ConstructConnect Blog

This week’s World of Concrete in Las Vegas is the first major trade show in the United States since the COVID pandemic changed the face of the convention and meeting business. For many, this is yet another sign of life slowly returning to normal for the construction industry.

On a typical Earth Day, the construction industry is usually called out equally for its role as both a sustainability leader and as a leading offender when it comes to the size of its carbon footprint.

Construction sites house nearly 6.5 million American workers and their safety is a key concern for employers. Despite this, the fatality rate in the construction industry is the highest in the U.S. Workers at these sites constantly have to monitor the possible risks of falls, misuse of equipment, and structural failures resulting in injury or death. This makes it extremely crucial for business leaders to establish a culture that prioritizes safety at all costs.

Over the years, the construction industry has gone through an evolution of technology. Especially, the introduction of advanced construction project management tools and software have all made it easier for contractors to perform the work of a day in a few hours.

The construction labor shortage is dire. According to the 2020 Workforce Survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, more than half of responding construction firms said they could not find enough skilled tradespeople for their open jobs.

Last year was a banner year for construction technology adoption. According to JLL’s State of Construction Tech report, the coronavirus pandemic had a big impact on accelerating tech adoption in the construction industry in 2020. Per the findings, the rate of construction tech adoption reached in one year what normally would have occurred in a three-year span.

While early builders proved that construction with primitive tools and materials is possible, it would take them generations to accomplish what modern teams can do in a few months.

Building Information Modeling, I think it’s safe to say, is one of the biggest developments in the construction space in the last 50 years. It gives building projects a central repository of information that helps keep projects running on time, to budget, and reduces the risk of costly errors such as clashing, among others.

Whether you’re a roofing or concrete contractor, your bidding process likely involves lots of moving parts. While you may already be using a digital takeoff tool to eliminate paper blueprints, your estimating workflow may still include a mixed bag of supplier and vendor spreadsheets. Inevitably, this can make bid day a mad scramble—especially if you’re juggling last-minute addenda and change orders.