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Business News for Construction

News relevant to construction such as financial fluctuations, emerging technology like drones and AI; changes to the economy and effect of the recession; employment and supply chain shortages, and more.

Ensure Every Subcontractor is Compliant with hh2 Document Flow

If you're in the construction industry, you know working with subcontractors constitutes a necessary part of doing business. But if you're not familiar with the laws and regulations surrounding subcontractor compliance, then you could be putting your business at risk.

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10 Board-worthy Business Reasons for Blockchain in Construction

PART TWO: In Part One of this three-part series, we defined blockchain, general benefits, and the challenges for use in construction. In this second part, we want to go beyond the field and the office and share board-worthy business reasons for blockchain.

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Why Construction Persists as One of the Bright Spots in the Recession

While most industries have seen a slowdown in growth, the construction industry has continued to flourish. This economic anomaly stems from construction historically being relatively impervious to economic downturns.

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How Agile Methodology Can Work for Construction

‘Agile’ is a very precise term. It was designed to be an adaptable, lightweight process, and highly flexible for changes and conditions that may change on the fly. Could the agile methodology benefit construction in the design phase?

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Listen Up! Our Top 6 Construction Podcasts Picks

Construction industry influencers and contributors abound, making it challenging to hand-pick a subjective list of top podcasts. Regardless, we gave it a shot; we award two pod-thumbs up to the following podcasters.

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Which Segment of Technology Adoption Does Your Company Belong To?

While the thought of new technology is exciting for some, it takes some time and proven results for others to get behind adopting a change in one’s workflow. This can be explained in detail in the Diffusion of Innovation...

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How to Solve Sustainability? Data is the Solution Says Procore’s CEO

Procore Technologies, Inc. CEO, Tooey Courtemanche, stated that construction technology is the key to unlocking a more climate-conscious construction industry.

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Groundbreaker! High School Designed to Promote Careers in Construction

The Clark County School District in the Greater Las Vegas area is opening one of the first of its kind: a full-time magnet high school designed for students who are interested in going into the construction industry.

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Slate Technologies Buys Industrialized Construction AI Firm Splash

Slate Technologies, a California-based artificial intelligence (AI) software platform for the construction industry, announced last week that it is acquiring Splash Modular, a North Carolina-based software designer of industrialized construction (IC) and design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA).

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New Residential Building Trend: Nobody Wants an Open Kitchen

According to Architect Nicholas Potts, what was old is new again. The new residential building trend is moving away from open floor plans, back to sectioned rooms.

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Five Ways to Get Employee Buy-In on New Technology

The construction industry is a notorious laggard when it comes to adopting new technologies. HCSS recommends a five-part method for achieving employee buy-in.

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Construction Drug Test Positivity at 20-Year High

In an industry with high injury and accident rates, many raise their eyebrows at new statistics that reveal the rising use of cocaine and marijuana. Moreover, drug tests uncover illicit substance abuse after work-related accidents. Opiates and oxycodone also show up in drug screenings.

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Top Five Items Creating Construction Delays

Residential and commercial builders struggle with obstacles that can delay deadlines and blow budgets. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, five main problems stand in new property owners' way before builders can hand over the keys:

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War in Ukraine Will Have Effects on Global Construction Prices

A Friday newsletter from the Associated General Contractors of America claims that Russia's conflict with Ukraine will likely drive up the prices of fuel, copper, and aluminum. The war also could further impact global shipping and supply chains.

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Construction's Suicide Rate Twice the National Average

2020 data shows that the construction industry's suicide rate sits at 45.3 per 100,000 male workers, substantially above the national average of 27.4 per 100,000 male workers.

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Tech Solutions Solving Labor Shortage Issues?

Despite the recent growth of construction jobs, a labor shortage remains, especially with small contractors and businesses. In September, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that 51% of small business owners couldn't fill job openings, more than double the 22% historical average.

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"Spreadsheets Are Crushing Project Managers," Article States

Businesses continue to use spreadsheets as practical tools. Most agree that Excel offers a robust solution. But an article in Construction Dive poses that too many spreadsheets and not enough automation cause difficulty for construction project managers.

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Construction Industry Lagging behind Technologically — Digital Solutions Can Help

Despite being one of the largest sectors of the global economy, the construction industry is notoriously slow to adopt new technologies; this leads to shortfalls in productivity. According to a report by McKinsey Global Institute, "Reinventing Construction: A route to higher productivity," labor productivity across all sectors has grown by 2.8% in the last 20 years, but construction productivity has only increased by 1%.

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Cyber Criminals Targeting Construction, Energy, and Engineering

Cybercrime attacks affect more and more companies. The numbers indicate fear expressed by significant corporations. Statista forecasts a $354 billion growth in the cyber security market by 2026. Researchers conclude that the construction, energy, and engineering spaces lie in the crosshairs.

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Despite Labor Shortages, One Builder is Donating Labor to Schools

Labor shortages plague the construction industry. Even so, Hutton Construction, a Wichita-based company, stepped up to help schools facing the same staffing crisis.

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Lumber Prices Are High, But the Real Problem is Price Volatility

Lumber prices--in constant flux--rose, fell, and rose again. New analysis shows that high prices don't present the danger so much as market volatility. The cost of lumber fluctuates more than it has since overseers kept records at the end of World War II.

