7 fundamentals of a no-nonsense toolbox talk *Construction Dive Read the original article here Communication regarding safety and health on any construction site is critically important. This goes for any workplace where there are significant hazards and risks. Employees need to be constantly trained on what is needed to be safe and healthy on any worksite. Toolbox talks can be immensely helpful in ensuring that all-important communication occurs. But like any form of training, it needs to be done correctly. There ...
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Report: COVID-19 cost NYC construction industry $9.8 billion *Construction Dive Read the original article here Dive Brief:

• The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in $9.8 billion in lost construction activity and 74,000 direct and indirect lost jobs in New York City, according to a report by the Building Trades Employers’ Association. The decline in jobs contributed to a $5.5 billion loss in total wages, the report said.
• The decline in activity also affected the city's Minority and Women Business Enterprises, as more than ...
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NYC building inspectors crack down on large construction sites *Construction Dive Read the original article here Dive Brief:

• Following a series of recent construction worker deaths, New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca this week mobilized teams of enforcement inspectors to perform safety sweeps of the city’s larger and more complex construction sites.
• While performing these "zero-tolerance" sweeps, DOB inspectors will issue enforcement actions if they observe any safety violations and will shut down sites if ...
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OSHA’s New COVID-19 Standard Lets Most Industries Set Their Own Safety Protocols *For Construction Pros Read the original article here On June 10, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it will issue an emergency temporary standard to protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus. For other businesses, including construction, the agency updated existing guidance but will allow those sectors to continue best practices designed specifically for their industries. The new standard targets workers facing the highest coronavirus hazards, such as direct exposure and treatment ...
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The future of construction & improving the quality of the built environment *Construction Dive Read the original article here If the construction industry was poised for change before, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed that transformation into overdrive. The industry as a whole has always been reluctant to change, but we’ve reached a critical point where architects, developers, and contractors who fail to evolve risk getting left behind. The years ahead will present construction stakeholders with a wave of new challenges alongside familiar issues ...
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June 10, 2021 - NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AMAST is excited to welcome SunRise Solar, an Indiana-based inventor, manufacturer, and global seller of high-quality solar attic fans for residential and commercial properties. Used to keep buildings cool in hot, humid weather, SunRise Solar fans have one of the most innovative renewable energy designs (see diagram below). A diagram illustrates how hot attics radiate heat into the living area in the passive ventilation process. A second diagram illustrates how ...
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Construction Digitization: Understanding the Impact on Profitability *For Construction Pros Read the original article here For one of the global economy’s largest sectors, the construction industry has a mulish productivity problem. While labor productivity across all industries has jumped 2.8 percent over the past two decades, the construction industry has only seen a one percent productivity increase over the same time period, according to Reinventing Construction: A route to higher productivity, a McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report. That same report made a connection: If ...
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How to 3D Print a House With Concrete *All3DP Read the original article here As the construction industry climbs out of the rut created by the COVID-19 pandemic, contractors are challenged to complete projects while protecting staff on-site, comply with government regulations, and manage supply chain interruptions. Today, more than ever, the industry sorely needs new innovations to catch up on lost time and cut costs, while not sacrificing quality. Enter concrete 3D printing. The technology has the potential to significantly ...
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Accelerating Construction Trends in the “New Normal *Contractor Read the original article here As we reach the halfway point in 2020, while many industries continue to suffer, some are seeing a resurgence in both activity and hiring. Leading the pack is the Construction industry which has continued to push forward. Across the US, most states have deemed commercial and residential projects “essential” leading to a significant ramp up in construction activity. The most recent LinkedIn Hiring Report for June shows construction ...
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Reinventing The Construction Workforce *Forbes Read the original article here When most people think of construction, they think of excavators, bulldozers and a lot of dirt. They don't think about virtual reality, lasers, laptops, robots and autonomy — technology that's more often associated with futuristic portrayals of reality than today’s infrastructure projects. But that's exactly what's driving the construction industry forward, enabling projects to be built better, faster, safer, cheaper and greener using machine control, virtual and augmented reality and remote ...
