Author: Peggy Smedley
For several decades, I have been preaching the importance of people, process, and technology. It is hard to succeed with one without the other two. Now, we see one of the legs of the stool is collapsing, as the worker shortage is surging in all industries including construction, infrastructure, and engineering. In last week’s blog I began to look at potential solutions to the worker shortage including legislation, guidance and mentorship, partnering with schools, bringing more women into the workforce, and the attraction of technology. This week it’s imperative we discuss in this blog series and dig a bit deeper…
Those of you working in construction and manufacturing feel the worker shortage day in and day out. The rest of the world just reads about it or hears about it in the news. But I can’t stress the severity of this problem enough. It deserves repeating again and again, until we do something together, collectively. We are better together, certainly stronger, safer, more productive, more resilient, more sustainable, more circular, and the list goes on and on. Simply, you get my point. Every day another Baby Boomer exits the workforce. Businesses large, medium, and small are trying to find the…
Here in South Carolina, there have been a bevy of new announcements surrounding manufacturing and the supply chain that are sure to bring jobs and resiliency to the American manufacturing supply chain. Let’s look at just one example. Last year, Masonite Intl. Corp., which is a manufacturer and distributor of interior and exterior doors and door systems, announced plans to open a new location, which was selected in part due to its proximity to customers and suppliers, workforce quality, and availability, and the business climate. Since moving here, I have seen firsthand the efforts being put forth to bring manufacturing…
New data suggests the construction industry is adding new workers, but at a rather modest pace that may not be enough to fill in the gap left behind by a retiring workforce and those who left the industry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Will it be enough? And how will we fill in the gap? I recently had a roundtable conversation that will help us answer some of these questions. First, let’s look at some hard numbers. Total construction employment moved up by only 1,000 employees to 7,721,000 in October, an increase of 266,000 or 3.6% from a…
If we are going to reach that elusive net-zero goal, then we need some big companies to take the lead in this journey and so we need some real guidance in how the world is going to get there. Fortunately, this is exactly what we are seeing begin to happen, as a new coalition for innovation and technology toward net zero has officially launched earlier this month. But, first, let’s back up. We often use three-letter acronyms and buzzwords to describe some big effort or tech trend, but I’d rather set the stage, so we are all on the same…
Small communities are making big leaps, all in the name of connectivity. We know infrastructure is key for all areas of life and business—and perhaps one area this is present is better data communication for data centers. This helps powers our connected, energy-efficient homes and cities. Time to take a closer look at what’s happening in one community where construction has already begun on new fiber duct—and similar efforts are being made elsewhere to connect our towns and homes. Harbor Link Holdings has begun construction on a new fiber-optic infrastructure build connecting Alexandria to Ashburn, Va. The license agreement issued…
The digital twin continues to enable interoperability of infrastructure data for engineering firms and owner operators to use in design, construction, and operations workflows. Add to this the metaverse, and the future is data-driven for construction. This was evident last week, which featured a bevy of announcements at Bentley Systems 2022 Year in Infrastructure Conference. “I will go so far as to say the metaverse will be essential for visualizing construction processes. It is just very natural to use the most immersive environment and to use it in an interoperable way,” says Greg Bentley, CEO, Bentley Systems. This is where…
Part of our sustainability journey is implementing ESG (environmental, social, and governance) best practices into our businesses and leveraging technology to reach new heights. Another part of our sustainability journey is leveraging clean energy and innovation in a variety of industrial applications. We are seeing the rise of hydrogen use, as an option for a clean source of energy in a variety of industrial applications—but now we are also seeing opportunities in residential markets as well, as utilities are exploring delivery solutions to enable their customers to use hydrogen for emission reduction. Consider the example of Southern California Gas, which…
One of the age-old challenges with mentorship is it can be hard to quantify a ROI (return on investment). While it may not be completely necessary to quantify such investments, an interesting study crossed my desk recently that shows apprenticeships do in fact lead to a positive ROI. And here’s a case in point. The six-year study—by Abt Associates—of the U.S. DOL’s (Dept. of Labor’s) American Apprenticeship Initiative found apprentices’ wages increased and employers experienced a positive return on investment. The $175 million, five-year grants program, which the DOL launched in 2015, promoted equity by expanding apprenticeships to populations underrepresented…
What is a sustainable home? Everyone has a different definition. The Living Lab in South Carolina has been striving to be a model for sustainable living. I also like to see what others are doing to create more sustainable and eco-friendly developments. Consider a new development on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Hunters Point luxury homes are certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum, and are net-positive, meaning they each generate more energy than they consume, and provide a “grid free” experience while annually saving 8 tons of CO2 that would otherwise be emitted. Currently under development, Hunters Point has…