Jim Kollaer's blog

If you are a skilled crafts worker in the construction industry, boy do we have good news for you.  Ken Simonson, chief economist for AGC America, recently spoke to the Denver AGC at the Denver Union Station about the looming labor shortages in the construction industry.  Cathy Proctor, a reporter for the Denver Business Journal, reported on the Simonson speech in which he said, “Two-thirds of the nation’s construction firms say they are having trouble finding people.”  Additionally he went on to say, “About 79 percent of the firms say they expect construction worker shortages will continue or get worse in 2014.”

In Colorado, one of the top 10 metros, there will be a need to add another 5,000 construction workers this year alone according to Michael Gifford, the president and CEO of AGC Colorado.

That bodes well for those looking for construction jobs, but Simonson said again as he has in his other speeches that during the recession, the industry lost over 800,000 jobs and workers.   [node:read-more:link]

Get ready for “Infinite Data” (as opposed to “Big Data”) of the Internet of Things in the construction industry.

I read an interesting blog in the April edition of the Headworks International newsletter written by Paul Doherty, CEO of the Digit Group.  The article points to the major shift and disruption in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) industry today.  Doherty, whose client list reads like a global 500, talks about the global movement toward the Internet of Things where things communicate with each other, and the construction world and our lives are inextricably changed forever.  (Check out the new Audi and Mercedes radar, collision avoidance, hands-off parking, and car-to-car communications systems.)   [node:read-more:link]

Another industry group is entering the private exchange game to deal with the complexities of the Affordable Care Act.  The Wichita Business Journal has noted that the Associated General Contractors of America and Willis North America, the global risk advisor, are developing a private exchange to offer defined contribution plans to companies in the industry who are working to comply with the fluid requirements of the ACA or Obamacare.

According to the announcement, “The AGC Alternative”, as it is currently named, will offer its members health benefits or employees at a lower cost, and they will incur less administrative costs as well.   [node:read-more:link]

Software Advice has released the results of their 2014 buyer review for construction software.  An article written by Janna Finch, Managing Editor of Software Advice, points out some interesting results.

• Seventy-eight percent (78%) of buyers (in the Construction industry) have no deployment preference, whereas most buyers in other industries tend to prefer cloud-based systems.
   
• The most frequently cited reason for buying new (construction) software is increased efficiency or productivity, with 28 percent of the sample saying they hoped to achieve this benefit.

  [node:read-more:link]

If so, here is an opportunity for you to hear the outlook from some of the leading economists in the industry.  Reed Construction Data is presenting an online conference that features one of our Construction Citizen authors, Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the AGC.

On Thursday, April 17, from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. EDT, Ken will join Kermit Baker of the AIA and Bernard Markstein of Reed Construction Data for their semiannual insight into the outlook for 2014 construction.  At the end of the presentation, the economists will answer questions from the audience.   [node:read-more:link]

We have been writing about the critical need for controlling security on your jobsite to prevent possible injuries, to track materials, to avoid tool theft, and in the case of the new One World Trade Center building, to protect the construction sites from falling prey to possible terrorism.  This issue is front page again.

CBS New York reported that the newly appointed head of security at the One WTC construction site, former FBI field agent David Velazquez, is taking the fall for recent the security breaches even though the first reported one took place before he had taken over his position.
 
The Velazquez resignation came on the heels of the disclosure that on September 30 of last year, four thrill-seeking BASE jumpers entered the site through a hole in the security fence, climbed the 104 stories to the top of the building, and then jumped in a stunt that would make GoPro proud.

This major breach was not disclosed until six months after it happened and only after a second breach by teenager Justin Casquejo, age 16, of Weehawken, NJ just a week ago.   [node:read-more:link]

Safety is critical on every construction site.  It matters every minute of every day and not just during the safety talk, incident review, OSHA audit or client incident report.

According to ENR, 31 major contractors are launching the first annual “Safety Week” May 4-10 to bring additional attention to the issue on a nationwide basis.  These contractors are asking other firms to join in to raise the safety consciousness of every worker on every construction site.

From the ENR article, the organizers “belong to either the Construction Industry Safety Initiative or the Injury Free Executive Forum.  The companies in the groups can be fierce competitors, but they also meet regularly and exchange ideas about safety.   [node:read-more:link]

I interviewed Patrick Jankowski, Chief Economist for the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) after a recent AGC Outlook Breakfast in which Jankowski labeled the current cycle as the “New Normal.”  He stated that this cycle is different in that the past cycles have rocketed from Boom to Bust and back again; however, this time is a new cycle where the boom goes to long term stability.  He told us that a job creation rate of 70,000 or so per year would indeed keep the Houston-Galveston economy growing faster than most other metro areas in the United States.

I asked about some of the big issues that the GHP, the region’s largest business organization, was studying.  Those issues include transportation, education and healthcare.   [node:read-more:link]

One of our team pointed this article out to me and wondered whether you might like it.  I think that it might expand your thinking about construction in the near future, so here goes.

I admit to being intrigued by 3D printers, robots, drones, driverless cars and trucks, and even nano-scale/molecular scale robots for the delivery of meds that can save lives.  The use of these technologies in construction will make a major impact over the next 5-10 years as labor shortages force their introduction to meet the demand of the projects of tomorrow.

The use of robots in the rebuilding of structures after damage caused by natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes adds another dimension in which they can make a difference.   [node:read-more:link]

There is an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) court case moving through the legal system that potentially could have major impact on every building site, general contractor and subcontractor in the country.  It concerns the “Joint Employer” concept and Discrimination under Title VII.  It is a case that you should have your legal teams and insurers watch closely over the next few months until it is fully resolved. [node:read-more:link]