Thoughts from the Field - Volume 1 Issue 3

Welcome

Last month, this newsletter explored the resilience of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries, and discussed taking steps to adapt to a new normal. This included:

1. Embracing a new culture that balances performance, health, and security
2. Accelerating the roll out and adoption of digital solutions and workflows
3. Taking the time and making a commitment to upskilling your entire workforce
4. Identifying opportunities to shift work offsite

This month we will explore some facets of item #1, balancing performance, health, and security. In this issue, I will use an example that identifies the need to really consider issues in advance, particularly in this era of remote work and fewer job site visits.

Safety, Quality, and Productivity – They are all still important

Driving to the store today, I passed a construction project that presented an unfortunate reminder of the need to plan our tasks in advance in order to maintain that balance between safety, quality, and productivity. The project is a fast food restaurant being constructed at a busy intersection. The work involves some street improvements, which required cutting into the existing concrete sidewalk. My safety and risk colleagues will quickly recognize and being listing off some of the hazards that must be considered in this type of operation: traffic control, pedestrian safety, and silica exposure. Any time we cut into concrete, we generate respirable crystalline silica, which is extremely hazardous for people to breathe. So much so that is was designated a world health crisis by the WHO, and was the subject of new regulatory action here in the U.S. with the passage of new OSHA regulations. Yet, in spite of this, the video below shows what I saw as I passed.

There are some interesting takeaways in this video. The two individuals involved in the cutting operation are clearly concerned about the dust being generated (no, they are not wearing respirators, they are just the covid masks) because they are making an attempt to control it, using the small bottles of water that you can see littering the ground. You can also see that this attempt is really doing nothing more than wasting what is probably their drinking water for the day, and generating trash on the ground.

I talk quite a bit about the need to plan in advance. Even in an industry like construction, where site conditions can change from day to day, some operations will always present the same set of hazards. Working in the right-of-way, near the street, will always present traffic hazards. It appears that they planned in advance to deal with these hazards. Cutting concrete will always present silica exposure hazards. It appears they did not plan in advance to deal with this hazard. The water bottle solution is neither safe nor productive.

Some people will be quick to judge the individuals in the video, placing the blame or the failure on them. Instead, the question that should be asked is “what did you expect them to do?” Were they sent to the job with a cut-off saw that did not have a water spray attachment? Were they given a hose? Is there even a water source nearby to use? This is the type of advanced planning that needs to occur if our industry is going to succeed and thrive in the future, and it starts with management.

1. Don’t buy tools and equipment that do not have the proper safety features. Yes, they are available at the store. That does not make them automatically acceptable for use in the industry.
2. Training does not replace planning. I see this far too often. Teaching your field personnel that breathing silica dust isn’t safe does not eliminate the need for management to do proper pre-task planning. If you cannot figure out how to perform the task correctly and safely, then what makes you think they can?
3. When you ask your employees to get the job done, human nature is for them to get it done…one way or another. Stop putting them in that position.

Times are changing. So is equipment. Think through your purchases. Research what is available in the market today. It is probably different than what was available a year or two ago. Think about the work you and your crews perform and match the tools to the tasks. Don’t overlook technology, or dismiss it as a fad. I once mocked some power tools that were marketed as being battery powered and Bluetooth enabled. What’s the point? Turns out, Bluetooth connected the battery powered chipping hammer to the battery powered vacuum. Pulling the trigger on the chipping gun turned on the vacuum, sucking up the dust. The battery powered feature meant they could be used anywhere, even in the street where there was no outlet. The Bluetooth connectivity meant they worked together efficiently. No one had to remember to turn on the vacuum, and it wouldn't run out of battery power if they forgot to shut it off - Bluetooth made the tools work together.

If I send crews to do concrete chipping in different conditions and locations, this is a tool purchase that potentially makes them safer and more productive (which also leads to them getting the work done correctly the first time). It also makes my pretask planning easier because my tools will work under a variety of conditions and locations, no extra water bottles needed.

Software as a Service (SaaS) – What does it mean for AEC?

The last issue discussed the release of Bluebeam Revu 20. That’s a good example of software that you purchase. You install it on one computer. It comes with a set of features, and that set of features will not substantially change over time. It’s like buying a tool. When a new version comes out with better features, you have to go buy it.