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How the World Ran Out of Everything *New York Times Read the original article here In the story of how the modern world was constructed, Toyota stands out as the mastermind of a monumental advance in industrial efficiency. The Japanese automaker pioneered so-called Just In Time manufacturing, in which parts are delivered to factories right as they are required, minimizing the need to stockpile them. Over the last half-century, this approach has captivated global business in industries far beyond autos. From ...
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How to fulfill the innovation potential of D&I initiatives *Construction Dive Read the original article here Business leaders want great organizational cultures that have diverse perspectives and in which people feel included. They are also told that such cultures are naturally more innovative. That is true to a point. Innovation potential is enhanced by diversity of perspectives and inclusive culture, but even with these, innovation is not automatic. Nobody expects that simply hiring a group of smart people automatically guarantees that ...
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7 legal, other trends influencing construction in 2021 *Construction Dive Read the original article here The following is a guest post from attorney Jeffrey Kozek, principal at Marlton, New Jersey-based construction-focused consulting firm Resolution Management Consultants, and professional engineer E. Mitchell Swann, managing director at Resolution Management Consultants. 2021 will certainly be an interesting year in commercial construction as trends that had been on the horizon meet the impact of the pandemic. That also means it will be even more important ...
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5 Key Takeaways for Building Value in Your Construction Company *For Construction Pros Read the original article here As a foundation, it is important to understand how value is built in an organization. Back in the 1990s, a study on pre-job planning was conducted for the Construction Industry Institute. It was found that the ability to influence the outcome and the ultimate success of a construction project is largely determined by how well pre-job planning is executed before the project begins.  ...
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Emerging Concrete Technologies to Reduce Embodied Carbon *For Construction Pros Read the original article here Buildings alone account for 40% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of that total impact is from operational emissions while the remainder is from embodied emissions. Embodied emissions include all the emissions required to produce everything that goes into our buildings—the structure, enclosure, and all materials inside. Until recently, the focus in the building community has been on reducing operational emissions because they represent a ...
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Home building costs soar due to government regulations, material price increases *Construction Dive Read the original article here Dive Brief:

• Regulations imposed by all levels of government account for $93,870, or about 24% of the current average sales price ($397,300) of a new single-family home, according to a new study by the National Association of Home Builders. This amount marks a 10.9% increase over the past five years.
• Of the $93,870 figure, $41,330 is attributable to regulation during development, and $52,540 is due to regulation ...
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Construction Companies Can Be 655% Safer With These Best Practices, Says ABC Report *Construction Business Owner Read the original article here WASHINGTON (April 30, 2021) — Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) recently published their 2021 Safety Performance Report, an annual assessment that furthers the construction industry’s understanding of how to achieve world-class safety by deploying its STEP Safety Management System. Published to coincide with Construction Safety Week, May 3-7, the annual report details the drastic impact of using proactive safety practices to reduce recordable incidents by up to ...
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5 Traits of the Safest Contractors *Construction Dive Read the original article here Contractors that engage in five safety practices are six times safer than the industry average, according to a report from Associated Builders and Contractors issued to coincide with Construction Safety Week May 3-7. According to Greg Sizemore, ABC's vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development, the safest construction companies typically have:

• A robust substance abuse policy with provisions for drug and alcohol testing where permitted.
• Intensive onboarding ...
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Emerging robotics technology may lead to better buildings in less time *Science Daily Read the original article here Emerging robotics technology may soon help construction companies and contractors create buildings in less time at higher quality and at lower costs. Purdue University innovators developed and are testing a novel construction robotic system that uses an innovative mechanical design with advances in computer vision sensing technology to work in a construction setting. The technology was developed with support from the National Science ...
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Five Simple and Budget-Conscious Tips to Deter Construction Site Crime *For Construction Pros Read the original article here It’s no secret that construction sites are a hotbed for expensive machinery and heavy equipment, pricey power tools and valuable scrap metals. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that construction sites are often targeted by thieves, vandals and other criminals. In fact, according to the National Equipment Register and National Insurance Crime Bureau, the annual cost of equipment theft at construction jobsites ...
