Guest column: Kim Allen, CII

Kim Allen, Associate director of the Construction Industry Institute (CII)

An associate director of the Construction Industry Institute (CII) in the US, Kim Allen outlines some of the emerging worldwide trends in the sector.

What the future holds for the construction industry is certainly difficult to predict in these hard times. We have just witnessed a year that was characterised by tremendous economic swings, where energy and commodity prices escalated at unprecedented rates, only to fall even faster before the year’s end. To forecast how the future will unfold, we need to identify trends that will have a significant impact on our industry.

Although many industry sectors strategically plan for the future, the construction sector is fortunate to have a process in place with the specific purpose of identifying trends likely to affect the industry. The Construction Industry Institute (CII) Strategic Planning Committee is an organised research unit of the University of Texas and is often recognised as the principal industry forum for addressing future issues.

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CII has recently identified the following emerging trends that are expected to have a major impact on the future of the construction industry and project delivery.

Workforce and human capability
Even with the current conditions of economic uncertainty, workforce shortages have remained pervasive. While the credit markets have caused delay or even cancellation of many projects, and alleviated some near-term labour issues, many underlying factors continue to impact workforce availability. The declining availability of skilled craft labour and management professionals , for example, has an impact on the training of unskilled labour and the transfer of knowledge from retiring professionals to the next generation. Recruiting non-traditional demographics and using new technologies to retain workers are now common practices in the project environment.

Sustainability considerations
Sustainability considerations vary dramatically by sector and location, but nearly all industry sectors have reported at least some sustainability impacts in recent years. The spike in global energy prices brought sustainability to the forefront. As society reacts to address climate change, project managers are likely to be faced with ever increasing mega-projects to meet energy demands as well as new population centers, new transportation systems, and new sources of potable water.

The increased emphasis on sustainability will require project managers to have greater appreciation for environmental and life-cycle cost issues to ensure the viability of projects.

Global growth and interconnectedness
The drive towards a global economy has been affecting the construction industry since the late 1980s. Global issues were primarily the concern of those companies working internationally. In more recent years, however, globalisation has affected local markets and projects as shown in commodity price pressures, labour competition, outsourcing of engineering, and the emergence of virtual project teams. While the 20th century saw increases in the global transfer of products, the 21st century is experiencing dramatic increases in the transfer of knowledge resources.

The need for productivity and efficiency improvement methods
While productivity and efficiency have always been integral components of continuous improvement, the need is more critical than ever. Workforce shortages, sustainability pressures, and increasing global competition can all be mitigated through improvements in productivity and efficiency. CII has funded studies over the past 10 years to improve both engineering and construction productivity. To be effective in this ever-changing environment, project managers will have to become knowledgeable on such topics.

Who is Kim Allen?
Allen joined the Construction Industry Institute in July, 2007 and is currently responsible for programme management of CII’s knowledge management core processes, communities of practice, membership, and branding initiatives. He holds a BSc in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla, an MBA from Southern Illinois University, and is a registered professional engineer.