Are We Ready?

JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2015

As this first issue of 2015 reaches BAC households, the good news is that we’re seeing more positive trends than negative ones in recent years with respect to the construction industry.

Commercial construction was up 14% in 2014 and the forecast is for moderate growth through 2018. Not only that, but after taking a backseat to residential construction, it was the non-residential sector, the source of most BAC employment, that fueled last year’s gain – the first material increase in non-residential since 2008.  December 2014 saw the lowest U.S. construction unemployment rate of any December since 2007.

Working with our industry partners IMI, IMTEF, and ICE, we’re doing our utmost to benefit from broader industry advances by maximizing opportunities for BAC craftworkers and contractors. Together, through the work of the BAC Apprenticeship Training and Task Force (page 16), we’re formulating steps to create more uniform programs and spend our training dollars more resourcefully. Another collaborative effort, one that spans the entire masonry industry, is the initiative to secure masonry’s rightful place in the realm of Building Information Modeling (BIM). If we don’t want to lose market share to competing materials, we must ensure that the design community, general contractors and of course, BAC contractors, have access to the latest masonry modeling software with which to design and specify BAC materials, and enhance their efficient  delivery to BAC craftworkers on the jobsite (pages 18-19).

Monitoring construction trends and working with industry allies to defend our markets and create new job opportunities is essential to successfully pivot from survival mode to growth. And while that is a major focus for my fellow Executive Board members and me, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be than on a BAC jobsite or at a local training center, talking with members; and we’ve tried to dedicate serious time to doing just that. In this edition of “Members at Work,” (pages 4-13), we have no illusions – the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana members deserve all the attention. It is to them, and all the members we’ve spoken with in recent months, that this issue is dedicated. And I know from those visits that you read the Journal, so please let us hear from you and let us know what’s on your mind.