Never mind the recession, Alberta has been experiencing declines in construction productivity for more than 20 years. What gives?
It’s an old story. A major construction project faces delays. There are consequences: cost overruns, problems with tools, labour and equipment and further scheduling glitches. Delays on one project impact other projects. The client (and its investors) looks at the contractor, who eyes the management, while management urges the trades to work faster. Nobody is happy.
And the squeeze will get tighter. StatsCan reports that investment in non-residential construction and machinery and equipment is expected to drop by nearly seven per cent from 2008, to total $237.5 billion in 2009. And, while we hear a lot about stimulus spending on public infrastructure (public sector capital spending is expected to increase 9.5 per cent), private sector investment may fall by more than 13 per cent, mainly due to decreased spending in mining, oil and gas.
In recessionary times, it’s more important than ever to address problems of productivity in the construction field. Until recently, the consequences of a 20-year decline in productivity have been masked by a buoyant economy. Contractors won’t get more out of limited budgets or their employees simply by inviting them to work harder or by setting unrealistic schedules. But there are a number of tools available to improve construction productivity. Small and medium sized construction enterprises can benefit from productivity gains as much as the big guys.
In these pages, you’ll learn about what construction experts are doing to boost productivity, saving construction jobs in the province and making Alberta a leader in efficient construction. Alberta’s construction companies investing in productivity will survive and thrive.
