The Innovation Imperative

The Innovation Imperative

More than any other characteristic, twenty-first century markets are iconized by technological and industrial revolution. According to industry experts, however, the construction industry – specifically, the commercial sector – has yet to commence its third industrial revolution, leaving it far behind other major market sectors [1] (think: transportation, consumer staples, hotels, restaurants, and leisure, etc.). So much so, that the World Economic Forum delivered a report on the state of the construction industry, indicating that traditional business model and project delivery had undergone no fundamental changes in the past 50 years. [2]

So how do general contractors spur innovation in our industry?

In this week’s blog, we have examined a few of the smaller scale steps local and regional contractors can take to encourage development and progress in their spheres of commercial construction. We also brought in some substantiating excerpts from the World Economic Forum to show how effectively these approaches can further our industry’s development.

 

1. Integrate Innovation Culture

Integrate innovation culture into your work environment. It takes strategy and deliberation to create a diverse, multidisciplinary team. While it is traditional to on-board individuals with specific construction experience, bringing in team members from varied backgrounds streamlines knowledge transfer and induces innovation. It produces and overall agile organization that is flexible, nimble, and responsive to consumer demands.

When envisioning the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building and Dubai’s iconic landmark, Sheikh Mohammed and Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar put great effort into assembling a project team from across the world. [3]

Why? To build a team that would push innovation and dedicate themselves to a vision that rejected the status quo.

The result? A building that has broken several world records and defied conventional limits.

“Their unwavering visions inspired the project team to go beyond the known limits – increasing the building’s height and implementing still-unproven processes and technologies.” [4]

2. Sustain Innovative Relationships

Sustain innovative relationships with suppliers and subcontractors. Subcontractors and suppliers develop a highly specialized expertise in their products. Who better to craft creative, effective solutions for a general contractor than the product experts?

Traditional approaches to construction segregate the design-bid-build process, which does not always promote open discussion among the project’s participants. Instead, it prompts each portion of the process to remain siloed from the other, limiting transfer of information.

When OVG Real Estate, Deloitte, and PLP Architecture embarked on a mission to create the world’s most sustainable office building, aptly dubbed The Edge, they reached out to the experts first: their subcontractors. By working closely with these suppliers and startups, OVG Real Estate introduced 21 innovations that had never been applied b

“We think we can be the Uber of buildings,” states chief executive officer of OVG Real Estate. “We connect them, we make them more efficient, and in the end we will actually need fewer buildings in the world.” [5]

Why is innovation imperative for general contractors?

Satisfying Expectations

Efficiency developments in other markets generate expectation for customers and consumers across all sectors – especially when it comes to speed. Technological developments have produced a metamorphic shift in consumer mentality. The modern individual expects immediate results and perpetual updates (think: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and every other notification that pops on a daily – let’s be real, hourly – basis). General contractors must learn to work with new, emerging consumer expectations: faster, better results. It is a mentality that has taken the service market by storm and sets the bar high even for companies delivering complex products.

 

Establishing Relevance

This is perhaps the most pressing challenge for participants of the commercial construction industry. General contractors in particular already face logistical challenges, modifying traditional operations to incorporate new apps, software, tools, and gear. More importantly, however, general contractors face the added challenge of personalizing the entire construction process – i.e. incorporating the client.

General contractors can assess user needs, wishes, and ideas as the framework for design and engineering. From their project’s “Lessons Learned,” OVG attributed part of their success to the help of user studies and interviews. The design and construction team were able to gain “an early and accurate understanding of the client’s needs and preferences, combining open spaces with focus rooms and quiet zones to allow for different usages during a typical working day – phone conferences, informal meetings and tasks requiring high-focus.” [6]

This approach is becoming especially pertinent as the twenty-first century ushers in highly-specialized service methods for consumers. Companies succeed when they promise, market, and deliver personalized services with positive experiences.

DBG has had the pleasure of achieving such an outcome with multiple projects – the pinnacle of which was a design-build project for Dunlap Codding Law Firm.

