News

Minnesota Industry Group Wants Teens in Construction Although Minnesota law permits teens ages 16 and 17 to work in a variety of fields, construction is not one of them. David Siegel, the executive director of BATC-Housing First Minnesota, told Finance & Commerce that it’s time for that to change. In response to construction labor shortages, BATC and other industry groups are urging the state to allow young workers to perform certain jobs on construction sites. Several states allow older teens to work in construction, according to the report. The group hopes to bring teens on board, but keep them off...

Better designs with digital construction Technology makes accomplishing things faster and cheaper, and the construction industry is no different. An engaging conversation with Bhupinder Singh, Chief Product Officer, Bentley Systems establishes the fact that Going Digital is the way for the construction industry to excel in this fast-changing environment. Why Go Digital? Going digital makes us achieve more with less. For instance, consider the task of adding a lane to a national highway, how would the industry work traditionally? Surveyors would survey the existing highway with theodolites, go with stakeouts and capture the data points that will eventually help in...

Construction spending ticks up, led by housing The numbers: Construction spending rose 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.3 trillion in November from a revised $1.29 trillion in October, helped by housing, the Commerce Department said Friday. What happened: Economists surveyed by Econoday had forecast a 0.2% increase, but October figures were revised down. Outlays in November were 3.4% higher than a year ago, and for the first 11 months of 2018, were 4.5% higher than the same period in the prior year. Big picture: Residential construction spending was up 3.4% during the month, and was 0.6% higher...

What construction can learn from 1851's Crystal Palace At a time when the construction industry is facing urgent issues around productivity, skills and sustainability, could the 19th century Crystal Palace be a source of inspiration? The Crystal Palace featured an innovative blend of materials and construction methods with inspirational design to deliver profitability, predictability and productivity gains. Fast-forward to today and construction has fallen behind many other sectors on each of these fronts. Now, the government’s industrial white paper and £170m of funding is aiming to incentivise investment in productivity initiatives. The sector has been challenged to catch up. In this...

Safer construction sites in the works Under proposed amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 1994, the maximum fine for the offence, which is currently RM50,000, will be raised, Depart­ment of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) director-general Omar Mat Piah told The Star. Omar declined to reveal the exact figure for the new maximum penalty but said it would be a significant increase. The amendments, which are set to be tabled in Parliament in March, will also hold project owners and designers responsible for construction safety and health alongside employers and main contractors. This will be done by...