Whose eyes are on your construction site and from what angle? Are you making the most of your resources, both human and material? On the jobsite, efficiency is critical to making deadlines and staying within budget. There is one resource that contractors are increasingly relying on to produce efficient results in all phases of construction—drones. For decades now, the word “drones” has evoked a militaristic image of pilotless aircraft, but the technology of unmanned flight has evolved and adapted to meet civilian needs. That technology is now available at prices that make it affordable to purchase and lucrative to operate.These
Recently, we posed a question to the industry that unleashed a firestorm of feedback: Is the way we work still working? Judging by the response—more than any topic we’ve covered in 10 years—the answer is no. It’s not working. Why are so many leaders burned out—and so many emerging leaders rethinking which ladder they want to climb? How can AEC and environmental firms evolve and thrive as the industry’s technology, generational expectations and definitions of leadership are changing?Companies like 1,900-person architecture firm Perkins + Will, Chicago, and HDR, Omaha, which won a Nebraska Governor’s Award for its wellness program, are
Prices for inputs to construction industries plunged 1.6% in September after shedding 0.9% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 14. Year-over-year prices were down 5.3% for the month, the largest yearly decrease since October 2009. Inputs to nonresidential construction prices also declined, losing 1.6% for the month and 6% for the year. Only three of the 11 key input prices expanded on a monthly basis in September while six experienced double-digit year-over-year declines, according to an analysis by the Associated Builders and Contractors.“The global economy has continued to soften in recent weeks, with additional concerns directed
The value of new construction starts in September dropped 5% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $523.7 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Decreased activity was reported for both nonresidential building and housing, while the nonbuilding construction sector managed a partial rebound after its August decline. Through the first nine months of 2015, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $497.4 billion, up 12% from the same period a year ago. Excluding the electric utility and gas plant category, which soared earlier in 2015 due to the start of several massive liquefied natural
Congress’ Sept. 30 approval of an additional $625 million to complete the bloated Veterans Affairs hospital project in Aurora, Colo., also came with a big stick: the VA must relinquish management of all construction projects over $100 million, preferably to the Army Corps of Engineers. That stipulation arose after allegations that VA officials have “fundamentally mismanaged” the Aurora project—now estimated to cost $1.675 billion, more than three times its original budget—and failed to control runaway costs on VA hospital construction in Orlando and New Orleans, among others. The Corps has already taken over project management in Aurora.The down-to-the-wire vote in
The number of unemployed workers with construction experience dropped to the lowest total for September since 2000, as hiring continued to slow despite robust demand for construction, according to a recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Growth in the construction workforce has been slowing throughout 2015, just at the time that construction spending has accelerated to a multi-year high,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Contractors would love to hire more workers but there aren't enough qualified craft workers or supervisors available.”Construction employment totaled 6,396,000 in September, the most since February 2009, but the total rose
August marked the seventh consecutive month that nonresidential construction spending expanded, according to an Oct. 1 release supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nonresidential spending totaled $696.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis in August, a 0.3% increase from the previous month and a 12.3% increase from the same time last year. The Census Bureau downwardly revised July’s estimate from $696.1 billion to $694.1 billion. “Job growth is fueling both consumer spending and the absorption of space, all of this is good for construction spending,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While construction spending has expanded
Breaking away from the roller coaster ride seen over the last few months, the September report of the Credit Managers’ Index from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) continued to decline, resulting in the lowest combined index of the last year. The index of unfavorable factors was mostly to blame for the overall drop, with four of the six categories falling below the 50.0 contraction zone.“When the unfavorable factors are showing stress, it is an indication that companies are feeling the pinch and may be starting a long downward trend,” said NACM Economist Chris Kuehl.The index of favorable factors
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in August, improved moderately in September. The index now stands at 103.0 (1985 = 100), up from 101.3 in August. The Present Situation Index increased from 115.8 in August to 121.1 in September, while the September Expectations Index edged down to 91.0 from 91.6 in August. Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions was more positive in September. Those saying business conditions are “good” increased from 23.”% to 28.0%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” declined modestly from 17.8% to 16.7%. Consumers were somewhat mixed about the job market. Those stating jobs
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) slipped in August after showing mostly healthy business conditions so far this year. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.The American Institute of Architects reported the August ABI score was 49.1, down from a mark of 54.7 in July. This score reflects a slight decrease in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).The new projects inquiry index was 61.8, down from a reading of 63.7 the previous month.“Over the past several years, a period
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