“Trust and trustworthiness are concepts that are highly sought by professional service firms. Appropriately, however, it is very rarely earned. DBG has earned the trust and admiration of the partners of Dunlap Codding as well as the employees of our firm. Our trust is not simply because of the outcome achieved – which is exceptional – but also for the manner in which DBG handled themselves during all aspects of the project. DBG’s personnel are exacting professionals who we believe always had out best interests in mind – DBG acted as a partner in the project rather than a typical vendor of goods or services.” – Douglas J. Sorocco, Director and Shareholder, Dunlap Codding

The Impact of Technological Developments in Construction

The Impact of Technological Developments in Construction

Technological advances have permeated the construction industry at a much slower rate compared to other industries.

However, growing developments in 2016 and 2017 have improved aspects such as safety, accountability, and financial efficiency on the job site.

While adoption of emerging technology has been a gradual process, there are some distinct introductions that have already demonstrated tangible results.

Here are some of the innovations that could make waves across the industry:

 

The Use of Virtual Data

Although the construction sector has been a brick-and-mortar operation both literally and figuratively, there is a growing usage of virtual tools to improve efficiency. This development has had the greatest impact in tracking and streamlining asset management on the job site.

Specifically, general contractors are beginning to use data-gathering tools like commercial drones to optimize their operations and complete projects faster.

How do they improve efficiency?

Commercial drones fly over job sites collecting real-time footage and storing extremely large data sets that may be analyzed to reveal patterns and trends. That footage can then be converted into a three-dimensional picture of the developing site and compared to computerized architectural plans. This allows contractors to examine the project in-progress and address any concerning disparities – i.e. lack of material or labor.

Ultimately, the idea is that this virtual representation utilizes large data sets to automatically anticipate project steps that may be falling behind schedule.

This type of supervision has also helped contractors recover stolen equipment.

Just last month, commercial drones were used to recover a trove of stolen construction machinery in Delaware. The most expensive item was a John Deere 50G excavator, valued at $60,000 and lead to the discovery of three additional missing machines at a separate location. In all, approximately $394,000 worth of equipment was recovered and returned to their property owners.[1]

The Federal Aviation Administration published its annual Aerospace Forecast report on March 21, 2017. With the uptick in commercial use, the report predicts that the number of drones and virtual data gathering tools could rise to 1.6 million by 2021.[2]

 

The Popularity of Mobile Applications

Mobile applications have taken the construction field by storm.

This development is by far the most popular technology within the construction industry to improve collaboration between field staff and the office team.

There are intuitive mobile applications that enable project managers and on-site workers to access documents, edit and share relevant job site information.

While the digital transfer of information has increased speed and accuracy, it has most notable become a catalyst for improved safety standards.

How do they improve safety?

There are several applications – such as the Safety Meeting App or iSafe – that gives superintendents and field staff a new reservoir of up-to-date safety information. These applications provide safety meeting management, topics for safety discussions, and cover over 30 trades in the commercial construction industry.

More importantly, they fulfill the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s required meeting laws, create and store digital safety logs, and keep field staff updated on new developments and the latest safety standards.

Safety applications are also beginning to develop digital and real-time management for onsite safety inspections.

Users can now automate any type of inspection, including safety audits, work orders, property assessments, asset management, service management and custom forms.

Safety planning applications also make it easy for project managers and superintendents to collaborate in the field, allowing them to share and log critical information such as updated plans, photos, and punch lists.[3]

Overall, these technological introductions in commercial construction have brought a whirlwind of new data. This influx of digital information has empowered general contractors to approach projects with higher rates of efficiency and accuracy.

But knowledge is power, and with power comes responsibility. The progress of technology will continue to raise the bar for project timelines, material and labor efficiency, and job site safety.

 

[1] http://www.enr.com/articles/41708-drone-spies-stolen-construction-equipment-trove

[2] https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation/aerospace_forecasts/media/FY2017-37_FAA_Aerospace_Forecast.pdf

[3] http://dailyreporter.com/2015/01/09/15-construction-apps-for-2015/

Four Growing Commercial Construction Trends To Watch in 2017

Four Growing Commercial Construction Trends To Watch in 2017

With 2017 well on its way, construction professionals are identifying new and growing industry trends that will shape the remaining year and set the stage for 2018. Despite an overall underwhelming growth in 2016, the Dodge Data & Analytics team has projected an optimistic 5% growth for the upcoming year.

