After 20 years, the end of the $550-million Brays Bayou Flood Damage Reduction Project in Houston is finally in sight

Reprinted courtesy of Louise Poirier, ENR and Pam Radtke Russell, ENR
Ms. Poirier may be contacted at poirierl@enr.com
Ms. Russell may be contacted at Russellp@bnpmedia.com

Even with a lot of focus recently on diversity in the workplace, construction is still a male-dominated industry. According to recent surveys, women make up less than 10% of the construction workforce.

There is a higher percentage of women serving in Congress (currently 23.7%) and in the active duty military (14%). Women do, in fact, make up 47% of the total civilian workforce. So, as the construction industry looks for ways to hire and develop skilled labor, diversity has become more important than ever.

There are several challenges to increasing diversity, specifically among women in construction that need to be addressed. These include unwelcome worksites, sexual harassment issues, flexibility and the perception by others that women on the team are not as capable for projects that require manual labor. It’s not the women, it’s the environment and the culture.

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

Millennials are slowly taking over the workforce as baby boomers are exiting. By 2024, it is projected that three in four U.S. workers will be millennials. This is particularly impacting the construction industry, with more than 40% of the current construction workforce likely to be retired by 2031. This change is creating a labor gap that must be filled, but the problem is attracting millennial workers to the industry.

The rising workforce is quite different in comparison to its predecessor. The priorities have shifted. Millennials are after benefits and perks rather than pay, so much so that more than 80% of millennials would change jobs to obtain better benefits, and nearly 90% would pass up a pay raise in favor of benefits and perks.

Millennials will require a different approach to recruit, but it isn’t impossible. Below are a few steps contractors can take to attract them to their teams.

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

Hospitality construction and renovation work is unique in that, more often than not, it requires contractors to perform complex, bespoke, and intricate work while remaining invisible and inaudible. To eliminate disruptions to the typical flow of business, seldom do luxury hospitality venues close for construction. Instead, renovation and restoration projects must be completed in short, often aggressive timelines.

In addition to everyday construction challenges, aggressive timelines require general contractors to anticipate and plan for a number of scenarios. Inevitably, the one-of-a-kind Italian tile will get delayed in customs, or a spontaneous labor strike will prohibit ships from being unloaded, thus delaying critical materials to the jobsite. These occurrences cannot be used to rationalize delays.

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

With the recent increase in the number of federal and state task forces aimed at curbing tax fraud in the construction industry, construction companies would be wise to ensure their businesses are in compliance with the tax laws. One area in particular that has drawn increased scrutiny by federal and state tax authorities is the misclassification of construction workers as independent contractors instead of as employees of the business. Construction companies can reduce the risk of an audit and incurring costly penalties by accurately classifying its workers at the outset of the relationship.

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

In 2012, Dani Mouawad purchased a 1.55-acre piece of property in Chapel Hill, NC, then spent 10 months constructing a “sustainable, natural, health-promoting” house.

The building was made out of straw, clay, plaster, and lime, with a living roof made from topsoil displaced by the building’s foundation. Construction on the first of the property’s two buildings cost Mouawad, a pediatrician, “three times the cost of conventional materials,” he says, but what he spent in construction costs has more than paid off.

With the explosion of new technologies in construction, changes to contract documents, and the growing challenge posed by an ever-increasing number of state and federal laws and regulations, contractors need expert legal advice more than ever to manage risk and protect profits.

Law firms specializing in construction have the unique industry experience essential to guide their clients through a complex maze of compliance and contracts to ensure the health of the construction enterprise.

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

New York’s largest buildings will have to be retrofitted to produce fewer carbon emissions under one of the first laws passed by the city council as part of the city’s sweeping Green New Deal. Under the law approved April 18, all buildings 25,000 sq ft or more must reduce their emissions 40% from 2005 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

The Midwest’s waterways have been hit hard by an unusually rainy and snowy spring. Since March, the Mississippi River has maintained high water levels and crested at near-record levels on May 1. The flooding is also impacting construction operations along the river.

Contractors who are awarded a contract are frequently required to obtain several surety bonds before they can begin the project. One of these bonds is the performance surety bond.

A performance bond basically guarantees a contractor's performance under a contract. Yet, there are a number of important details that contractors need to know about performance bonds when they are required to obtain one.

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

Fire safety in buildings under construction is a hugely important topic due to the devastating impact large construction fires can have. While rare, the consequences of construction fires are attracting more attention in the public and private sectors, pointing to the need for more accountability on construction sites and greater enforcement of existing fire and building codes.

A variety of best practice manuals and training videos are available on www.constructionfiresafety.org to help reduce the frequency and severity of construction fires. These materials are designed to educate and inform construction crews, including site superintendents, local building and fire regulators, and responding fire departments on how to prevent fires, reduce losses and ensure overall safety at large construction sites.

Reprinted courtesy of Raymond O’Brocki, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.