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The head of the National Association of Women in Construction says the absolute most important thing she can say to women considering jobs in the industry is “don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.”During the association’s national conference in Nashville this past week, NAWIC President Sandy K. Field told Construction Citizen that the current labor shortage “is really at all levels” and the result of that is an even more attractive situation for women. She said entry level jobs are certainly open but there are also management opportunities like assistant project managers. Those jobs, of course, can lead to even higher management positions. “Lots of companies I know have a great need for that,” Field said.“Women sometimes don't have the self-confidence that our male counterparts do,” Field said and quickly added “we, as women, just need to say ‘hey, I can do this.’”Field began work in construction as a bookkeeper for a homebuilder, and over the last few decades worked her way up to management in a minority-owned firm in Houston. The opportunities for women are endless, she said, based largely on how hard a person is willing to work to achieve their goals.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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We have previously posted on the Apple Campus 2 and its unique design.In the last two months, “after a series of delays and cost increases,” Apple, Inc. has replaced its original general contractors DPR/Skanska with a new joint venture of Rudolph & Sletten, based in Redwood City, and Atlanta based Holder Construction. The new joint venture is tasked with completing the project.DeZeen magazine published an update article on the build of the new Apple Campus in Cupertino that Steve Jobs told the City Council would house 12,000 Apple employees when it is completed after 32 months of construction.
September 09, 2015
Employment growth slows as hourly pay, construction spending accelerateEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 173,000 in August, seasonally adjusted, and by 2,919,000 (2.1%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Construction employment rose by 3,000 for the month (to 6,388,000) and by 41,000 (6,800 per month) over the past six months, far below the monthly average gain of 29,700 in the previous six months. The number of unemployed jobseekers who last worked in construction fell from 678,000 in August 2014 to 525,000 in August 2015, the lowest August total since 2001. The unemployment rate for such workers fell from 7.7% to 6.1%, the lowest August rate since 2007. (Industry unemployment data are not seasonally adjusted and should only be compared year-over-year, not across months.)
September 08, 2015
Today is a day of rest for those who toil in the hot sun or blistering cold every day to build Texas and the rest of America. Millions regularly wake up before 5 am, drink their coffee, drive to a jobsite, and – just as they can start to see in the distance the structure on which they’ll work – they’re still about half an hour from parking the truck and getting down to business. Many do that kind of work daily from sun up until sun down and never complain or even ask for a “thank you.”The Texas Workforce Commission tells us there are more than 13 million workers “who are the backbone” of the Lone Star State. “As we continue to experience positive growth, in job creation and labor force size, the people of the great state of Texas are able to benefit from the thriving economy and opportunities that come with expanding employment,” commissioners said in a statement on Friday.
September 07, 2015
A drone hovers over a major construction site shooting video progress photos, a daily or weekly occurrence. One of the concrete finishing crew becomes aware of the buzzing of the quadcopter hovering over them and asks the foreman, “Is that drone watching me work?” The foreman had been told at the job briefing that morning that the build was three days behind schedule and everyone on the concrete crew was going to have to up their game to get back on schedule. The foreman answers the worker, “Naw, the drone is just monitoring progress and not specific workers on the site.” Although he thought that they might be since he knew that the software makes it possible to monitor crew members even though drones had only been used for the last year on their builds. Science fiction? Not at all.The FAA has issued over 1,000 special permits for the use of drones in the US. Many of those permits have been issued to construction companies who are working to catch up on ways that they can be used to improve productivity on their builds.
September 04, 2015
In a speech to business leaders in Houston last week, I pointed out that one of the reasons Donald Trump is doing so well in the presidential polls is he at least sounds like he’s certain of himself at such an economically uncertain time. I underscored the point about uncertainty by saying most of the people in the room had probably only checked their stock portfolios about 30 times before lunch.There were many nods of agreement.With the markets being so volatile, what's a sure thing? Hard to say. But, Martin Tiller at Nasdaq writes that publicly traded construction firms are doing particularly well:
September 03, 2015
The following article originally appeared in the September newsletter to clients of Kiley Advisors, LLC for the purpose of providing the latest leading indicators and industry issues to those clients. Reprinted with permission.With the latest ride from oil prices, the forecasted recovery in Houston has been pushed back to the second half of 2016 at the earliest. Houston year to date, seasonally adjusted job growth is at 12,000 (July 2015) – well off the pace of the last few years. While Goldman Sachs, this past Friday, issued a release which still forecasts average oil prices at $50 to $60 per barrel for the next few years, we are hearing of “early retirement” packages being offered to Houston employees as the oil and gas industry prepares for more job losses this coming January through either another round of layoffs, bankruptcies or mergers.Other industries are beginning to feel the ripple effect of lower oil, with their indices slowing, although still positive.
September 02, 2015
As part of our continuing stories on the use of robotics in the construction industry, today we spotlight the SAM100, the first commercially available robotic mason in use today.The Sam100 is in use by the Clark Construction Group, LLC on the construction of the 29,000 square foot Lab School in Washington, DC. The robotic mason works with a human mason and together they can place 4-6 times as many bricks as their human counterparts. That is a real improvement in productivity. The robot was built and tested by Construction Robotics, a New York based firm which has shown its worth on several projects. The Lab School is the first application in the DC area.This type of laser-guided robot is interesting since it “butters” and places the bricks.
September 01, 2015
Strong construction spending pushes up GDP; multifamily builders remain optimisticEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Gross domestic product, net of inflation (real GDP), grew 3.7% in the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15) at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, rather than the initially estimated 2.3%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Thursday. Reuters reported, "Investment in nonresidential structures was revised to show it rising at a 3.1% rate, reflecting stronger spending on commercial and healthcare construction. It was previously reported to have contracted at a 1.6% pace. Spending on residential construction was raised to a 7.8% pace from a 6.6% rate."
August 31, 2015
In the US, truck manufacturers are delivering autonomous trucks to the military, but now the Florida Department of Transportation is about to launch its first venture into the public arena by using autonomous trucks in rolling construction zones on Florida highways. These construction zones for overlaying, repairs and striping are among the most dangerous conditions on our highways.
August 28, 2015
