This is the first in what is expected to be an annual series of special Constructor issues looking at how the industry is evolving and sharing what contractors need to know to keep pace with those changes. The transformations coming to our industry will be sweeping, and we want to make sure that member firms understand what is happening and how to benefit from those changes.
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Contractors are investing in technology to automate processes to supplement worker duties and are utilizing virtual construction tools like BIM to reduce on-site worktime
Eighty percent of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released recently by Autodesk and AGC of America. Association officials said the industry was taking a range of steps to address the situation but called on federal officials to takes steps to assist those industry efforts.
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How do savvy contractors keep up when technology evoles faster than light? By keeping it simple, say the folks in the field.
Construction professionals will tell you that technology is the future, but what does that really mean? To Alice Leung, an associate at Brick & Mortar Ventures, it means "adoptable, simple technology." Leung already had a field construction background when she arrived at the venture capital firm – and as Brick & Mortar invests solely in the construction space, she’s been able to help evaluate many of the companies and products that seek to solve the industry’s bigger issues.
BY AMY DREW THOMPSON
©iStock.com/hiraman
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Laser scanning operates as critical tool in hospital construction
A modern hospital is a complex, demanding type of construction. The walls, floors and ceilings are dense with services including HVAC, water, drains, plumbing vents, medical gas, electric power and emergency electric power. There are very long corridors of perfectly aligned doors. Floor flatness and levelness are critical for some pieces of medical technology. Floor slope is crucial to sanitary drainage in patient bathrooms and showers. Ceilings contain structural support for heavy, boom-mounted equipment. And to make it all more exacting, new buildings are often built to connect floor-by-floor with other buildings.
BY STEVE MILLER
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New platform connects prospective workers with construction employers
Contractors, looking for employees for your next project? Construction workers, looking to network for that next job and swap stories with colleagues on how to propel your career? There’s an app for that: Trade Hounds, the first mobile platform built exclusively for commercial trade workers in America. Members say it can go a long way toward helping to solve the industry’s workforce shortage crisis.
BY KATIE KUEHNER-HEBERT
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The information contained in these articles represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of AGC of America.
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