to integrators from July-Aug 2023 as well as through actual sales pipeline reports. The data found the U.S.…

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The opportunities are always endless with technology. And I can only guess how tired you are reading that in my blogs? But today, of course, this statement comes with a caveat: We are only able to do the things we can dream if we have the core foundational elements such as the connectivity needed to spur new innovation like the rising implementation of AI (artificial intelligence) applications. This is where 5G enters the conversation. What Is 5G? At its core, 5G is the fifth generation of wireless cellular technology. With it, brings greater feeds and speeds, which will enable adoption…

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As the NAHB (National Assn. of Home Builders) Intl. Builders Show kicks off today, many construction professionals walking the show floor know something important: the construction industry is a good industry to do business in. For years, I have been arguing construction is a good career to consider for a host of reasons. Certainly, builders are contributing to reimagining our cities, homes, and infrastructure, which is a noble and much-needed pursuit. But let’s be honest, the reality is a career in construction often pays handsomely—something many construction professionals already know very well and that is something they are trying to…

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Much has changed in the last four years and that will have a far-reaching impact on manufacturing in 2024 and beyond. For today’s blog, perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at how far we have come, the state of manufacturing in 2024, and where we are headed in the future. In last week’s blog, I kicked off this concept by diving into the evolution of the supply chain, highlighting how it cracked under the immense pressure and disruptions of COVID-19 in 2020—but those of us in the space knew it was fractured long before. What followed in 2021…

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Our roadways and highways are a critical component to moving both people and goods, carrying 72% or nearly $17 trillion of the nation’s goods—and in many cases these roads are failing us. Growing wear and tear on our nation’s roads has left 43% of our public roadways in poor or mediocre condition, a number that has remained stagnant in the past several years, according to the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers). As I have talked about before in the column, the most recent Infrastructure Report Card, the ASCE gave our roads a grade of a “D.” We all recognize…

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We all know how the COVID-19 supply-chain story goes. The supply chain cracked under the immense pressure and disruptions that COVID-19 pandemic caused. A shortage of toilet paper and other essential supplies catapulted the supply chain into the worldwide spotlight. But for those of us who have worked in the industry for decades, we knew it was broken and on the brink of collapse long before 2020. It just needed the weight of something large to crack everything wide open. What came next was a significant transformation that was truly long overdue. The Rise of Direct-to-Consumer In the years since,…

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For years, I have been talking about the need to attract and retain workers in the construction industry. For far too long, the gap has been too wide, causing projects to stall. Will we make progress in the year ahead? Let’s take a moment to look at what the data show in the construction sector as there is both good news and bad news on the horizon. Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released numbers that show total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000, with employment trending upward in industries such as construction and transportation. Construction added an…

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