Blogs

Scaffolding Around the World: One Industry, Countless Solutions Construction may be one of the world's oldest professions, but it certainly isn't practiced the same way everywhere. A contractor in Texas faces different challenges than a contractor in Hong Kong. A restoration crew working on a centuries-old cathedral in Europe has different access needs than a team building a skyscraper in Dubai. Workers in the Arctic battle extreme cold. Crews in tropical climates battle heat, humidity, and heav …

If you've spent enough time in construction, you've probably heard someone say: "We have an emergency." Materials didn't arrive. The crew has nothing to do. Equipment isn't available. The wrong product was ordered. An inspection was missed. A subcontractor didn't show up. The project is suddenly in crisis mode. Everyone starts scrambling. Phone calls are made. Schedules are rearranged. Extra costs begin piling up. And somewhere in the middle of the chaos, someone usually asks: "How did this happ …

Every construction company talks about safety. There are safety meetings. Safety manuals. Safety signs. Safety policies. Safety inspections. Yet if you've spent enough time in the industry, you've probably noticed something. Two companies can have nearly identical safety programs on paper and produce completely different results in the field. One company has workers who actively look out for each other. Hazards get corrected quickly. Inspections are taken seriously. Employees feel comfortable sp …

Every contractor eventually experiences it. One of your best workers quits. Then another. Then someone who has been with the company for years decides to move on. At first, it can be confusing. The pay was competitive. The work was steady. The company was busy. So what happened? Many contractors assume good employees leave for more money. Sometimes they do. But after decades in construction, I've noticed that money is often only part of the story. More often than not, good crews leave because of …

Most construction delays aren't caused by bad weather. They aren't caused by equipment failures. They aren't even caused by material shortages. More often than many contractors would like to admit, delays happen because somebody didn't communicate. A phone call wasn't made. An email wasn't sent. A change wasn't shared. An assumption was made. And suddenly a project that was moving smoothly grinds to a halt. The frustrating thing about communication failures is that they are often completely prev …