Another option for deploying computer software in your organization is to utilize the many options available as Software as a Service (SaaS). Software as a service is characterized by purchasing a perpetual license to use a piece of software for a given amount of time. Construction management software such as Fieldwire and Plangrid are examples of SaaS. You pay a monthly or annual fee to access the software from any of your devices. If you stop paying that fee, you loose access to the software. This is in contrast to the example of Bluebeam Revu. If you purchased a copy of Bluebeam Revu 2017, you paid once, and you can continue to use that indefinitely. You may receive minor updates that fix issues and bugs in the software, but you will not receive the major updates without purchasing them. Many users throughout the world are still utilizing Revu 2017, and will continue to do so until they decide to purchase the latest version. One of the issues this causes in the industry is that different users can be utilizing the same software, but with different capabilities and interfaces. Its one of the reasons that on LinkedIn Learning, we maintain separate courses on using Bluebeam Revu 2017 and Revu 2019 (or AutoCAD 2018 and AutoCAD 2021).

In the SaaS environment, you pay an ongoing licensing fee, but you receive every new feature, as it is released. This helps keep all users in parity, meaning they all have access to the same features. Changes will push to each user as they connect to the software, and everyone’s user experience will be essentially the same. This can make life a little easier to support personnel in the AEC industries where we may be dealing with a large mobile force of field crews, inspectors, or other remote (work from home) employees.

Again, Fieldwire and Plangrid are good examples. Every time I log in, the software updates as needed, and my version looks the same as everyone else’s. On the training front, it allows me to record short updates to existing courses by adding new modules instead of creating and maintaining separate courses (which I recently did for both of these pieces of software).

Another advantage is the potential for obtaining new features and functionality without buying anything new, or deploying new systems. Microsoft’s Office 365 is a great example. Some of the familiar software in this SaaS package was (and still is) available in the traditional purchase model. You can buy Microsoft Office 2016, pay once, and use it forever. You will get Word, Excel, and the other base applications. No major features will ever be added, and no other applications will be made available. Or you can go with one of the SaaS versions of Office 365 and get Word, Excel, Outlook, and many more applications all for one monthly fee. As long as you continue your subscription, your versions will always contain the latest features, and you may gain some new applications as a part of the subscription. For example, all versions of Office 365 come with Microsoft Teams for video calls and collaboration.

SaaS does carry the burden of continuing subscription fees, however in the AEC industries this is well worth the consideration. Having everyone on the same version and using the same features can make deployment, support, and training much easier. In addition, software is changing so rapidly these days, that you are probably going to have to budget the money for upgrades each year anyway in order to keep up.

What I am Checking Out

I like tech, and sometimes I check out some strange things that don’t have much to do with construction. That is not the case this time though, even though that’s what you may think when I start talking about flying cars.

I am of an age where we used to fantasize about flying cars when we were kids, and have been disappointed because decades later its still not a reality. But that seems to be changing. There are now over 200 businesses that are involved in building or operating flying cars, and this technology now even has an official name: urban-air-mobility (UAM) vehicles. These flying cars have really been enabled by vertical take-off and landing systems, electric propulsion, and advance flight control technology. As fascinating as all this high tech stuff is, the part that is relevant to our industry is the infrastructure that will need to be in place to support these flying cars.

An article recently published by McKinsey & Company, titled “To Take Off, Flying Vehicles First Need Places to Land” explores the economic viability of these UAM vehicles and discusses the fact that in order to begin deployment, that industry will need to have places to land, charge and refuel, pick up passengers, and perform service and maintenance. The question really is, which one will start rolling out first, the flying cars, or their infrastructure. The article explores the different infrastructure options, including new construction and the conversion of existing facilities such as parking structures, and includes costs and demand estimates.

As we constantly look towards the future of the AEC industry, could the construction of flying car facilities soon play a role?

What’s on LinkedIn Learning?

LinkedIn Learning has released it’s 3rd annual list of the top 20 most watched courses for the year. It’s an impressive list of instructors with a range of topics applicable to the AEC industry, including:

• Time Management: Working from Home by Dave Crenshaw
• Strategic Thinking by Dorie Clark
• Project Management Foundations by Bonnie Biafore
• Excel Tips and Tricks by Dennis Taylor

In addition to the top 20 list and general skills content, our construction management content continues to get great reviews. We have some new content in the works, but it’s a little too early to list that yet. In the mean time, my learning path called Stay Ahead in Construction Management contains 7 courses to help you improve your skills and knowledge as a construction management professional, including safety, risk, project delivery methods, and more. You can check out the entire learning path at https://linkedin-learning.pxf.io/joJmv.

Jim Rogers is a construction management consultant and LinkedIn Learning Instructor. I may receive a commission from the links included in this newsletter and have financial relationships with some of the entities and applications discussed herein. My thoughts are my own and nothing in this newsletter is meant to represent the positions of LinkedIn or LinkedIn Learning.