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We’ve written and talked about the upcoming worker shortages in skilled trades, managers and estimators in the construction industry, but we have not written about the skills that you need to become a construction estimator. That is, until now.Aundraya Ruse, Editorial Coordinator over at Software Advice in Austin sent along a post about construction estimators that outlines those skills and how to get them. The article, written by freelance writer Tom Zind, states:“With the pressure on contractors to win not just more business but work that’s profitable, it falls to estimators to get the numbers right. But that’s a big challenge in an environment of volatile materials costs, stiff competition, increasingly tighter margins and shorter bidding windows.“As such, demand for estimators is only likely to grow. And that translates to opportunities for those with not just the right mix of skills, training and experience, but the up-front knowledge of the forces shaping the market, the educational resources available and potential career pathways.”The article goes on to quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports about pending shortages and then goes on to outline a road map for becoming a construction estimator.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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The debate over payroll fraud in Texas is now in the national spotlight.Fox News Correspondent Casey Stegall traveled to Austin to cover the story, where he reported on what the Texas Workforce Commission has endorsed as the forthcoming study from the University of Texas. University of Texas researchers have found that more than 40 percent of construction workers in Texas are misclassified.In his report, Stegall points out that many have called for increased audits by the TWC: “To bring change, a spokeswoman for the Texas Workforce Commission says the agency is enhancing its audit system to find and track down more of these offenders.“The commission’s board also unanimously voted to submit a legislative proposal to get new laws on the books to crack down on the problem. The details of that proposal are still being ironed out but the agency hopes to take advantage of the current legislative session to usher in change.
January 21, 2013
Click this link to view the entire Kiley Fall Briefing content, including video, presentation materials, and more: Kiley Advisors 2012 Fall BriefingPat Kiley, respected construction consultant, former head of AGC Houston and Construction Citizen blogger, recently hosted construction industry executives for an update on what's happening in Houston and around the country. His company, Kiley Advisors, LLC, conducts custom conferences and other services for construction firms and associations. His 2012 Fall Briefing was well attended and featured speakers Dan Bellow, Joe Synan and representatives from Kiley Advisors: Candace Hernandez and Pat Kiley himself. It began with a tribute to Dr. Richard Wainerdi, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center.For those who were unable to attend, or for those who were there and want to share the experience with others, Construction Citizen is proud to partner with Kiley Advisors to present it in its entirety. The following link will take you to a page with videos of each presentation and other content related to the half-day conference held at the Houston offices of Marek Brothers Systems, Inc.:
January 17, 2013
We're not completely out of the woods, but a survey of Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) members shows they're confident that 2013 will be a better year than 2012.Tricia Lynn Silva reports in the San Antonio Business Journal that builders in Texas expect to see business pick up in some key areas: “hospitals, higher-education, retail, warehouse, lodging and private-office construction”. Contractors think things will stay about the same for work like highway projects and manufacturing.The survey, conducted by the AGC of America and Computer Guidance Corporation, is called “Tentative Signs of a Recovery: The 2013 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook”. The AGC website breaks down the results of the survey by states, including the numbers for Texas.The San Antonio Business Journal article quotes AGC of America CEO Stephen Sandherr as saying
January 16, 2013
While the Texas Legislature prepares to wade into the debate over the best way to deal with payroll fraud, some leaders at the local level say they're not waiting for Austin to take action.Doug Miller, a city councilman in the Fort Worth suburb of Keller says he's going to be in Austin quite a lot during this legislative session a bit to ask that lawmakers “do the right thing.”Miller, who is also a vice president of a construction company in Fort Worth, wrote on his blog “I have expressed my support for a bill that will deal with this situation with my state representatives. I have also looked into having an ordinance in place in Keller that requires contractors that work for the city not have illegitimate contractors, and in the coming year, if this legislation doesn’t pass, I will push something through on the local level.”Miller said his plaster, masonry, and stucco firm, Bobby Lee and Company, has been underbid by cheaters by as much as 35 percent.In an interview with Construction Citizen, Miller said his main concern about the legislature is that “they won't do enough”. He said the Texas Workforce Commission, which has endorsed legislation, needs to go back to the way it used to operate: audit companies for misclassification and penalize them by levying fines. Twenty years ago, Miller's company was fined for misclassifcation. “That stopped that for us. We learned our lesson,” Miller said.
January 14, 2013
During the debate and political wrangling over the Fiscal Cliff throughout the New Year’s holiday, Congress, on New Year’s day, passed HR 4212, the Drywall Safety Act of 2012, and sent it to the President for signature.Unless you were looking for it or following it, you probably missed it. It is a bill aimed at preventing a repeat of the importation of high-sulfur drywall from any source, but specifically from China, that over time causes corrosion and deterioration of piping and wiring in the facilities where it is installed.The bill instructs the Secretary of Commerce to contact the Chinese government that owns a major part of the industry in China, and to instruct them that any future drywall that is supplied to the United States be in compliance with the labeling and sulfur content spelled out in ASTM C1264-11.An additional provision of the act is “Remediation Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem Drywall”
January 10, 2013
The employment figures for December 2012 released last Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that:“Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 155,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 percent. Employment increased in health care, food services and drinking places, construction, and manufacturing.”Following a loss of 10,000 construction jobs in November, this is really good news. According to the press release:“Construction added 30,000 jobs in December, led by employment increases in construction of buildings (+13,000) and in residential specialty trade contractors (+12,000).”It will be interesting to see what the impact of the Fiscal Cliff and the general uncertainty will have on hiring plans for the Spring. With the latest round of construction starts and the loosening of some financing, it could be a strong spring season for our industry.
January 09, 2013
Construction industry leaders in North Texas have started the process of figuring out what kind of payroll fraud crackdown they could possibly support.Members of the Government Affairs Committee of TEXO in Dallas/Fort Worth met to talk about their legislative priorities on Monday and by all accounts they had a lively discussion about the issue of worker misclassification. Comprised of members from throughout North Texas, TEXO is one of the largest construction industry trade associations in the state.Jack Baxley, TEXO Vice President of Government Affairs, told me members of the group are still mulling their options and they'll hopefully have recommendations ready by the end of the month. “This isn't something that just popped up today,” he said while noting that TEXO wants to make sure that any legislation passed is good for the industry.
January 08, 2013
Key players in the construction industry in North Texas today are expected to decide whether they'll support efforts to crack down on the intentional misclassification of construction workers across the state.Members of the Government Affairs Committee of TEXO, the large trade association for builders in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, are meeting Monday talk about whether they'll take a formal stand against misclassification, also known as payroll fraud, and support legislation to deal with it. The Texas Workforce Commission has endorsed the idea of rooting out payroll fraud on government contracts. Lawmakers could decide to do even more than that, depending on what happens during the Texas Legislature's regular session starting this month. Senator John Carona, R-Dallas, has told his staff at the Business and Commerce Committee to start the process of drafting legislation.
January 07, 2013
