For the building sector, this is an exciting moment. Growth has been robust in recent years, and US building expenditures have now reached an all-time high. Despite the tempest of the Economic Crisis, the construction sector continues to face both the system and the new problems.
Increasing labor and material expenses, work distress, greater competition, and reduced profitability are problems facing construction companies. There are also new laws and regulations to keep corporate owners up to such new OSHA standards or changes to construction codes or recent tax reforms.
Here are some of the biggest problems the construction sector faces today:
Human Resources Can’t Keep Up with the Demand
The construction sector lost nearly 2 million jobs in the economic crisis and tried hard to bring jobs back into pre-recession levels. Many employees were either retired or laid off and sought employment in other sectors. As the recovery progressed, it is evident that these employees did not return to new professions.
The fundamental truth is that the building sector does not recruit enough talent to satisfy the increasing demand. A new AGC study shows that 75% of companies plan to raise a staff in 2018, with 78% finding suitable employees difficult. In addition, 82% of companies anticipate that it will remain complicated in 2018 to locate and recruit qualified employees.
Tech-savvy millenniums are not as busy as previous generations in construction, which will continue to create problems for companies as they strive to cope with increasing demand. The lack of variety and the incertitude of the reform of immigration would further worsen the situation.
On a bright note, 241,000 jobs were added in 2017 compared with 190,000 in 2016. Building companies have done an outstanding job in establishing in-house education and training programs and in collaboration with national and local governments to create programs intended to recruit and educate fresh people in building professions.
Good general contractors must develop innovative and assertive methods of recruiting and retaining their human resources. This tendency will have to continue since labor shortages are a significant issue for companies in the coming years.
Underinvestment in Tech
The construction sector as a whole has a reputation for being reluctant to embrace new technology. Numerous research and polls conducted over the years have shown that company owners remain to underutilize technology, notwithstanding their recognition of the multiple advantages that technology can offer to operate their firm and administering infrastructure projects.
Drones and wearables are being utilized to monitor and protect employees. VR is being used to educate employees in safe settings, while machines and autonomous machinery assist workers by relieving some of the more difficult duties needed of them while also keeping them from some of the more dangerous locations on building sites. Companies that embrace new technology have an advantage in recruiting more younger generations to work for them.
Construction Workers Are At Risk
Worker safety is still a problem in the construction sector. For many years, construction has been the industry with the highest overall number of worker fatalities. For years, the number of occupational accidents has remained steady. All company owners should prioritize keeping employees safe and safeguarding them from deaths and incidents.
In the construction industry, the average duration away from work following an accident or sickness on the job is ten days. Of the 82,760 accidental injuries needing days away from the office in 2016, 26,010 required 31 days or more absent from work, accounting for almost one-third of all unintentional injuries requiring days absent from work. That is a significant amount of lost production as a result of injuries and sickness.
The most effective method to keep employees safe in the workplace is via education. Safety classes should not be seen as a one-time occurrence. During each worker’s employment, continuous education is needed to highlight the significance of safe work procedures and repeat the teachings they’ve been taught. There is no such thing as excessive safety instruction.
Accidents are readily avoided when risks are minimized, and safe work standards are rigorously and vigilantly followed. Safety begins at the top, and studies have shown that businesses with effective safety systems are more productive. By demonstrating a concern for the well-being of its workers, a professional construction image may improve.
We are rapidly approaching the point when technology will be an essential component of all building projects. Companies that are early adopters and integrate new technology into their processes and job sites will have a significant edge over those not. Companies that fail to see the benefits of technology or remain to underinvest in these tools will lose their comparative advantage in this constantly changing market.
