Construction Informer

A rather startling report from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) in London claims "a high proportion of complex construction projects are likely to be finished more than six months late due to poor time control."

Actually that isn’t really so startling since beyond managing people time is probably the second hardest thing to manage. And if you are going to try to manage other people’s time everything gets even more dicey.

Interestingly the report largely blames the lack of adoption of time-management technology as the reason for the delays. Some of the findings included:

• More than half the respondents cited knowledge of a master schedule being used but no short term planning was going on;
• Schedules were typically bar charts with no linked sequencing;
• Slippage in the schedules and imposed changes weren’t managed against the delay on project completion.

Less complex projects like low-rise offices, commercial, housing and schools had greater chances of being completed on time with just rudimentary time management technologies. But hospitals, clinics, prisons, railway and high rise projects suffered the greatest delays. Some observations by respondents to the survey included:

• Design teams were rarely consulted by the contractor regarding time management;
• The type of contract or procurement method has no real effect on the occurrence of delays;
• The contractor is mostly held accountable for the delays;
• Records of resources used and work performed are inadequate to effectively control times required to complete items; and
• Delays are kept quiet until its too late to recover (my reading and interpretation).

You can get the entire report here.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and other similar quips along with limiting thought patterns often relegate training in the construction sector to the bottom of the tool bag.

Is it really true that a carpenter with five years of experience can no longer learn anything new? Once a plumber masters the art of sweating a joint are they then ready for the solder and flux hall of fame? Just because a project manager can massage a schedule into profitability does it mean there are no new project management heights to scale?

It’s too bad that our education system encourages the idea that learning is something with an end. I have often wondered if we took the diplomas out of the process if we might end up encouraging the idea that learning never ends and that things like training on particular subjects are part of that never ending learning process.

There are probably more than a few reasons why people resist training. One has to do with how invested they already are in the old knowledge or skill – basically the old dog syndrome. In many ways new knowledge means having to accept change and in a society where we spend a great deal of time and treasure cushioning ourselves from change it’s no wonder people fear it. Many times though, if people can be shown the larger advantages of change and to expect that every time one door closes, another one opens, they can begin to accept.

Another reason people resist training is because the don’t have a clear picture of the value relative to the time spent getting the training. It’s odd in a way because most of the time the training is on company time, but employees often dislike having to add something else to what they may feel is already an over loaded schedule. There are some emerging opportunities to this dilemma that will probably only continue to expand in offerings. Distance learning, or E-learning, is one example. There are web businesses like eLearners that offer courses including vocational courses like carpentry.

There are also companies that are providing the online tools that allow you to prerecord high impact multimedia presentations and deliver them to employees when it is convenient for them. Since this is web based, employees just tune in when they have the time. This also helps with one of the other issues associated with delivering training in a construction business environment – the difficulty of getting everyone together at one time.

Our people are certainly irreplaceable and their continuing education is what keeps us competitive. Training, and training opportunities, should be as ubiquitous as the things we build.

Some days it seems construction is getting to be a pretty dangerous activity. Here are some incidents from May 20:

• A crane operator in Iowa was killed when the crane he was operating tipped over, fell through the deck of the bridge it was operating on and fell to a train track below;
• A hotel under construction in San Diego exploded from an apparent gas leak injuring 17, three seriously;
• A construction crew that was breaking up concrete hit a high pressure gas line in Culver City, CA rupturing it;
• A driver died when he crashed his car into the back end of a parked earth mover in Fort Worth; and
• A dry wall installer in Tyler, TX was crushed against a ceiling beam by the scissor lift he was working from.

Many of you may have seen this information before but we do tend to forget over time so here are the leading causes of fatalities in the construction sector.

• Falls from heights is the cause in 33 percent of the incidences;
• Struck by something accounts for 22 percent of the deaths;
• Caught between things makes up 18 percent;
• Electrical shock is responsible in 17 percent of the deaths; and
• Other makes up the remaining 10 percent.

Here is some deeper data that may help you to better estimate your risks:

• Trade contractors have the largest percentage of deaths by falls;
• The largest percentage of "struck by" deaths occurs in heavy construction;
• The percentage of deaths caused by electrical shock is almost the same for heavy construction as it is for electrical work;
• For general building contractors 45 percent of the deaths resulted from falls;
• 60 percent of the deaths of electrical workers were caused by shock.

Awareness has its benefits.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (689.1KB)

In this podcast I talk with Jim Upton, a specialist in AEC and facilities management software, about the role of integrating business data and functions. As companies continue to seek out efficiencies the process of bridging disparate networks so that information is shared by contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and others is a key focal point.
Jim highlights reasons why companies are sharing more and more data. He talks about strategies and issues and he offers some advice about what to focus on and when to consider getting your business linked up with others.
Jim’s company, JCU Services LLC helps companies to select software and make it work optimally for them. They also work with software vendors helping them to understand the needs of the AEC and facilities management industries and how to market software to these industries. Send email to Jim.

Podcast-Interview with Jim Upton