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Controversy Raised Over New Construction Versus Preserving Old

California lives in the middle of a housing crisis, particularly in the Bay Area. They attack the problem by refurbishing old houses, changing zoning to allow multiple-unit splits in existing homes, and upzoning to construct larger buildings with lower rents. Yet, the problem persists.

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Start-Up Turns Non-Recyclable Plastic into Building Blocks

Although many believe plastic's recyclable properties reduce pollution and alleviate the trash crisis, only 9% of the 42 million tons of plastic used in America each year recycles. Some blame a deficiency in recycling infrastructure. The truth is, recycling facilities can't reclaim most plastics—even if fabricators print that triangular symbol on the bottom.

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'Build Your Future Arizona' Bringing More Students into Construction Industry

Most American business sectors currently suffer from the labor shortage, but the construction industry's hiring dearth reaches back further than the pandemic. Builders have struggled to regain workers in every trade since the Great Recession.

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Artificial Intelligence at Work Sites is More Than Autonomous Machines

Artificial intelligence impacts peoples’ lives across all sectors; they can ask Siri or Alexa a question, use a smart thermostat, or receive recommendations from Netflix. The construction industry also benefits from AI. And AI in construction goes much further than autonomous vehicles.

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New Report Shows Workers More Willing to Go Digital than Their Companies

The construction industry has a reputation for late adoption of new technology. Still, a new survey from Dodge Construction Network, a Dodge Data and Analytics subsidiary, says that 95% of office and field workers want new digital tools. In another question, 95% of respondents said that such tools would streamline their work.

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New Report Shows Construction the #1 Most Targeted Ransomware Victim

According to research from NordLocker, ransomware targets construction companies hardest out of 35 different industries. This information comes from an analysis of 1,200 global companies targeted by ransomware between 2020 and 2021.

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Mosaic Raises $44 Million for Construction Planning Process, Buys Home Builder

Mosaic Building Group, a Phoenix-based construction tech startup, has raised an additional $44 million in Series B funding, bringing their total funding to $68.75 million. Mosaic designed its software to manage construction infrastructure in a way that will allow real estate developers to focus on things like land acquisition, sales, and architecture. Ultimately, Mosaic says, their goal is to make residential construction more scalable.

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"Pricing Insanity" Affecting All Levels of Construction

Whether in board meetings or on job sites, construction employees at all levels express concern regarding the unprecedented hikes in building costs.

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Data-Driven Safety is “Still Emerging” in Construction Industry

A report issued by Dodge Data & Analytics and The Blue Book Network cites movement in the construction industry toward data-driven safety and digital record keeping. However, the report also uncovers holes in the adoption of this technology.

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Five Things to Think About When Adopting New Construction Technology

Every week, it seems like a new construction technology claims to revolutionize the industry. But are these technologies right for you, and will they succeed as the claimed magic bullets that completely revamp your workflow? Here are five questions to ask:

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New Construction is Selling for Less Than Existing Homes, But That’s Misleading

The exploding residential market continues to skyrocket, rising as quickly as manpower and material supplies can accommodate. And yet, new national data from the first quarter of 2021 shows that existing homes sell for higher prices than new construction.

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Workrise Raises Over $300 Million to Train New Construction Worker

Every construction company knows about the drastic shortage of skilled labor entering the market. Numerous polls cite this shortage as the number one or two concern among contractors, builders, and owners.

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Warren Buffet’s New Take on Modular Housing: Make it Like IKEA

Danny Forster Architecture, a New York firm, has partnered with MiTek Inc, a company owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, to create the Modular Activation Platform (MAP); they intend to solve some of the main problems with modular construction.

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"No Demand" — Big Cities Can't Replace Offices with Apartments

With demand for office space in many big cities—from Melbourne to New York City to London—at significant lows, some housing advocates push to turn empty office space into residential apartments.

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Residential Construction Booms in These Ten Cities

The massive boom in residential construction remains in the news, even with a slowdown at the beginning of 2021. Most anticipate the market to stay strong throughout the remaining year.

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Could a Reduction in Young Construction Workers Mean a Labor Shortage?

Fewer young people are entering the construction industry; this could translate into an increasing labor shortage. Compared to 2009, there were 330,000 fewer construction workers between the ages of 20-29 than in 2019.

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Urbanization and Megacities: The New Future

Futurists are making predictions about what is coming next for the world. One of the most significant speculation areas is that population growth will drive more urbanization, and cities will have to deal with more and more people.

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Gamers Giving Boost to Construction Technology

A team of more than 250 employees who are immersed in BIM technology are coming from gaming backgrounds.

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Artificial Intelligence Can Track Progress of Construction Projects

New artificial intelligence technologies at use in Europe can seamlessly track a project’s progress and see if it is falling behind schedule.

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New Details Emerge About Massive Rail Project Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas

A new website has launched for a new public high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with details emerging about the line's construction, known as Brightline West.

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The Highest Paid Construction Jobs that Don't Require a Degree

Between 2020 and 2030, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that about 60 percent of new jobs in the economy will be in occupations that don’t typically require an associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree.

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Forecast Says 2.7 Million Construction Jobs to be Automated by 2057

MEPI, an organization that focuses on infrastructure and construction in the Midwest, reports that their forecasts say that 2.7 million jobs currently done by laborers will be done by autonomous robots by the year 2057.

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Understanding Your Role In The Workplace

Success in the workplace depends on how well employees work together to accomplish goals. In order to grow any organization and be profitable, employees must have an understanding of each other’s strengths.

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