What will this growth look like in the commercial construction industry?

 

Increase in Warehouse and Distribution Centers

  • While the robust growth in online sales has been detrimental to larger retail centers, like Macy’s and JC Penny, it continues to build demand for regional distribution centers. Retail construction as whole is not projected to decline, it is only predicted to experience a sharp shift from walk-in glass-glass front stores to warehouse and manufacturing centers.
  • The retail sector has also experienced an overall positive-growth, meaning that commercial construction still retains a positive outlook for cutting-edge retail and restaurant concepts. One of the more innovative developments is fulfilling grocery or food orders. Need some examples? Check out AmazonFresh, Instacart, and Grocery Gateway – all companies who will need massive warehouse space to accommodate a larger variety of products and produce.

Energy Efficiency and Green Building

  • The rise in eco-friendly and health-conscious trends is now beginning to take shape in the commercial construction industry.A new study completed by Dodge Data and Analytics points out that green building is expected to double by 2018. The demands for recycled materials and energy efficient solutions are spurring new developments in various trades, specifically in the window/glass, doors, and plumbing trades.Customers are learning that while LEED-certified buildings involve a costlier design, they use less water and energy overtime, reducing expenses in the long-run.
  • What does this mean for general contractors?There is a growing expectation for contractors to provide clean and resource-efficient alternatives for all phases of development. Might be time to consider that LEED-certification.

Technological Efficiencies

  • The integration of technology and construction has rapidly reduced and streamlined previously arduous processes. Project management software systemizes the pipeline of communication between contractors, subcontractors, and clients. Real-time video feeds capture and report jobsite data with speed and accuracy. As far as customers are concerned, technology has significantly raised the bar for both jobsite accountability and visibility.
  • Wearable technology is also transforming the building and construction industry, specifically for tradesmen and superintendents. The building pressure behind jobsite safety and quality assurance has instigated a wearable technology industry that is expected to hit and $4 billion by the end of 2017.[1] Some of the most innovative wearable devices include safety vests with GPS, hard hats with virtual display visors and augmented reality devices to experience virtual design elements.[2]

Collaborative and Integrated Approaches

  • The collaborative approach is becoming more popular as it continues to prove its time-efficiency and cost-effectiveness. While the public sector primarily retains its design-bid-build segregation, construction professionals are seeing an increase in design-build projects in the private sector. According to Dodge Data & Analytics, the design-build, public-private partnerships and integrated project delivery are three of the most often-cited methods that are altering the industry and are likely to gain ground in 2017.

 

[1] https://www.buildsoft.com.au/blog/construction-tech-and-trends-for-2017

[2] https://equipmentshare.com

Three Common Myths About Construction

Three Common Myths About Construction

Myth #1: I can do my own general contracting.

Navigating the commercial construction industry requires years of involvement and significant technical understanding.

Does this mean that general contractors have an exhaustive understanding of every trade? No, definitely not to the same degree that subcontractors do. However, there is a reason general contractors are required to be licensed in Oklahoma.

Operational general contractors must demonstrate a basic proficiency in the construction process so they know how to build your project safely and effectively. They must know how and when to obtain the necessary permits, schedule material and long lead items, and – most importantly – manage the pipeline of communication between project managers, subcontractors, architects, and the client. This maze of project management requires an entire team of full-time, dedicated construction professionals.

Not convinced? That’s okay. We wrote down a few more reasons to consider a General Contractor here and here

 

Myth #2: You can pick any general contractor.

Your project is unique, so the company that builds it should be, too.

Is it a design-build project? Some commercial construction companies have developed years of synergy with architectural firms. They know how and when to implement value engineering.

Are you constructing a multi-phase, 100,000 sqft building? Other firms have developed their portfolio in construction management and know how to execute complex phases using cost-effective and time-sensitive methods.

