Workforce

    To Foretell the Future of Design, Look to Policy—and This Website

    Infrastructure has been on a lot of minds lately, though nobody seems to agree what it means. A progressive may consider infrastructure spending as a way to expand the social safety net and tackle climate change. A conservative might say it’s a publicly funded inducement for private enterprise and the nation’s overall economic competitiveness. Both would probably think it’s good for creating jobs. I believe it could have a net positive effect on our buildings, neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Lately,… Read More »To Foretell the Future of Design, Look to Policy—and This Website

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      Construction Site Health and Safety: An Overlooked Concern

      Claire Smith, editor of the British media brand New Civil Engineer, offered an unusual but important message in her latest editorial. She draws the connection between worksite conditions and workers’ risk of cancer, following her own diagnosis with skin cancer. In researching this month’s article with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and Amey, I was stunned to learn that one in two people born after 1960 will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Worse, only half of those diagnosed will… Read More »Construction Site Health and Safety: An Overlooked Concern

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        Executive Order Requires Labor Agreements on Contracts of $35 million or Higher

        In February, President Joe Biden signed an executive order with considerable ramifications for the construction industry. The order (EO 14063) requires project labor agreements on stateside federal construction contracts of $35 million or more. An article about the order, published in the National Law Review, characterizes project labor agreements as “a collective bargaining agreement between a contractor and the building trade union on a specific construction project.” Among the provisions in EO 14063, the National Law Review notes that the… Read More »Executive Order Requires Labor Agreements on Contracts of $35 million or Higher

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          Proposed Changes in Labor Regulations Could Significantly Increase Worker Pay

          A flood of money is about to hit the construction industry, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed into law late last year. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the U.S. Department of Labor is updating the rules determining worker pay on federal construction jobs, first set by the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, which tied the size of paychecks to prevailing local wage rates. Labor law firm Fisher & Phillips outlines some of the major changes in… Read More »Proposed Changes in Labor Regulations Could Significantly Increase Worker Pay

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            Where Have All the Workers Gone?

            By Scott Shurtleff Although the outlook for the civil construction industry in the foreseeable future is quite sunny in terms of projects and prospects, a few clouds linger. Variables like supply chain uncertainty and more competitors chasing civil work are making the terrain tougher to navigate. But another layer of weather looms in the sky; finding and retaining skilled workers to meet this growing demand.  With a robust job market amid an economic recovery, companies across all sectors are scrambling… Read More »Where Have All the Workers Gone?

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              What Demographic Growth Slows, Population Shifts Could Mean for Your Business

              By Richard Branch, Chief Economist One of the biggest concerns facing the construction sector is “people.” For most of us in the industry, that concern is centered on the acute lack of skilled labor facing the sector.  I think, though, the “people” concern goes deeper than that. At the end of the day, what we do is build things for people: homes, roads, schools, etc. However, population growth in the U.S. is slowing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total… Read More »What Demographic Growth Slows, Population Shifts Could Mean for Your Business

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                A Pathway to Smarter City Streets

                The streets of new developments may be narrower in future, to make the most of limited land, but that’s not an efficient option for most existing streets. Fortunately, a team from architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and the City Tech Collaborative consortium are thinking of more viable street improvements for existing urban areas, reports American City & County. Using Chicago as object lesson, a team of 30-odd experts in design, engineering, transportation, urban planning, and other fields tackled… Read More »A Pathway to Smarter City Streets

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                  A Narrow, Novel Solution for the Nation’s Housing Shortage

                  That the United States faces an acute housing shortage should come as no surprise. Eviction moratoria, increased unemployment benefits, and other measures spared many owners and renters from losing their homes at the height of the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fully one third of renters used some kind of government assistance to pay the landlord, according to a recent article in The New York Times. Unfortunately, lower-income families are still vulnerable, particularly with benefits coming to… Read More »A Narrow, Novel Solution for the Nation’s Housing Shortage

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                    AIA Architecture Award Spotlights the Best in Education Design

                    Eleven projects got the nod in this year’s Education Facility Design Award program, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently announced. The program, a longstanding initiative of AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education, recognizes schools and other learning facilities based on criteria such as enhancing learning in classrooms; balancing function with aesthetics; establishing a connection with the environment; being respectful of the surrounding community; demonstrating high-level planning in the design process; and integrating sustainability in a holistic fashion. The awards… Read More »AIA Architecture Award Spotlights the Best in Education Design

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                      UC Berkeley Launches Free-Tuition Fellowship for Design Students Pursuing Careers in Social Justice

                      A holy grail of community-minded designers has been the establishment of a Federal loan-forgiveness program for architecture and planning students who pursue careers in public or community service upon graduation. Such a program exists for teachers who work five consecutive years in low-income communities, as well as for other occupations.  The College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley, led by architect, urbanist, and dean Vishaan Chakrabarti, has stepped into the breach by offering donor-funded, free-tuition fellowships for… Read More »UC Berkeley Launches Free-Tuition Fellowship for Design Students Pursuing Careers in Social Justice

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