Material provided by InEight
The injection of billions into repairing aging, deteriorating infrastructures is a welcome development. Yet the pervasive shortage of both skilled and general labour has tempered what would otherwise be promising opportunities for those industries. How can construction companies not only prepare for this reality but meet the challenge with confidence and a brighter outlook?
Recruit For Both on And Off the Jobsite
Grow and diversify your workforce by embracing diversity. Where to look? Go to where your future workforce is. If your company has invested heavily in software technology, don’t overlook the tech- and S.T.E.M.-based schools and their campus groups where you can find students who may be attracted to construction tech. Many may not have even thought of the industry as an area of interest for them nor considered the application of modern software and field technologies to construction projects. This is your chance to pique interest in the opportunities to get in on the ground floor efforts of an industry that is not only exploring all that tech can do but is looking to the tech-savvy younger generation to help guide them.
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Train And Upskill Current Workers
When workers have more than one area of demonstrable knowledge and skill, they become more flexible. They’re easily able to transition to where you need them and when. So, upskill those who are either tech-savvy or at least tech-curious in some of the construction technology that is becoming part of the mainstream “tools” of the trade. It could be anything from using mobile checklists to do quality assurance or safety walkthroughs. Or how to access and understand performance metrics via dashboards so they can take more ownership in job progress.
Enforce Jobsite Safety to Reduce Worker Absences
Invest in software for risk management and commissioning, and in technologies like building information modelling (BIM) to virtually detect safety concerns in order to prevent them or mitigate their impact. BIM, known for the precise virtual 3D models it produces, showcases its visualisation capabilities as it pulls back the curtain on the unseen defects and safety risks that exist in the open but also lurk behind walls, floors and ceilings. You not only can see them but analyse them.
Whilst the labour shortage may remain for some time, these strategies can help soften its impact as infrastructure projects gear up.