TechBrief

As an AGC member, your firm plays a powerful role in sustaining economic growth throughout the U.S. by producing structures and roadways that increase productivity and improve the nation’s quality of life. Whether you’re building a new highway or renovating a high-rise office tower, your innovative practices, creative solutions and hard work culminate in projects that will be admired for decades to come. Showcase your work by participating in a new monthly photo contest, sponsored by Constructor. Submit images of active construction projects to constructor@naylor.com or JClapp@naylor.com, along with a 100-word description. Each month, Constructor will select one photo to be featured in an upcoming issue of its newsletter, as well as the next issue of the magazine. Any photo submission may be used in future AGC marketing materials or newsletters.

 

To be considered for July, submit your photos to constructor@naylor.com or JClapp@naylor.com by July 31.

As demand for construction in most parts of the country continues to expand and the number of unemployed construction workers hits record low levels, AGC of America and Autodesk are working to better quantify where these shortages are taking place, how severe they are, and what steps firms are taking to both cope with tight labor markets and improve the supply of new, qualified workers. That is why we are asking members to take a few minutes to complete the workforce survey that we have prepared. The more people understand the scope, and consequences, of a tight construction labor market, the more likely they are to act on the measures we are promoting to make it easier for school systems, local associations and private firms to establish career and technical education and training programs. The more members who take the survey, the better able we all will be to describe labor market conditions where you operate.

At a time when contractors are doing all they can to attract more millennials and Gen Zers to the industry, utilizing an inspirational poem by Eric Borden, a longtime heavy equipment operator and “The Pasture Poet,” can help immeasurably. Read about Eric’s journey in the industry and literary world in the July/August issue of Constructor. Also included are stories on AGC’s newest course offering, member and chapter workforce development efforts and results of the association’s work zone safety survey.

As the construction industry begins to embrace technology and the digitalization of plans, models, contracts and correspondence, managing all of the data — while maximizing productivity — requires strategy.

Clear, accurate, real-time information is a critical component of an effective safety plan, but the size and complexity of construction jobsites makes communication difficult in any type of emergency. When an active shooter crisis developed on a property adjacent to one of Skiles Group’s projects a few years ago, it was difficult to share timely and accurate information about the developing situation. How can project workers better alert a supervisor that help is needed, and what if the emergency was on-site and required evacuation or other safety measures to be implemented?

BIMForum is a two-day, multi-track conference for AECO professionals, focused on harnessing BIM and other innovative technology and processes to address current and emerging issues in the industry. The 2019 conference in St. Louis, September 16-19, 2019, will highlight case studies of how the building community is driving quantitative and qualitative outcomes through the development of model-centric workflows that address the entire design-build-operate continuum.