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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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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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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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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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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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 In every field of human endeavor, technology drives progress. It’s hard to think of any new development in construction technology that has failed to increase efficiency, productivity, and/or quality. It may, however, take some time for construction businesses to embrace and adopt new technology. The benefits of doing so must be clear enough for companies to make the necessary investment in new technology and reap the rewards. And sometimes, it takes a major challenge for the benefits of investing in construction technology to become readily apparent. Challenges Driving Technology Adoption in Construction For many construction firms, the global Covid-19 pandemic was probably the greatest such challenge to arise in recent years. The shortage of skilled construction workers has been and remains a major challenge. Other key challenges, some directly linked to the pandemic, include: the need to compete against construction companies with a high rate of technology adoption, supply chain disruptions and the resulting materials shortages...
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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. The Form Energy Battery Plant Project Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023 on Massachusetts-based Form Energy’s new iron-air battery plant in Weirton, West Virginia, with battery production slated to begin in 2024. Weirton, a former steel town, was chosen as the plant’s location largely due to the financial incentive package offered by the state of West Virginia. The $75 million allocated by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority to purchase the land, the site of a former steel plant, gave the state a major advantage against 15 other states competing for the project and 750 promised new manufacturing jobs. An additional $215 million in state and federal funds brings the total financial incentive package to $290 million. Advantages of Iron-air Batteries Form Energy describes iron-air batteries as longer-lasting, able to store electricity for up to 100 hours. Iron-air batteries also are reported as cheaper and more sustainably scalable than lithium-ion batteries. These qualities are essential to making renewable...
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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. Growing Institutional Building Sectors The two institutional sectors of the construction industry experiencing the greatest growth in 2023 (with expectations for continued growth in 2024) are education and healthcare. Healthcare Construction in 2023 Healthcare construction projects typically involve building inpatient hospitals, structures housing medical offices to provide outpatient services, nursing homes, or standalone clinics. Project starts are estimated to total more than $40 billion in 2023. The greatest growth is expected in the construction of medical buildings where outpatient services are provided. The uptick in the construction of medical office buildings is driven by a growing demand for conveniently located outpatient services that don’t require admission to a hospital. Most hospitals offer outpatient services, but patients prefer to avoid the usual registration process or navigating a large hospital facility. Revenues from outpatient services grew by 30% between 2020 and 2022, while inpatient revenues increased by only 8.5% during that period. The volume of outpatient office visits is expected to...
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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. Challenges at the Federal Level Many have been questioning why, in 2023, they have not seen much construction activity due to the funding authorized by the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act signed into law in November 2021. It goes without saying that getting any massive new endeavor off the ground is likely to involve some challenges, some of them perhaps unexpected or underestimated. The rollout of IIJA is no exception. Consider the implementation and oversight challenges facing the U.S. Department of Transportation in administering the $660 billion in IIJA funding for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. It has taken some time for the Department to address such challenges as: Identifying and mitigating risks, such as the increased risk of disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) fraud, which can steal opportunities for legitimate DBEs to participate in IIJA-funded projects Expanding, training, and retaining its own workforce to achieve the capacity to meet IIJA demands Establishing IIJA application and award processes and DOT...
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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. IIJA Transportation Project Grants With the infusion of the $1.2 trillion authorized for transportation and infrastructure spending under the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law in November 2021, there will be many new transportation projects in 2023 and over the next few years. Although IIJA became law in 2021, most of 2022 was devoted to getting the administrative framework up and running. This included establishing offices and programs within the federal Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, administrative and operational guidelines were established for states, territories, and tribal entities to follow. And at the state, territorial, and tribal level, authorities were setting up their own systems for proposing projects for IIJA funding and soliciting bids from construction companies. Consequently, it wasn’t until mid-2022 that transportation project grants began to be awarded. Funding Opportunities for 2023 The federal government’s schedule of...
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