Construction In 2020 – A Perception

The Expected Future of Work and Workers in the Construction Industry

According to the recent reports shared by 2020 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook, the demand for workers has grown along with the increasing demand for work. Though the phased opening after a long shutdown has caused a sudden increase in demand for work, the construction firms are having a tough time meeting the need for qualified workers.

The companies named in American Construction such as AGC, Sage Construction, and Real Estate have confirmed huge work expectancy but the shortage of labor  and need for accounting software for construction industry has turned to be a primary concern when it comes to leading operations.

The Expansion of Market

Though COVID-19 has led to the economic slowdown, a large percentage of market respondents expect the market to inflate for all types of construction projects. Moreover, the giants who have been closely in contact with AGC and Sage Construction have confirmed continued growth of the market for sectors include airports, education, stadiums, and healthcare.

Also, the small contractors who work at regional levels have confirmed the demand for public construction such as water-based construction such as sewers, highways, bridges, and other essential construction requirements.

Though the situation is still not positive for the construction firms who are working on commercial projects, the construction companies and contractors are expecting a huge demand for public construction projects.

As a whole, the situation comes up very positive for contractors and construction companies in the Northeast as well as the Southern region. However, the contractors in the western areas of the United States are still not feeling strong about the meeting the expected rise in the demand for work as compared to other areas of the United States.

As a whole, the situation comes up very positive for contractors and construction companies in the Northeast as well as the Southern region. However, the contractors in the western areas of the United States are still not feeling strong about the meeting the expected rise in the demand for work as compared to other areas of the United States. Apart from this, a strong demand and adoption of construction project accounting software is also being considered as an essential by contractors as they strive to make the best use of resources.

Expectancy Related to Hiring

According to the reports from AGC, America, 75 percent of construction firms are planning to increase their workforce in 2020. Apart from this, many other contractors and construction companies have shared an expected growth of their size by 10 percent. However, 19 percent of them have shared a need to grow their headcount by 11 percent to 25 percent and similar numbers were shown for the anticipation of change. All in all, only 5 percent of construction companies have shown an expected fall in headcount.

In this idea of expanding the giants of construction are more aggressively looking for the increase while thirty percent of the firms under $500 million marks are looking to get a 10 percent increase with the headcount.

This has made construction firms plan for ideas that can help them retain maximum workers. For instance, to meet the need for increased headcount, certain firms have deployed benefits like training programs and bonuses to seek better recruitment.

The Rise of Labor Shortage

One of the most significant concerns, which the construction industry in the United States is facing, is the shortage of quality labor. A massive share of 81 percent of firms has reported difficulties finding people for hourly crafts while 43 percent have expectancy for struggle with hiring and 22 percent finding it extremely difficult to deal with.

 

Apart from this, 75 percent of firms have reported worker quality as their primary concern while 72 percent of total construction in the US reported a shortage of labor.

Such increased demand for workers and the inability to find the right labor are causing an expansion of cost and time for normal projects. On the other hand, the projects with greater complexity are likely to suffer more with the risk of failure if inexperienced labor is hired.

This has led to a change in the operational planning as well as pricing of the projects which is accounted to be a 41 percent rise in the new bids. All this has made construction firms continue with slow progress and adding time to bids. However, off-site fabrication and lean construction practices have somewhat contributed to improving the pace.

The Need for Technology

Since most construction firms are having a tough time dealing with the suspension due to COVID-19, technology seems to be the only support that can help improve the situation. Since IT could be a great advantage to take on processes like construction accounting, project management, ERP, and CRM, the construction firms have shifted the manual tasks to the software like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Moreover, the reports from Outlook have suggested that 48 percent of the construction firms are already having an IT plan in place while 10 percent are planning to create one in 2020. This has led to a growth of investment in IT through drones, robots, IoT devices, or software that can help improve productivity.

Also, a large percentage of construction firms and contractors have switched to cloud technology to achieve their goals. These include the use of construction accounting and project management software that can progress the flow of customer information. Looking at the present scenario, the construction industry demands immediate support from federal policies. These must include objectives related to technical funding and reform the laws related to federally funded projects.

In times like these, economic prosperity, security, and well-being are the primary goals of the construction firms across the Globe. However, the one way to overcome the challenges related to projects and to improve the business pipeline requires access to technology such as Dynamics 365 Business Central based accounting and project management solutions. Let us help you find the path to lead your business towards business stability, with improved management and control through ProjectPro.

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Contractors and firms that work on Government-Funded projectsneed to be informed and strictly comply with the regulations. Under the Davis-Bacon Act, the contractors are required to keep a record of all payroll data and other project related information in the reports:

• Name, Address, and Social Security Number of the worker
• Work Classification or category details
• Pay rate per hour along with fringe benefits
• Total work hours
• Deductions
• Actual Wage Paid
• A complete report of fringe benefits under any plans or programs of company policies
• Report for apprenticeship or training, whenever it is applicable

Also, the contractors or construction companies need to keep the records for a time of 3 years or 36 months at the worksite or place which has centralized records for all project data. Moreover, there must be a proper security plan that can help ensure data safety and backup for the records.