Contractors are maestros of the jobsite and masters of planning for flawless execution. But if you’re a contractor, you know that even the best plans can fall victim to faulty execution if you can’t orchestrate the right balance between time, labor and materials. If these elements fall out of line and out of your control, it’s only a matter of time until your profitability spirals out of your control as well.
It’s no secret that the current labor shortage in the construction industry is wreaking havoc on contractors everywhere, and it’s not going away any time soon. The pain of the construction labor shortage is real, and it is well-documented: According to the Associated General Contractors of America, 70 percent of contractors are struggling to find qualified workers to fill the current demand.1 An analysis performed by The National Association of Homebuilders estimates that there were 250,000 unfilled construction jobs in the beginning of 2018, resulting in a failure to build enough single-family homes to keep up with demand.2 It’s not just hiring woes that are plaguing the industry, either. The effects of being short-staffed are obvious on budget sheets, project schedules and the inability to deliver great service to customers.
Material and Technology: Concrete Answers to Today’s Labor Shortage
As efforts to attract more workers to the construction industry gain traction, what can you do right now to counter the threats to your bottom line? Can you control the elements of labor supply and demand? The obvious answer is no. Can you reduce labor threats by thinking about how innovation and materials can help you regain control over your resources?
Many forward-thinking contractors are doing just that. Contractors who are trying more advanced, proprietary concrete mixes are getting high early strength on pours within hours instead of days. They’re distributing slab pours and fill forms without the vibration that traditional concrete formulations require. So much depends on getting structures into service quickly and optimizing labor productivity especially when labor is not readily available.