Building Design + Construction - October 2019

BDCuniversity.com | BUILDING DESIGN+CONSTRUCTION | 9

5G EXPECTED TO
GIVE A BOOST TO
CONSTRUCTION
TECHNOLOGY
Fifth-generation cellular
technology (5G) will enable en-
hanced data fl ows and faster
response times that will boost
technologies used by the con-
struction industry, according to
research fi rm GlobalData.
Design and construction
fi rms will have access to more
robust systems that employ
virtual reality, Internet of
Things, robotics, and drones.
“In addition to the striking
speed, which enables data
transmission between two end
systems almost instantly, 5G’s
ability to connect thousands
of such devices at once with
lower latency, higher reliability,
and lesser battery consump-
tion lays a strong foundation
for the effective adoption of
emerging technologies,” said
Archi Dasgupta, Director of
Disruptive Tech, GlobalData.
Elevated bandwidth will
enable drones to shoot live
4K and 360-degree videos,
which will revolutionize the
way people watch videos.
IoT applications will be more
reliable, with lower latency
and reliability—traits that are
critical for daily operations and
improved safety. Enhanced
data transmission will make VR
more effective.
BDCnetwork.com/5Gconstruction

CONSTRUCTION
FIRMS EXPECT
LABOR SHORTAGES
TO WORSEN
Construction workers are get-
ting scarcer, but the magni-
tude of the labor shortage is
writ large in a recent survey,
released in late August by

Autodesk and the Associ-

ated General Contractors of

America (AGC). The survey

found that 80% of 1,

respondents in 23 states re-

port having a hard time fi lling

hourly craft positions.

More concerning are the

fi ndings that nearly three-quar-

ters of the construction fi rms

polled don’t expect shortages

to abate over the next year,

and could, in fact, get worse.

And the training and skill level

of the labor that is available

are deemed “poor” by 45% of

those polled.

It remains to be seen wheth-

er and how soon the industry

can dig itself out of this hole.

To attract workers, two-thirds

of the survey’s respondents

say they’ve boosted base pay

rates, and 29% are offering

incentives and bonuses. A lon-

ger-term play fi nds nearly half

of the fi rms polled—46%—

having launched or expanded

their training programs. Half of

the respondents also say their

companies are involved in

career-building programs.

The labor shortage is shov-

ing a perennially tech-phobic

construction industry into the

21st century. One-quarter of

respondents are using tools

like drones, 3D printers, and

robots. Another 23% are

relying on Lean construction

techniques, BIM, and prefab-

rication.

The disruption being caused

by labor shortages is also

manifesting itself in costlier

projects that take longer to

complete. Forty-four percent of

the fi rms polled are increasing

their construction prices, and

29% are factoring longer lead

times into their bids.

Over the past two years,

AGC has secured $145 million

in federal funding for career

and technical education pro-

grams. It is urging the federal

government to increase that

funding, and to allow con-

struction students to qualify

for federal Pell Grants, which

would make it easier for fi rms

to establish apprenticeship

programs.

More quixotic—given the

Trump Administration’s virulent

anti-immigration stance—is

AGC’s call for the government

to let more immigrants into

the U.S. to work construction.

BDCnetwork.com/AGClabor

CONTECH VC

DISCLOSES DETAILS

ABOUT LATEST FUND

Brick & Mortar Ventures, one

of the leading investors in

construction technology, an-

nounced in August that a fund

it had closed in January 2018

raised $97.2 million. This rep-

resented Brick & Mortar’s larg-

est fund to date, and marked

its fi rst institutional capital,

according to the company.

The San Francisco-based

venture capital fi rm also

disclosed its investors in that

fund, which include several

A plan being developed by the Texas General Land Offi ce and

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would spend as much as

$32 billion to protect the Houston-Galveston area from storm

surges.

The project would construct the nation’s most ambitious and

expensive coastal barrier system. It would consist of 12-foot-

high sand dune-topped levees to protect beachfront homes and

businesses, as well as a storm surge barrier system.

The plan has already gone through revisions to make it more

effective and more environmentally friendly. The plan has drawn

criticism from the Galveston business community, which says a

proposed ring levee would hinder cargo and passenger loading

at the Port of Galveston. Environmentalists are concerned that

a gate system between Galveston and Bolivar to block storm

surges would diminish exchange of saltwater and freshwater

between Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico that is impor-

tant to marine life.

The Houston-Galveston region, home to millions of people

and the nation’s largest petrochemical complex, is vulnerable

to massive storm surges and currently has no comprehensive

storm protection system.

BDCnetwork.com/TexasFlood

TEXAS FLOOD PREVENTION INITIATIVE

WOULD CREATE NATION’S MOST

AMBITIOUS BARRIER SYSTEM