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Using BIM and VDC to defend against poor construction planning
BIM first entered the scene a few decades ago as a way to help teams better visualize completed projects, coordinate scheduling and finish work faster and more efficiently.
It offered a new way to manage project information, strengthen design team interaction and transform 2D plans into data-rich 3D models. Over the years, new features continue to advance the ways in which BIM can be used.
Today, BIM still plays a crucial role in design and construction — but there are ways to augment the models to improve the way teams design, build and operate facilities.
That's where virtual design and construction (VDC) comes into play: as an application of BIM. While BIM represents 3D modeling and data input of physical objects, VDC uses BIM models to outline a construction process from start to finish. It focuses on the entire life cycle of a building project, taking into consideration factors such as cost estimates, schedules, staging and constructability.
It combines information in a way that puts a building through a completely virtual construction process long before it's built — and gives each team member access to updated, real-time project information to optimize engineering and construction.
BLS Employment Situation Report: May 2021
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today reported total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 559,000, slightly below analyst expectations but continuing a five month increase in job growth. Unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 5.8 percent.
Gains of almost 300,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry drove much of the expansion.
The BLS reported in May, 16.6 percent of the nonfarm workforce teleworked because of the of the pandemic. This was down from 18.3 percent in the prior month indicating an acceleration in the rate or return to on-site work as the vaccine and relaxed shut-down rules impacted worker behavior.
Economists predict that the labor market won’t fully recover until 2022 despite the current robust demand for workers. “We think it will take several months for frictions in the labor market to work themselves out,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays. “That just means we shouldn’t be expecting one to two million jobs every month. Instead, it will be a more gradual process.”
Amid delays and rising prices, contractors turn to tech to mitigate supply disruptions
Material shortages are curtailing construction’s recovery before it’s even gotten started.
While contractors are still optimistic about projects coming back online in the second half of 2021, and the Architectural Billings Index, a key leading indicator of demand, notched up its first two-month win streak since the beginning of the pandemic, one leading construction economist has now pushed out recovery until at least next year.
"I think the nonresidential construction market, as measured by spending and probably headcount, will stay flat," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, during a webinar this month. "It will be 2022 before I expect a significant increase."
He cited spiking material prices and shortages, continued supply chain bottlenecks and hesitancy among owners to build in the current environment as reasons why.
"While the economy is generally recovering, we've certainly seen a lot of bumps in the road," Simonson said. "We have a lot of sectors where construction is going to have to wait until owners are convinced that they have the income stream to justify a new project, and that they have the demand. I think that'll be a long time coming."
BLS Employment Situation Report: February 2021
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today reported total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 379,000 in February, significantly above consensus estimates. Unemployment rate fell 6.2% or 10 million unemployed persons.
Most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, with smaller gains in temporary help services, healthcare and social assistance, retail trade, and manufacturing.
Construction industry takes first step toward comprehensive US BIM standard
The construction industry took the first step this month toward a BIM standard in the U.S. during an executive roundtable discussion hosted by the National Institute of Building Sciences. The 40 roundtable participants included executives from Autodesk, Bentley, WSP and HDR, as well as leaders from federal agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Highway Administration.
NIBS has already developed a national standard through a volunteer effort, but it has not evolved yet into a comprehensive standard like the one used in the United Kingdom. The new goal through a National BIM Program, according to NIBS, is "a solution at a national scale to enable digital process standards that will streamline business, accelerate the effectiveness of the supply chain, provide predictable processes, improve project outcomes, drive efficiency and foster innovation."
NIBS told Construction Dive that it has not yet scheduled another roundtable session but that the participants will review the items discussed at the first session and then decide on the next steps.
Biggest losers, winners of construction jobs by state
Since the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic first emerged in the United States, Texas has lost more construction jobs (35,600) than other state, followed by New York (30,900), Florida (17,500) and New Jersey (16,700), according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Seasonally adjusted construction employment in December was lower than in February 2020 in 34 states, according to the analysis, with Vermont experiencing the largest percentage of jobs lost at 23%, or 3,400 positions.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs from February to December. Virginia added the most jobs (10,800), followed by Utah (7,000) and Alabama (6,100), which also had the highest percentage gain (6.4%).
BLS Employment Situation Report: January 2021
Total nonfarm payroll employment improved slightly in January as robust gains in professional and business services were offset somewhat by declines in leisure and hospitality and in retail trade sectors. The January job gain of 49,000 was in-line with most analysts’ expectations and represented an improvement over the weak December Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report. Unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3% in January or 10.1 million unemployed persons.
The BLS noted the labor market continued to reflect the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it. However, the data suggests that the impact of the virus might be lessening; the sharp rate of decline in the large leisure and hospitality sector moderated as government mandated restrictions eased during January.
A Resilient Workforce Triumphs Through a Tough 2020
For the global construction workforce, 2020 was a year like no other.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended daily work life in ways many had never experienced, ranging from distanced jobsite crews and no-contact education and training to shifts, halts and cancellations of long-scheduled projects and managing job details, staff, and clients with little or no face-to-face interaction.
Strategies had to be reassessed for growth, or even survival, in a much-changed present and still-uncertain future.
Current and future construction participants innovated ways to get the job done., and after 10 months of pandemic, the resilience of the industry’s workforce is clear in how they met the challenges. Virus protocols and remote interactions now are standard operating procedure in construction, but adapting to the new normal added another dimension to project and career pressures.
BLS Employment Situation Report: December 2020
Total nonfarm payroll employment in December declined by 140,000 in December, well below the consensus forecast of a job gain of 45,000. Unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7 percent or 10.7 million unemployed persons.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted in today’s release that both unemployment measures are much lower than their April highs, but still nearly twice their pre-pandemic levels in February (3.5 percent and 5.7 million, respectively). The decline in payroll employment, as reported by the BLS reflects the recent increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and efforts to contain the pandemic. In December, job losses in leisure and hospitality and in private education were partially offset by gains in professional and business services, retail trade, and construction.