All posts by SEO Team

Pros and Cons of Using Artificial Intelligence in the Construction Industry

Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your bond needs. Most of the major benefits derived from using artificial intelligence in construction result from better-informed decision-making, which occurs through several steps. In this blog, we will look at these steps, the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence in the construction industry, and how it can help or hinder your company. 

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Ways Artificial Intelligence Can Be Used in Construction

Until relatively recently, artificial intelligence was viewed by many in construction as something of the future—not necessary at the moment and not within their reach, financially or technically. But AI is gaining a significant foothold in the construction industry as the technology evolves, more potential uses are explored, barriers to adoption lower, and the AI market expands worldwide. 

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18 Tips for Fast Track Construction

Fast track construction is aimed at reducing overall project time, usually by overlapping design, permitting, and construction phases so that some tasks typically occurring sequentially are performed concurrently. This approach to construction may be necessary when clients want a quick completion, particularly on high-rise building projects. 

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Understanding the Federal 8(a) Program

Small businesses are the economic engine of the U.S. economy, and fostering their growth is essential for sustained economic vitality and social prosperity. The Federal 8(a) Business Development Program plays a vital role in empowering disadvantaged entrepreneurs. It has its roots in the Small Business Act of 1953 and, over the decades, has become crucial in providing a level playing field for small businesses owned by individuals who have historically faced challenges competing in the federal procurement marketplace.  Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 75 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. How the 8(a) Program Works  Under the 8(a) program, the SBA enters into contracts with other federal entities in the role of prime contractor. SBA then awards subcontracts either competitively or on a sole-source basis to certified 8(a) program participants that will execute the work.  Eligibility Criteria  To participate in the 8(a) Program, businesses must meet the criteria established by the SBA:  The business must qualify as a small business by SBA standards, which are based on industry-specific criteria such as...

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Davis-Bacon Updates and Implications for Contractors

Historical Perspective Keeping on the right side of the many regulations governing the wages paid to people working on federally funded construction projects can be challenging. And it’s been challenging since the Davis-Bacon Act, or DBA, was passed in 1931. Nearly a century later, there are approximately 60 legislative acts that collectively are referred to as the Davis-Bacon-Related Acts, or DBRA. The DBA has become an umbrella under which all of the DBRA fall. The DBA requires “payment of locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits to laborers and mechanics” working on construction “contracts that exceed the amount of $2,000 to which the U.S. or District of Columbia is a party.” That turned out to be a more complicated matter than the DBA’s authors anticipated, resulting in the plethora of DBRA that have further explained, elaborated upon, and extended the original DBA. Legislators refined and expanded the meaning of “prevailing wages,” devised rules for wage determinations and job classifications, and expanded DBA coverage to include projects funded by a wider range of federal sources, such as grants, loans, loan guarantees, and other sources of federal assistance. While DBA itself applies to work done on federal government buildings, District of Columbia,...

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8 Best Ways to Minimize Profit Fade in Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Is Profit Fade? No contractor wants to discover that they aren’t going to make as much profit on a project as initially estimated. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to find that the profit margin for a given construction project shrinks or even disappears by the time work is completed. It’s even more unfortunate that sometimes, that “profit fade” doesn’t become apparent until it’s too late to do much about it. Project owners and surety bond providers typically require periodic financial reports showing the percentage of project completion and the profit recognized as of each reporting date. In a perfect world, those percentages match—when 50% of a project has been completed, 50% of the total estimated profit has been recognized, and so on. At the end of the project, when 100% of the work has been completed, and 100% of the estimated profit has been recognized. It’s when 100% of the profit has been recognized before 100% of the work...

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New Construction Innovation from CES

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Technology Drives Progress Every January, people from all over the world with interest in technology flock to Nevada for the annual CES trade show sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association. CES features every sector’s latest and greatest technological developments, including construction. In 2023, more than 115,000 people, over 40,000 of them from other countries, attended. Some of the innovations highlighted at CES are already available commercially, while others are still in the conceptual or prototype stage. In either case, contractors can find inspiration and new options for improvement in every phase of the construction process, from design and engineering to field operations. Long-term growth comes from understanding that what seems futuristic today very quickly can become tomorrow’s best practices. The theme of CES in 2023, which featured over 3200 exhibitors, including 1000 startups, focused on Human Security for All (HS4A). The intent was to show how technology could address humanity’s greatest challenges. According to Gary Shapiro, CTA’s president, and CEO,...

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How Big Data Improves Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Is Big Data? Oracle defines “big data” as larger, more complex data sets that are so voluminous that traditional data processing software can’t manage them. Big data provides the basis for addressing business problems previously too difficult to tackle.  The “three V’s” help explain the challenges inherent in working with big data. Volume refers to the enormous amount of data—for example, in databases containing BIM and 3-D modeling files and from continuous collection of data from sensor-equipped equipment and PPE. Some organizations are dealing with terabytes of data, while for others, it may be hundreds of petabytes.  Velocity describes the speed at which data are created and collected and perhaps acted upon, potentially in real-time.  Variety is all about the different kinds of data points involved—traditionally structured data in a relational database and, increasingly, new unstructured and semi-structured data that require additional processing to derive meaningful insights. Since these three V’s were delineated, three more V’s have emerged:...

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Fintech Trends for Construction Finance in 2023

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Is Fintech? Fintech (short for financial technology) is defined as technology that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. It has expanded from its origins in automating the “back office” operations of banks and other large financial institutions. It is now used by companies in many sectors to manage their financial operations and processes. In recent years Fintech has been gaining traction in the construction sector. Key Financial Services for Construction There are three key financial services in construction in which value is estimated and exchanged—payments, lending, and insurance. All three involve significant pain points for construction contractors and other stakeholders. Contractors, suppliers, workers, project owners, investors, and lenders all want the same outcome: on-time completion. But at the same time, certain conflicts of interest that are baked into the process can prevent them from achieving that shared goal.  Conflicts of Interest For example, contractors want to be paid based on tasks completed...

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