Three Issues Faced by the Construction Sector

The labor shortage costs construction crews more in training for new hires in the following decade or so, but the low supply of workers remains a sustained issue.

Fremont, CA: Construction is a fundamental element of an economy. Besides several other kinds of projects, building crews are erecting new homes, offices, manufacturing plants, and retail locations. These projects impact every business, and so many people depend on successful building. Despite this, there are specific modern challenges in the construction industry that affect construction workers and delay project development.

Here are three challenges in the construction sector:

Regulations and Technology

The construction industry must function under strict legislation to ensure the safety of those who will live and work within the walls of their buildings upon completion of the project. As they develop, knowing and obeying regulations is hard enough, but training new employees on these regulations adds even more of a fight. Compounding the institution of emerging technology on that, the construction industry is reluctant to embrace emerging technology, including drones and software for modeling, which could speed up construction times. This is possibly partially due to regulatory concerns with the implementation of new technologies.

See Also: Top Construction Tech Companies

Lack of Skilled Labor

In the construction industry, a shortage of quality labor is arguably the most obvious issue. Thousands of skilled and able men and women left the construction industry to secure a new source of income when real estate and other employment dried up in the 2008 recession. Many of these people did not return who were armed with years of experience and aptitude. The labor shortage costs construction crews more in training for new hires in the following decade, but the low supply of workers remains a sustained issue.

Safety and Communication Concerns

The building industry still fails to strengthen safety issues significantly and suffers from inconsistencies in communication. Construction has one of the highest rates of injury and death, both in the past and now. Because of their work with heavy machinery, this is not entirely surprising, but the danger posed to workers repels prospective workers while complicating construction projects and putting individuals at risk. The solution to this is thorough recruiting training followed by deliberate continuing training as crews implement new systems and technology and better crew member communication.