Author: Peggy Smedley
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been covering the worker shortage in the construction industry, sharing some strategies for how to address it. For years, labor shortages have undermined the construction industry’s ability to keep up with demand. Throughout the pandemic, we have been talking about the uptick in workers changing jobs and moving industries. Some call it the Great Resignation. But I like to call it the Great Job Hop. Workforce Trends New research from WalletHub suggests millions of Americans are quitting their jobs each month, even in the face of high inflation. The incentives available from changing…
EVs (electric vehicles) are growing in popularity. Sales of electric cars hit 6.6 million in 2021, more than tripling their marketshare from two years earlier, according to IEA. Truth be told, while growth has been impressive during the past three years, overall adoption is still low. In fact, there are just a few states leading the nation with EV adoption. Looking at sales share for Q1 2022, there were a handful of states leading adoption—mostly in the West. Some of these states include California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado, just to name a few. As I explored this further, I…
I have been writing about circularity and the need to move from linear processes to a circular economy for years, but it is always exciting to see it in action. Consider one of the recent examples in the manufacturing space: the disassembly plant. To be clear, a disassembly plant isn’t necessarily new. Recycling plants have been around for a century, with the purpose of reprocessing used or abandoned materials. In fact, the first one opened back in 1904 in my hometown of Chicago, Ill. While that is technically when it started, modern recycling as we know it was truly catapulted…
Homeowners can track their actual energy usage. Knowing when, how, and where energy is being consumed can help identify what the largest energy use is, and homeowners can then act with that data in hand. Some call this energy baselining, which is a home’s energy baseline for the current amount of energy that is being used. That baseline can then be adjusted, as needed, helping conserve energy in the home. But how exactly do we master and track energy efficiency? I scoured the resources at the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and ENERGY STAR to…
The conversation that has been ongoing for decades on the software side of the construction industry—point solutions versus platform—is the same one that is happening with the connected home. Alongside that discussion is the one of interoperability, and there is much to cover in the home today. Let’s back up for a minute and talk about the smart home in general. Homes are no longer just made of bricks, stone, wood, insulation, plaster, and other construction materials. They are connected intelligently by technologies that provides heightened security, convenience, and comfort for the homebuyer. Homeowners have come to expect this kind…
We have entered a new era of sustainability—one where businesses are creating new products using innovative materials and processes that will ultimately be more sustainable for the environment. We don’t have to look any further than our cars to find such innovation. The first EV (electric vehicle) came onto the scene back in the 1800s, and automotive hybrid technology became more widespread in the late 1990s. Now we are beginning to see a new type of sustainable vehicle emerge onto the scene: the vegan car. Leather-free interiors are here in droves. The BMW Group is one of the latest automakers…
For years, we have been talking about stolen tools, lost equipment, and the long-term costs associated with not being able to effectively manage assets on a jobsite. Now, we are experiencing this firsthand—and I have some thoughts for contractors and builders to consider. For those of you who might have forgotten, I am still on a journey with my husband Dave to build a Living Lab – one where we have partnered with several industry players to encourage energy-efficient and green living for all. The intention is to demonstrate advanced energy-efficient connected products and systems from some leading manufacturers and…
Homes are getting smarter and connected devices are proliferating the home at a rapid pace. So, what’s next? One new report identifies the evolution of the smart home and what tech is currently coming out on top. Plume provides a glimpse into today’s smart home—literally. With more than 41 million homes and more than 1.8 billion connected devices managed on its global network, it has realtime data about what devices are actually humming in homes today. The information in its recent Smart Home Market Report, released in August, samples data from a cross-section of 200,000 homes out of the 41…
If we want smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 to be successful, we need to involve everyone in the ecosystem: large and small manufacturers, technology providers, academia, and more. As the saying goes, we are only as strong as our weakest player, and we need to raise the tide, so all boats float higher together. Perhaps one of the biggest implications of the Third Industrial Revolution—which spanned from 1970 to 2010—for small and medium-sized manufacturers was the cost and complexity of automation and digitization. Perhaps this is the reason many digital transformation initiatives are not successful—some suggest this statistic is between…
Are we headed for a recession? Are contractors still experiencing labor shortages and material delays? What is the overall outlook for the market? I have recently done a deep dive into the state of the residential construction market. Today let’s take a closer look at the heavy civil construction market and unpack where we are headed amid a changing economic market and following the IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). Pointing to some specific data, the FMI 2022 Heavy Civil Construction Index, Third Quarter Report, gives us a peek into the current state of the market and what is to…