Construction work is inherently dangerous, so creating a culture of safety throughout a construction organization is critical. Safety should not be something that is addressed only when accidents happen or leading up to OSHA inspections. It is a crucial component of a successful workplace and everyone involved in a construction job should treat it that way.

When construction company owners, leadership and partners treat safety as an essential part of each day’s work, risk decreases and productivity increases. Creating a culture of safety, then, means that every team member is responsible for a safe jobsite. Whether an employee has boots on the ground or is managing from an office, safety must be top-of-mind.

Reprinted courtesy of Kevin Cargill, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

In the construction industry, maintaining a project’s schedule and safety of operations are some of the main concerns for project leaders. During severe weather season, typically spring and summer for the United States, heavy winds and rain, lightning, high temperatures, and flooding can be disastrous for scheduling and safety. There can be especially harsh impacts during the Atlantic hurricane season. Here are some tips and best practices from leaders in the industry for maintaining safe, timely operations regardless of the weather.

Reprinted courtesy of Courtland Keith, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

Concern about being infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is seen as one factor in the struggle to hire new employees that many industries are experiencing, including construction.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce report on the Commercial Construction Index, released in June 2021, states, “In industries as diverse as agriculture and construction, healthcare and hospitality, manufacturing and computer software, 76% of the respondents reported that businesses in their industries find it difficult’ (52%) or ‘very difficult’ (24%) to hire workers right now.”1

Reprinted courtesy of Jeffrey Wainstein, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

Are architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms prepared for an upswing? More than 80% of CEOs participating in a conference board roundtable see improved economic conditions in the coming months, the highest confidence level since 2004, according to Axios.

While some AEC markets declined during the pandemic, others experienced growth. For example, warehouse construction grew from approximately one-quarter of put-in-place commercial construction in 2015 to nearly half in 2020, representing approximately 18% growth year-over-year. For many AEC companies, 2021 will be a “bridge year,” of recovery in preparation for a possible upswing in 2022.

Reprinted courtesy of Pamela A. Scott, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

It’s time to change the way the construction industry communicates about mental health to reduce the stigma and ensure that individuals get the help they need. Far too often, mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, mood swings and substance abuse disorders have been cloaked in a veil of secrecy and shame. Yet these issues pose significant risks to health, well-being, safety and productivity.

According to insurance broker Holmes Murphy & Associates, the construction industry is especially vulnerable to mental health challenges because of factors ranging from financial and family pressures to workplace injuries, chronic pain and substance abuse.

Reprinted courtesy of Scott Wittkop, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

Last year, spurred by a global movement to celebrate diversity and strive for social justice reforms, tens of thousands of companies—including scores of construction firms in the United States—took a look at their own business practices and made public commitments to improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) among their workforces.

Diversity and inclusion at its most basic concept means truly accepting, supporting and including the full range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical abilities, religious or ethical values systems, national origins and political beliefs. It’s a practice that’s not just the right thing to do, it’s also good for business.

Reprinted courtesy of Lisa Robinson, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

As the nation races to vaccinate more than 320 million citizens, construction firms have been busy catching up on backlog, keeping workers safe and grappling with the complexities of construction finance during a pandemic.

The economy has bounced back much quicker than expected; however, there are still plenty of reasons for construction firms to remain vigilant and continue to implement strict financial controls as the recovery unfolds. The challenges of the past year have sharpened the business habits of contractors and financial professionals alike across the United States—proving that consistent success is achievable—if contractors are committed to seeing past the boom and taking adequate measures to streamline their bidding, contract and finance practices. Resisting bidding on unprofitable work, keeping careful records through automation and paying attention to new tax laws are just some of the methods that can ensure a contractor remains profitable for years to come.

Reprinted courtesy of Cybele Tamulonis, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

This week, the Department of Labor (DOL) repealed the Trump Administration’s independent contractor rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL has also proposed the rescission of the Trump Administration’s joint employer rule and sent a new proposed regulation to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. Both moves signal a return to standards more likely to find an employment relationship.

It’s not every day that a project interior designer sits down with the project team to discuss construction and occupant safety. But in 2019, Keith Switzer, who heads interior design firm INTEC Group, found himself in meetings doing just that as plans took shape for a four-story office and research building in the Boston suburb of Billerica. The project’s owner, drug maker EMD Serono, was “very keen” on safety, Switzer recalls. So leaders from the project’s prime contractor, Erland Construction, and much of the project team gathered regularly in an existing building at the project site, and later sometimes in a project trailer, where the vibe was for a “roll up your sleeves effort … literally everyone at the table throwing out ideas.” Even after the pandemic shifted the meetings to the internet, the basic mission as Switzer sees it was to explore ideas where “if you did this differently, this would be a safer way of doing XYZ.”

Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, ENR and Scott Van Voorhis, ENR
Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com

The construction industry added 110,000 jobs in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry has added 931,000 jobs since April 2020, recovering 83.6% of the jobs lost during earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The construction unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in March from 9.6% in February, but it is still 1.7 percentage points higher than in March 2020. Unemployment across all industries declined from 6.2% in February to 6.0% in March.

Reprinted courtesy of ABC, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.

State-funded construction projects are among the top beneficiaries of a $1.5-billion budget surplus carved up by Utah lawmakers during the 2021 legislative session that ended March 6.