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.

Construction employment expanded by 52,000 net new jobs in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry employment is up by 338,000 net jobs on a yearly basis, which represents an increase of 4.7 percent. Nonresidential construction employment grew by 28,600 net new positions on a monthly basis, although the nonresidential building sub-sector lost 800 net positions.

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

The construction space looks attractive in 2019, given its solid economic position, consistent job growth expectancy, and the promises made to boost infrastructure spending in the United States.

However, according to McKinsey Global Institute’s 2018 research report, “Reinventing Construction Through a Productivity Revolution,” the industry is slow to adopt technology, and has been struggling with stagnant productivity levels for decades. One reason for this is companies continue to use various older systems instead of integrating technologies to consolidate methods and increase overall efficiency.

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

The construction industry is in a moment of enormous change. Business is booming — and so is the number, complexity and duration of projects. Concurrently, a serious shortage of affordable, skilled labor means that many companies are operating short-staffed.

Increasingly, construction companies are turning to technology to improve their productivity, make the most of limited resources, improve safety and document and coordinate every step of their projects. According to McKinsey, investment in construction technology has doubled in the past decade. The most innovative companies are integrating technology into their daily processes, choosing technology partners that provide intuitive tools that every team member can use. By doing so, these companies are able to remain competitive and grow revenue, reaping the benefits of more comprehensive real-time reporting, resulting in savvier asset allocation and project planning.

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

While it may seem as though the construction industry has stuck to the status quo for some time, peering beneath the surface reveals much more is changing than actually meets the eye. Despite an estimated 11 percent increase in commercial construction in the United States, the percentage of young construction workers has declined by 30 percent in the past decade. With more projects and fewer workers, the landscape of the construction industry must adapt if it hopes to advance.

1. Construction Sites Are Prone to Delayed Information
Historically, construction sites have been operating comparably to a game of telephone: inaccurate information travels slowly by word of mouth to each party operating different portions of the jobsite. However, with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), there is reason to believe a solution is on the horizon. Often, all parties involved in a project have different pieces of information. Fifty-two percent of rework is the result of poor project data or miscommunication, costing more than $31 billion in 2018 alone. Having a common and consistent understanding is crucial to the success of a jobsite to generate more trust and improve decision-making. Tools such as AI establish newfound workplace transparency and are rapidly improving the efficiency of construction and development.

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