A firm that specializes in office renovations and repairs may not be the most qualified to handle your ground-up restaurant. That’s why it’s important to vet the experience and expertise of any general contractor.

Ask for referrals. Most general contractors who perform quality work are well-known by repeat-clients and subcontractors.

Conversely, contractors who promise low prices and perform low-quality work also develop a reputation for hemorrhaging client’s budgets with hefty change orders.

The commercial construction industry is a resourceful community. Ask for recommendations and find out what contractors deliver quality services.

Analyze their resources. The individuals who comprise the general contracting team determine the overall capability of the firm. That’s why it’s important to ask: What are the qualifications of the project managers and superintendents? How many can they dedicate onsite to your project?

For example, DBG Construction uses Procore Construction Management software to effectively record and track onsite supervision, safety, and progress. We dedicate a superintendent to a single project, and provide a comprehensive support system for processing contracts and documentation. Make sure your construction project is going to receive the detailed attention it deserves.

 

Myth #3: The hard cost is negotiable.

An experienced contractor is familiar enough with the trades to ensure that each piece of the project is priced properly. In fact, a quality contractor will put together a team of knowledgeable subcontractors with a record of excellent performance. This means that a general contractor has diligently estimated the hard cost of your construction project, and then added the necessary percentage to cover their overhead costs. These hard costs are the result of existing market dynamics – labor, material, or the availability of both – not the contractor’s desire for profit.

(Fun fact: Overhead costs are how we take care of our people – including providing water and accommodations for onsite workers. You can read more about overhead costs here: “Contractor Markup – What are you really paying?” SucceedWithContractors.com.)

What is left to negotiate? A successful general contractor in the commercial construction industry knows that they can only afford to drop the price if they can adjust the scope of work.

They often provide value engineering services to analyze the specifications and replace various materials and finishes with cost-effective alternatives. Without examining other options for material or labor, the hard cost of your project remains the same, but an experienced general contractor has the resources and the network to help keep your project in budget without sacrificing quality.

Looking for a general contractor for your next commercial construction project? We’d love to hear about it. Contact the DBG team!

Two Techniques to Improve Teamwork

Two Techniques to Improve Teamwork

In the commercial construction industry, teamwork is a non-negotiable component for successful construction projects.

Usually, any general contractor can complete a project – they may even complete it close to schedule or near the budget amount, but there is more that distinguishes a successful construction project than meeting the basic time and money requirements of project management.

At DBG, we aim above and beyond the elemental construction of a project; we aim to build an effective, dependable team of subcontractors, architects, engineers, city officials, and – most importantly – our clients.

 

The Bigger Picture

Remind team members of the bigger picture. A project team achieves high performance when they are motivated by the same goal.

As a general contractor, one of our key ingredients to project approach is incorporating the client into our team. Their vision becomes our vision.

We recognize the challenges and hurdles of the client’s project and communicate them with our subcontractors. Then we develop lasting business relationships with subcontractors so they work to achieve this vision with a sense of pride and ownership. This is also a reason to consider integrating pre-construction management for your project.

Pre-construction opens a forum for brainstorming, discussion, and determining milestones and goals. One of DBG’s hallmark projects was so successful in achieving its overall vision, that the building has merited multiple awards and recognition for its artistic and community-based space. Check out our blog on pre-construction for Dunlap Codding Law Firm.

 

Clear System for Communication

Have a clear system for communication that includes everyone. Communicating the goals and vision of a project needs to happen more than once.

According to Forbes’ article Five Ways to Build a High-Performance Team, good leadership needs to “be a broken record and help team members to be focused on the vision. High-performance team leaders stay on message, they constantly communicate and keep people focused on the vision and mission to accomplish.”

Implementing communication processes that support day-to-day and even hour-to-hour updates is critical to achieving each milestone.

At DBG, we use Procore Construction Management software comprehensively for each project.

If you have a commercial construction project, consider working with a general contractor that utilizes a robust management software that keeps them accountable and keeps communicating the vision every step of the way.

You can also check out our blog on Communication: Setting up Projects for Success to read our story on effective and comprehensive communication systems.

For more information about our commercial construction firm and our project management, please contact us today.