#5 The Fragmented, Inefficient and Litigious Construction Industry has Lots of Room for Improvement

Owners want projects faster, better and for less. I learned that lesson 25 years ago and it hasn’t stopped being true. Unfortunately, the Construction Industry operates with standard procedures that sometimes date back to the Middle Ages. The difference between how well most projects could get done and how well they actually get done amazes me.

The inefficiency begins with the lack of collaboration in planning and design, which usually results from the way Architects and Engineers get compensated. This most important first step generally gets done on the cheap. Even worse, perhaps, the Design Professionals often don’t have direct responsibility for how the facility ultimately operates. This creates a disconnect few projects ever get past.

Then the projects heads into construction with flawed documents and lots of opportunities for conflict between all parties. Since confrontation tends to be easier for most of us than collaboration, we fight our way to project completion with opportunities for true efficiency lost along the way.

Of course every project doesn’t get done this way, but many do. Owners get stuck in the middle of these wars and generally finance them. Those of us who figure out how to do better tend to stay busy and not worry too much about recessions.

Anyone coming into this business should be considering where they want to be on that scale of conflict and collaboration. If you commit to work with integrity, precision and efficiency and strive to fine other like minded people to do the same, you’ve got a bright future.

Things like Building Information Management (BIM) systems will be the future of our industry. The 3D drawings and collaboration between designers, suppliers and contractors could greatly improve our overall industry efficiency. With great improvement comes lots of work and the possibility of substantial rewards. That’s the line you want to be standing in.

#7 College Degree Not Required

I don’t think any other industry spreads more money to people without college degrees than the construction industry (excluding dope dealers, hookers and all things illegal). So many excellent Construction Supervisors, Estimators, Project Managers and Construction Company Owners worked into their positions from Tradesmen. In fact, the experience of working with tools on a construction site shouldn’t be bypassed by anyone going into leadership roles.

By stating that a college degree isn’t required, I’m not implying it isn’t valuable. An engineering degree provides an excellent background for understanding how the physical world of a construction site works, as well as great problem solving training. A business degree gives background for the many facets of running a firm. In fact, any college degree shows that the recipient has stick-to-it-ness and the ability to complete tasks. Hopefully, the graduates have learned a few useful things along the way as well.

Yet competence trumps education in most construction firms. If you can deliver, you earn the right to do it again, often with higher stakes the next time.

#8 Construction Jobs Won’t be Outsourced to India.

We often hear the O word about manufacturing jobs. Lots of engineering work now gets done in other countries with lower pay rates for engineers. Construction, though, just can’t be oursourced.

Consider the Metropolitan Expressway in Tokyo shown below, can you envision any way to build those spans 10,000 miles away and ship them for erection?

The construction industry, for the most part, will continue to be job site based. Some off-site production (precast beams, structural steel, etc) will continue to be made in factories, but the final erection needs to be on site. Shipping size limits off site fabrication, as does fuel prices for shipping cost.

Labor may be imported from other countries, but so what? If you want to become a great Construction Supervisor, you’ll need to learn and grow and become expert at the job. Some competition makes us all better.

#9 Being a Weirdo Isn’t a Detriment, In Fact, It’s Often a Benefit.

Most of corporate America cherishes conformity. People get promoted that belong to the same clubs, have the same interests and don’t clash. The old boys club shows no signs of dying. Government, non-profits and most other industries also tend to support the “Go along to get along” mantra.

Construction, on the other hand, prizes competence above style. If you have two carpenters hanging doors and the guy you like hangs 6 doors a day and the other oddball character hangs 12 doors, you know the friendly guy drains company resources while the productive guy adds company value.

Construction Supervisors also get reputations for being effective (getting the job done on schedule and on budget no matter the obstacles) or not. Most of us in construction, and most Owners, will tolerate a wide range of personality oddity from an effective leader.

One Construction Supervisor may look and act like an outlaw biker, while the next may get up at 3am every day to run a trap line. Construction may be lots of things, but boring ain’t one of them.

#10: We WOW Family and Friends  with our Projects, We Build Cool Stuff.

The pride of accomplishment in construction surpasses almost any other industry. We get to be right in the middle of creating and building all sorts of cool stuff, from cathedrals to smart lighting controls. Construction people have to actually get things built and make them work.

I understand other industries also give a sense of accomplishment (hitting that elusive quality quota in a factory or balancing the account for a bookkeeper), but few industries pack the whallop of watching a building rise out of the ground.

The pride of accomplishment further increases because of the one-time nature of most construction projects. Each new project comes with a unique set of challenges and aggravations. Construction Supervisors struggle to sort out those challenges in an efficient way to complete projects on time and budget. Isn’t it great when a plan comes together?