Digitally Assisted Project Planning Offers Solutions and Opportunities

The workforce shortages contractors face today are significant and expected to persist for years. As firms try to overcome the challenges of fewer workers, digitally assisted project planning is a solution that can support contractors on multiple levels.

In addition to current workforce shortages, other factors are expected to further shrink the availability of qualified labor and increase the number of construction jobs. Successfully navigating the current landscape of low labor supply and high project demand requires a strategy focused on more than recruiting workers.

In addition to allowing jobs to be completed on time and on budget—despite fewer workers—digitally assisted project planning for ceiling and wall installations can help ensure contractors maintain, and possibly build, their business by bidding on more construction projects and tapping into the movement toward more complex ceiling designs.

The construction industry’s labor shortage

Estimates from Associated Builders and Contractors indicate 439,000 new construction workers will be needed in 2025 to meet rising demand in the construction industry. While contractors struggle to have adequate crews onsite, forces are at work to decrease the pool of available tradespeople.

Among these are federal policy aiming to restrict immigration, a rise in the number of workers who are 55 and older, lack of trade interest among the younger generation, and a shortage in training resources.

As labor shortages continue, contractors can also expect to face a growing number of project opportunities driven by anticipated lower interest rates inspiring more new construction, post-pandemic office renovations, a surge in the building of data centers, and more.

Multiple “trickle-down” effects of the labor shortage stand to impact a firm’s bottom line:

• Wages are on the rise and eating into profits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between May 2021 and May 2022, average hourly wages for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction rose 6.3 percent.
• Contractors are competing for workers, which can drive up the cost of incentivizing new hires through better wages, benefits, and more.
• Unsure if they can handle certain jobs, contractors are forgoing job opportunities. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that in 2021 more than one-third of contractors turned down projects.
• According to AGC, 54 percent of contractors are experiencing project delays due to labor shortages, which can also add costs and prevent a company from moving onto the next job.
  Contractors may be out-bidding themselves to account for increased labor-related costs and delays.

Digital support services are on your side

By using emerging digital services that offer complete design-to-installation support, contractors can overcome labor challenges as well as take advantage of shifts in the number and complexity of renovation and new construction projects.

Be sure to look for a partner offering digital services that offer complete support and include human oversight on everything from design evaluation to ways to enhance the digital technology. Here are several advantages digitally assisted support services offer in ceiling and wall installations.

Digitalization of the takeoff process supports faster, more confident bidding. Digital services are revolutionizing the way contractors bid a project. For instance, ceiling solutions can be digitized and, when applied to a reflective ceiling plan (RCP) layout, automate the exact quantities of every component needed for that project.

This capability greatly increases the accuracy of materials needed on the jobsite. Ultimately, digitalization takes the guesswork out of estimating, provides a total materials package in which the contractor can be fully confident, and significantly expedites the bidding process.

Digital support services simplify and accelerate project installation by providing contractors with one, convenient and complete drawing package to guide them every step of the way. Digital technology can evaluate a project scope while considering the installation process.

As a result, any potential issues, like perimeter hardware clashing, can be vetted before any materials reach the job site. Drawing packages should include a bill of materials, accurate and comprehensive finish schedules for all components across the project, clear layouts, and highly detailed drawings and schematics that enable seamless installation.

Digitalization supports fewer wasted hours. The best digital service will take the lead and collaborate with architects in the design phase of a project to clearly understand the materials needed to execute the design intent. That digital service will then collaborate with the contractor to revise plans based on actual jobsite conditions, eliminating time that otherwise may have been wasted backtracking to fix mistakes.

This level of collaboration and project efficiency will enable a project to be completed on schedule and on budget and allow contractors to move more quickly to their next job.

Digital technology can optimize materials within a project space based on realistic scrap reusability. For example, digitalization can analyze every cut panel at the perimeter of a ceiling and determine if the cut-away scrap can be used in another perimeter location. This significantly reduces material, providing a huge cost savings for the contractor while helping to facilitate sustainable construction practices.

Digital support services give contractors the confidence to take on more complex designs that often come with a higher “price tag.” As architects push the boundaries to meet expectations for greater individuality and ingenuity in their designs, contractors must install these complex visuals with impeccable precision.

By enabling accurate and faster bids—as well as by ensuring installation is completed correctly the first time—digital support services offer contractors a critical competitive advantage, no matter how complex the project.

A winning strategy for today and tomorrow

Given today’s labor challenges, digitally assisted project planning should be considered an essential part of contractors’ strategies to help prevent further strain on the workforce, timelines, and budgets. These services should also be embraced for the ways they support material optimization, facilitate a smoother collaboration between architect and contractor, and open new opportunities to take on projects with highly complex designs.

Eric Herr is Senior Manager of Sales and Operations, ProjectWorks for Armstrong World Industries. For more than two decades, he has leveraged his depth of experience in distribution and the construction industry to enhance the service Armstrong provides to its customers, ensuring they can easily design, bid, order and build with Armstrong products. As part of the ProjectWorks leadership team, Herr excels at fostering a collaborative environment focused on customer-centric solutions that facilitate stronger working relationships between designers and contractors, efficient and accurate installation, and beautiful results for even the most complex of designs.