The CISCA Ceilings Systems Handbook, the authoritative guide to ceiling installation, safety and tools for modern ceiling installation, has been fully updated and revised for 2019. This is an excellent resource for those new to the industry, as well as educators, contractors or anyone needing a detailed overview of proper, safe procedures for installing ceilings. Purchase and download today!

How can we get today's students interested in being the construction workforce of the future? That's the million dollar question, and there's been lots of companies and associations trying to answer that question. One company, on the electrical trade side, may have come up with a new option that might work. Encore Electric, based in Lakewood, CO, has created a mobile escape room targeted to high school students.

Construction material prices are sometimes an unknown when planning a project. Whether related to tariffs, supply chain concerns or a volatile raw materials market, there could be fluctuations that can impact the bottom line for both owners and contractors.

Solving for X. Most probably recall that simple algebra equation from back in their early school days. But solving for X isn’t about math anymore. It’s about placemaking for Generation X and Millennials—two very different generations that hold the key for businesses to achieve true greatness.

If I followed you around for a day, what would be your primary focus? Would you be spending time calling subcontractors or suppliers, scheduling crews, making sure materials get delivered, pricing bids, visiting jobsites, and telling supervisors what to do? Do your busywork activities help improve your margins, find better customers, win better contracts, or move you towards achieving your overall goals?

U.S. states are making a concerted effort to boost energy efficiency, with some promoting electric vehicles, efficient products, smart buildings, cold climate heat pumps and zero-energy building codes.

Those are some of the findings from the 2019 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

Asbestos, a known human carcinogen, can cause chronic lung disease as well as incurable respiratory diseases and mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, colorectal and ovarian cancers. When handled, asbestos can separate into microscopic-sized particles that remain in the air and are easily inhaled. Medical experts agree that there is no safe or controlled use of asbestos. Due to the long latency period of asbestos-caused diseases, it can take between 10 to 50 years from the time of exposure to development of disease. 

New construction starts moved 5% lower in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $774.1 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. This marks the second consecutive monthly decline in construction starts. By major sector, nonbuilding construction fell 13% in September, while residential construction dropped 6%.

Put as simply as possible, the challenge builders face to bring a next generation of talented, committed, and adaptive people into the building fields comes down to pay, reliability and job security, purpose, fair conditions, training, diversity and machine-augmented work. It's as simple as a line of the song "Teach Your Children Well" and as complex as the future of work in a society whose gorilla-in-the-room question across every industry sector, and every occupation, and every area of household wherewithal, is "what future?"

AD, the member-owned contractor and industrial products wholesale buying and marketing group, is pleased to announce that it is adding a strategic partner to its eCommerce portfolio. In addition to its existing relationship with Unilog, AD has added Insite Software, a leading provider of B2B eCommerce solutions to its complement of eCommerce platform providers.