Author: Peggy Smedley
One of the biggest challenges the construction industry has today is inexperienced skilled labor, which impacts nearly every aspect of a construction project. The good news is with technology in hand construction professionals can bring experienced workers and inexperienced workers together, ultimately achieving the best from both. This is a conversation I was having recently with Corey Johnson, senior director, construction product management, Bentley Systems. He says COVID has accelerated the need to better plan work because the skilled labor force has been looking for alternative types of work or has retired. With that, construction has seen an increased reliance…
Labor hoarding, quiet quitting, the great resignation. We continue to put labels on trends in the job market—but do we really know what long-term impact this is having on business, and do we recognize what steps we need to take next to have a better workforce? To start, let’s define a few of these. Great resignation: Some call it the great resignation; others call it the great reshuffle; I like to say the great job hop. All in all, this was the great exodus of employees from their employment obligations. Picking up speed in the spring of 2021, the great…
I am sure by now many of you have seen the statistic that shows 75% of companies encounter rework at least twice a week. It is startling, to say the least, but I have some thoughts about what might lie a bit deeper under the surface. First, let’s dig into the report, which polled 541 decisionmakers from construction companies in the United States and the United Kingdom. The research is from XYZ Reality, which was carried out in partnership with market research company OnePoll. The research finds delays and defects are squeezing tight markets, with a variety of reasons including…
Sustainable materials have the potential to completely transform the construction industry in myriad ways, ultimately benefiting the homeowner. One example comes from UPM Biochemicals and URSA, which are working together to develop environmentally friendly building insulation. The result will be reduced energy consumption and lowered emissions. Why Go Green? Before we get into the details about this particular insulation, let’s explore the benefits of healthier insulation, which we have written about on this blog before. In addition to being better for the environment, eco-friendly insulation can cut costs in the long run because it is better at keeping heat or…
Even though we have been talking about climate change for decades, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) has been around for about 20 years now, the tipping point was 2020. We began to see a greater focus on extreme weather events, social justice issues—particularly in the United States—and COVID-19. All of this has accelerated the broader understanding of ESG, but it seems there is still sometimes confusion. I recently sat down with Matt Sekol, sustainability industry advocate, Microsoft, to discuss this very topic. He explains that ESG often gets conflated with a lot of things including sustainability, climate change, and…
EVs (electric vehicles) are speeding on the scene at a rapid rate—something my team and I love to talk about and one we have shared a lot right here on this blog many times. But we would be remiss if we didn’t address the fact that material shortages are quickly putting the brakes on the rapid growth? Research from a university in Europe uncovers some interesting trends. With the growth of electrification and digitalization in the car, there is a growing need for critical metals in electric vehicles, but the challenge is only a small amount of metals are currently…
The construction industry is facing an ongoing labor shortage that has been years in the making and has reached new heights this year. Research from the ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors) suggests construction has the tall task of attracting an estimated 546,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2023 to meet the demand for labor. As such, it becomes critical to find ways to optimize each labor hour to get the most performance and value. This is where technology enters the equation. Field solutions can help improve efficiency on the construction jobsite while also attracting…
I have been writing about the supply chain—and cybersecurity—for decades, warning that we needed the right technology—and the right security protocols—in place to make our supply chains resilient and more secure. Seriously, for those of you who follow this column, you must be saying I sound like a broken record. I know what the heck is that? But all kidding aside, this is a problem. And a new report shows cyberattacks targeting software supply chains will cost businesses billions, and I mean billions, and most businesses can’t afford paying out millions, let alone billions. The study, from Juniper Research, examines…
Homes are changing, with the rise of smart and connected devices. Such is the case with home health devices, which are poised to transform the smart-home market, driven largely by remote-monitoring technologies. This will absolutely transform our homes, enabling many of us to age in place. New research shows the smart-home healthcare market is still growing, but the challenge is the scale of the opportunity still remains largely underpenetrated. That means a lot of opportunity and growth still exists for many companies. Here’s just a quick glimpse at what the numbers are showing from ABI Research, which reveals how this…
Like the construction industry in general, M&As (mergers and acquisitions) in the construction-technology space are often cyclical, coming in waves, sometimes faster than others. But it seems like the pace of change continues to roll faster than it ever has in the past, especially in construction digital transformation. To illustrate the impact on the construction sector let’s take a closer look into three case studies today. Sage Centers on SMBs Arguably some of the biggest construction-technology acquisitions Sage has made are Intuit, Contractor Anywhere, and Peachtree, stapling the software provider as one of the big players in accounting for construction…