Emily Peiffer, the editor over at Construction Dive, recently posted a feature article titled 10 Construction Trends to Watch in 2017. Since hers is one of the first of 2017, I thought that we would share the list and give you the link so that you can take a deeper dive into the list at your leisure. Here is Emily’s provocative list.Collaborative project delivery methods will become more popular.The labor shortage will continue to plague the industry.The feeling of uncertainty will linger under the new administration.Offsite/modular construction will gain a stronger foothold in the market.Construction firms are cautiously optimistic for a future infrastructure-spending boost.
Best wishes for a year of positive change. Happy New Year!
December 31, 2016
Joy, happiness, and peace to all of our readers!
December 24, 2016
We recently attended a celebration and thank you party in the offices of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) in Partnership Tower.The GHP honored and thanked those craft workers responsible for the build out of their offices designed by Kirksey Architects, built by Harvey Builders and a host of specialty subcontractors like Marek, Trio Electric, and Clunn.The space, designed to be the “front door” for business visitors to Houston, is home to the largest business organization in the fourth largest city in the US. It will be a heavily utilized space and is designed to accommodate a variety of events from meetings of its large Board of Directors, to hosting foreign dignitaries, hosting events such as the elected officials appreciation party, and hosting corporate leaders from around the world.
December 20, 2016
Business Insider’s Tech writer Dana Varinsky posted 13 of the most stunning twisted towers around the world that visually documents some of the most interesting towers that have been built after “famed architect Santiago Calatrava designed the building known as the Turning Torso, (and) ushered in a new era of twisted designs.”The buildings are visually striking statements of the visual design and are bold statements of the structural engineers and contractors who were able to make those designs a reality.It will be interesting to hear the “twisted tales” of the users and residents of those twisted towers over the next decade as they become part of the landscape. It will be interesting to see how the buildings themselves age as the complex structural elements respond to the wind, rain and other elements.They are striking and visually interesting. We offer our kudos to the architects, engineers and contractors for their outstanding work. Special thanks to the owners and investors who were willing to take a chance on new structural designs that have made the built environment in cities around the world much more interesting than ever before.
December 16, 2016
Maybe we are seeing the early stages of a new era of technology from drones to track progress, to VR to help designers show owners what their new space will be like, and for the building industry to adapt those technologies to improve productivity on their projects.
December 14, 2016
A ceremony held at the recently completed C3 project for the Greater Houston Partnership in Partnership Tower has the potential to impact the construction workforce in the Houston region for decades to come.The ceremony honored the inaugural class of 17 graduates of Generation Houston, a collaboration of the Greater Houston Partnership’s Upskill Houston, United Way, and Generation, a 501(c)(3) social initiative sponsored by McKinsey & Company and other major sponsors.The four week, fast track program was aimed at individuals who express an interest in the construction industry as a career and offers them training in life, safety, social and career skills. The United Way Thrive program provides the candidates and the screening of the individuals who are eligible for the training. McKinsey’s Generation provides the instruction.
December 06, 2016
This is another in a series of games we see on construction projects. Have any of you seen this one?Most of us have heard that term applied to plumbing systems or negative feedback on our projects. Being at the end of the line usually means that you catch everything that falls apart above you in the job. This is especially relevant for this game on construction projects and schedules.This game usually begins when the architects have incomplete construction drawings or the contractor can’t build something that the architects have detailed, and it has to be redrawn. It can also be caused when the owner’s rep, engineers, or GC doesn’t approve shop drawings for an order, delivery and install on time.
November 21, 2016
This is another in the continuing series spotlighting the games that general contractors and subs play. This one is called, “Sub Sub,” and it is found in a broad range of project types from residential to commercial and institutional. It happens in both the private and public sector. In other words, it is a widespread practice by subs who want to maximize their profit, minimize their risk and overhead, and who do not much care for the well-being of the workers on the job.What is it? The Dictionary of Construction defines it as: “One under contract to a subcontractor for completion of a portion of the work for which the subcontractor is responsible.” Sounds reasonable enough, but like the other games we will talk about, this one is regularly gamed in a variety of ways.For example, take a hard bid or low bid job where a company with little or no field labor force wins a bid and then hires another sub contractor to do the work under the original contract and then that sub contractor hires 1099s or independent contractors from a “labor broker” to do the work that the original sub is responsible for.
November 17, 2016