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Material Costs Put Pinch on Assisted Living Construction, Creative Lending Emerges *Senior Housing News Read the original article here Financing for assisted living and memory care developments and acquisitions is gradually becoming easier to secure, but high construction costs and continued pandemic-related uncertainty remain challenges. Developers with proven track records of success, however, have had little trouble putting together their capital stacks over the past year. And creative new avenues of lending, such as ground leases, are beginning to make ...
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How 7 global airport projects are faring during the pandemic *Construction Dive Read the original article here Decreased passenger traffic brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has grounded a number of major airport expansion projects in the U.S. With a sudden drop in the number of travelers, airports saw their bottom lines affected beginning last year, which for some has impacted the ability to embark on years-long, multi-million and sometimes multi-billion dollar projects. In New York, JFK International airport’s plans for a ...
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Nonresidential Construction Lags as Pandemic Lingers *Construction Business Owner Read the original article here WASHINGTON (May 3, 2021) — The United States Department of Commerce revealed that construction spending gained just 0.2% in March, despite predictions from the industry expecting a 1.9% increase. Spending is still up 5.3% over March 2020. Private construction rose 0.7% in March as demand for housing continues. Residential projects increased 1.7% in March, the largest of any industry sector. An Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of the data ...
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Industry Perspectives Op-Ed: Mental health in the construction industry — the silent crisis *Daily Commercial News by ConstructConnect Read the original article here When most people mention the word “construction,” the images that often come to mind are of strong, resilient, blue collared men and women, braving the elements to build houses, highrises and critical infrastructure projects. In a highly competitive industry that is focused on getting the job done quickly, and “toughing it out,” it is easy to see ...
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A boulder-shaped house made from 3D-printed concrete is ready for its first tenants *CNN Read the original article here A Dutch couple have become the proud new tenants of the country's first ever 3D-printed house. Elize Lutz and Harrie Dekkers have been given the digital key to the gray, boulder-shaped building in the Bosrijk neighborhood of Eindhoven, in the southern Netherlands. The single-story home has more than 1,000 square feet of floor area, with a spacious living room and two ...
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New homes cost $36,000 more because of an epic shortage of lumber *CNN Read the original article here New York(CNN Business) - As the pandemic crushed the US economy last spring, sawmills shut down lumber production to brace for a housing slump. The slump never arrived and now there isn't enough lumber to feed the red-hot housing market. The shortage is delaying construction of badly needed new homes, complicating renovations of existing ones and causing sticker shock for buyers in ...
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Residential Sector Continues to Drive Construction Spending *Mortgage News Daily Read the original article here Nationwide spending on construction edged up fractionally in March, but the big story was the annual gain in residential construction spending, especially for new single-family housing. The U.S. Census Bureau said construction, public and private, for all sectors inched up 0.2 percent from February and was 5.3 percent higher compared to March 2020 at $1.513 trillion. However, residential spending gained 23.3 percent on an annual ...
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Second chances: How contractors can hire reentering citizens *Construction Dive Read the original article here For years, Jaime Rivera faced obstacles to stable work opportunities as a result of his criminal record. A recent graduate of the Rebuilding Reentrants & Reading program, Rivera (above right) said he was grateful for a second chance. "If it wasn't for the program I'd probably still be out there getting crap jobs," Rivera said. Now, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where many have lost ...
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What to Consider When Choosing Construction and Building Materials *MSN Read the original article here A 2020 study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) examined who decides what building materials to use in new home construction. Not surprisingly, builders and contractors exert the greatest influence over primary construction materials, such as windows and doors, siding and house wrap, lumber and plywood. But this applies more to home builders in planned developments. If you're lucky enough to be custom-building ...
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Top 10 Construction Industry Trends To Watch For In 2021 *BigRentz,Inc. Read the original article here After a turbulent year of adjusting forecasts and changing expectations, 2021 will be a year of reemergence and growth in the construction industry. Rising construction costs and labor shortages persist, challenging the industry to innovate competitive new ideas, while stricter regulations contribute to a reduced margin for error and waste. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how the construction industry does business, from scheduling ...
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