What
trends are to be seen in construction these days? More…better…faster
continue to be the watchwords. Owners are looking for shorter times
to completion with fewer mistakes. To meet these demands, firms are
looking for better communication, new technology, and improved methodologies.
Buzzwords at the International Builders Show in Orlando in January
included security, accessibility, green building, and energy efficiency.
At the Technology for Construction Show in Las Vegas, wireless, integration,
web-based project management, 4-D and BIM were some of the topics.
Both shows also highlighted new materials and equipment for the construction
industry.
Fiatech, a non-profit consortium focused on fast-track development
and deployment of technologies to substantially improve how capital
projects and facilities are designed, engineered, built and maintained,
presented some interesting technologies - including the use of miniature
sensors and motes for various purposes.
Fluor, a member of Fiatech, last year implemented a smart chip sensor
technology to determine concrete maturity. The embedded chips give
real-time calculation of strength, resulting in much earlier form removal.
Another Fiatech project involves the use of RFID to track materials,
improving inventory management and JIT deliveries while discouraging
theft – all in real-time.
As wireless technology becomes better and better, more uses are being
found for it to increase communications between the field and home
offices. A few of the many uses include scheduling, work order changes
and RFIs in real time, access of documents from anywhere, and the RFID
tracking mentioned above. Used with web cams, it can also create a
permanent record of process and progress.
At the management level, a recent Zweig White report found that health
insurance is a primary concern among AE firms. This may explain the
industry interest in the recently introduced congressional bill S.
406, the ‘Small Business Health Fairness Act,’ a bipartisan
measure that would give small businesses more options to provide affordable
health care coverage for their employees.
Another concern prominently listed is the “declining use of
qualifications-based selection for A/E firms” This includes the
steady increase in demand for design/build procurement for A/E services
and the GSA Schedule Contract program. Staffing issues and liability
insurance are also high on many lists.
Good National Economic Indicators:
According to the US Commerce department Housing starts jumped 4.7 percent
in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.16 million units,
the highest pace in 21 years, and 11.6 percent above the pace of
a year ago. This news surprised economists, who had been forecasting
a decline due to inclement Winter weather.
Construction of single-family homes rose 2.7 percent to 1.76 million
units, an all-time high, while construction of apartments was up a
sharp 14 percent to 399,000 units. Applications for building permits
were also extremely strong, indicating continued good numbers in this
sector.
Low mortgage rates have been a beacon to home ownership in many areas
of the country. While this helps single family dwellings, it has created
record vacancy rates in rental apartments. This has been overcome by
the strength of the condo market.
A nationwide trend is toward downtown revitalization and high-rise
luxury condos, which are popular for many reasons - wonderful views,
easy access to work and entertainment, as well as ‘empty nesters’ avoiding
some of the more onerous ‘benefits’ of single home ownership.
Construction showed a definite upswing in 2004 in almost all categories
according to the Census bureau. Good growth is expected to continue,
although public projects depending on federal funding may face a difficult
climate as Congress struggles to balance the federal budget.
For 2004 as a whole, nonresidential building grew 3% to $160.0 billion.
Within that segment, Healthcare is strong with facilities up 9%, again
thanks to the increasing number of aging baby boomers.
Hotel construction is another bright spot. PricewaterhouseCoopers
reports that the U.S hotel industry posted $16.6 billion in profits
last year, representing a 29.2% increase over 2003 profits. They are
predicting continued strong profits over the next two years.
In spite of high vacancy rates, retail, warehouse, and office construction
also show signs of improvement.
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