Masonry Magazine June 1998 Page. 16
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
As they say, "What comes around goes around." Finding adequate skilled craft labor was again ranked the greatest challenge facing the industry (36 percent) in 1997, just as it was in the 1989 survey. However, it was ranked as the least important challenge for the industry in 1992, when the recession had produced downsizing, layoffs, and a surplus of skilled labor. Today's competitive business environment and low unemployment rate have again brought about a shortage of skilled craftspeople. We anticipate that this challenge will only intensify as skilled craft laborers retire and fewer qualified people enter the industry.
Competition remains one of the industry's greatest challenges. Even in a growing economy, construction firms are feeling the push of competition from other companies. Large and small companies alike are striving to increase productivity and improve their competitive advantage. Poor planning and scheduling skills as well as poor communication were cited as factors further reducing productivity.
A lack of skilled people at all levels is the industry's greatest challenge. And this shortage is felt not just at the technical and craft levels or on the field; it's recognized at the supervisory/management level as well. The lack of skilled management/supervisory people was listed as the industry's third greatest challenge, following competition in the industry.
New technology, new tools for communication and training. A development not even mentioned in 1992, the use of technological innovations in the industry has increased dramatically. Many construction firms are using more communication tools voice mail, e-mail, pagers, and cellular phones than ever before to leverage the productivity of their management and field teams. Companies are also using a wider variety of multimedia tools for training employees. For example, computers are present in ever-increasing numbers in the office, on the job, and as a training tool.
16 MASONRY-MAY/JUNE, 1998
The Top Three Challenges
Facing the Industry
1. Shortage of skilled
Craft Workers
2. Competition
3. Lack of Skilled
Management
Challenges Facing the Field
Competition was ranked as the second greatest challenge in the industry. Because competition and productivity are closely linked, becoming more productive is a major concern to the survival of most companies, whether in construction or other industries. There is not a simple answer to being competitive and successful. It is a complex issue depending upon a number of factors, including recoverable lost time and planning.
Recoverable Lost Time. The issue of recoverable lost time is obviously an important one, directly affecting productivity. Small improvements in this area will yield large increases in profitability. We asked respondents how better planning and training would impact their field productivity.
* Almost half (48 percent) of the respondents surveyed felt that better supervisory training would improve field productivity by 10-19 percent. Another 19 percent answered 5-9 percent improvement.
* Almost half (47 percent) also felt that more effective planning would improve their productivity by 10-19 percent (22 percent by 5-9 percent).
However, when asked about the planning abilities of their project managers and superintendents, they were ranked as above average (4 out of 5) almost regardless of the size or type of company. Foremen were ranked as average across the board (3 out of 5). If project managers and superintendents typically possess good planning skills, then improvement in planning needs to take place at the foreman level. Or perhaps there is a lack of effective communication when projects are handed off from estimating to operations.
* Smaller companies felt that better planning would have less of an impact on their productivity (improve by 10-19 percent) than did the largest companies, which said productivity would improve by 20-29 percent. This makes sense as larger companies reported experiencing more recoverable lost time.
Planning and Productivity. Another means of improving productivity through better planning is to conduct pre- and post-job reviews more frequently. Thirty-nine percent of companies say they always conduct pre-job reviews, 37 percent do them often, 15 percent frequently, while 1 percent report they never do them. Less than 40 percent of companies consistently review jobs before beginning them. The statistics for post-job reviews are worse: only 14 percent of companies always conduct them, 27 percent do them often, 24 percent frequently and 31 percent seldom do them. The largest firms are most likely to do post-job reviews.
Barriers to Field Productivity
Barriers to productivity in the construction industry identified by survey participants are familar ones, regardless of size or type:
1. Decline of skilled craft labor
2. Poor pre-job planning
3. Uneducated owner or owner representatives
Challenges
Facing Management
The top three challenges facing management given in our survey are the same top three identified in our surveys for the past seven years (although the order has varied year by year).
* Leading/Motivating
This year leading and motivating field labor rose as the greatest challenge facing management (from third greatest in 1992 and second in 1990). In the face of increasing competition and lack of skilled workers, the construction industry continues to recognize the importance of better equipping manage-