ConstructConnect Blog

Worker misclassification is a serious problem in the construction industry that often goes unchecked and unpunished. Penalties for misclassifying employees as independent contractors can be severe, but unfortunately, the risk of getting caught has historically been minimal. The payoff for unscrupulous business owners who purposely misclassify workers can be enormous. It’s a classic risk vs. reward scenario where, for the most part, the rewards for purposely misclassifying workers as independent contractors far outweighed the risks of getting caught.

I first came across the Solar Roadways project back in 2014 from an article in “Fast Company.” The basic premise of the project is that if all the roads in the country were “paved” with solar panels they would produce more energy than the country consumes in a year. The article also discussed some of the features of the solar panels like embedded LED lights for dividing lines, heaters to keep the panels free of snow and ice, and tempered glass that could support a 250,000-pound vehicle and textured to provide traction. The article also mentioned that the owners of the company developing the project were currently trying to raise $1 million on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo in order to hire additional engineers in order to perfect their product. (Solar Roadways went on to raise over $2.2 million during their Indiegogo campaign.)

The construction industry is in the midst of a growing labor shortage. Just this month I’ve run across a half dozen local news reports of construction worker shortages across the country. Construction firms in Phoenix, AZ; Bradenton and Sarasota, FL; Long Island, NY and the Lowcountry of South Carolina, which includes Charleston, are having difficulties finding enough skilled workers to meet demand. These aren’t isolated events. Every month you’re bound to find new reports of areas feeling the pinch.

Over the past two decades, green and sustainable construction has evolved from a fringe movement to achieving mainstream status. In a recent study conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton for the USGBC, they expect green construction spending to increase from $150.6 billion in 2015 to $224.4 billion in 2018. The study also predicts that between 2015 and 2018, green construction will generate $303.4 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), support 3.9 million jobs and provide $268.4 billion in labor earnings.

The use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on public projects, which date back to 1933 with the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, continues to be a hot-button issue in the construction industry. PLAs are collective bargaining agreements used to establish conditions and terms of employment for a specific construction project through one or more labor organizations or unions and project owners. PLAs are negotiated prior to any bidding or hiring labor on a project.

Can you think of a commercial construction project that has been completed without the use of hand tools or power tools? Yeah, neither could I. Maybe it’s our familiarity with them or the fact that they are such a commonplace item on the construction site that hand tool and power tool safety often gets overlooked. Hand tools and power tools present a host of potential hazards such as flying objects, electrical shock, falling objects, punctures and lacerations. Here are 10 quick and easy tips for safely working with hand and power tools.

Most people probably don’t give much thought to advancements in building materials. The oldest known bricks date back to around 7500 B.C. Concrete-like substances were in use as far back as 6500 BC and the ancient Romans mixed lime and a volcanic ash, pozzolan, to make concrete which was used to build structures like the Coliseum and the Pantheon.

Imagine walking onto a construction site to find a fleet of bulldozers, graders, and excavators doing site prep without any operators behind the controls. Upon closer inspection, you notice some of the equipment is cab-less with no manual controls. The operators might be standing at a safe distance operating the machine remotely. Maybe the equipment is operating itself while someone monitors the work from the jobsite trailer or even back at the office 50 miles away. Autonomous and semi-autonomous construction equipment are the future and we’ll see it lead to safer jobsites with the work being done more efficiently and accurately than today.

Regardless of how detailed your construction company’s safety plan is, and despite how in-depth and meticulous your training program is, accidents involving injuries can still occur. When a worker suffers an injury it is vital to have a first aid program in place. Because no two construction sites are exactly the same, you should design a jobsite specific first aid program so that your workers can receive the best possible care should they suffer an injury. Procedures for developing a jobsite specific first aid program should be a part of you overall safety plan. Each first aid program should be written down and copies should be kept on hand for reference, review and revision.

Apprenticeships play a vital role in supplying the construction industry with its skilled workforce. Unfortunately, at their current enrollment and completion levels, registered apprenticeships alone aren’t enough to meet the current and projected demands for the industry over the next decade. To be fair, apprenticeships have never been the sole provider of labor to the construction workforce but they are a key piece of the puzzle. The potential for apprentice programs to play a larger role in training and preparing the next generation of skilled labor is high, but changes are needed. Dealing with construction labor shortages has been a growing issue over the past few years and establishing a stronger network of apprentice programs can go a long way in resolving those issues.