The Major Challenges In Construction: Problems Or Opportunities?

Construction is the third largest industry in Australia for the number of people it employs and its share in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the country. 

We developed below a large picture of the pain points in construction. 

A Slow-To-Innovate Industry 

Construction is the third last in the country (ahead of agriculture and transport, for example) in embracing digital technologies and innovations (based on ABS ranking for 2014-15). No wonder, too often paperwork and data processing are still done manually. 

Projects Are Most Likely To Go Over Time And Over Budget

Delays beyond the original schedule are a common practice. Large projects typically take 20% longer to finish than scheduled. 

When constructing a typical home, the builder is most likely to go 10.6% over the budget of the entire cost (because of the “things that can’t be categorized”). 

Logic prompts that going over time and over budget should mean there are productivity problems. Data is there to support such assumption. 

Issues With Productivity 

When it comes to productivity, construction still “lags behind other key Australian sectors, including agribusiness, mining, and health”. 

PlanGrid states that over 14 hours per week are spent on dealing with conflict resolution and rework that drift away from high priority tasks.  

Ensuring The Safety Of Workers 

Safe Work Australia informs that though work-related injury fatalities decreased by 48% from its peak in 2007, construction remains in the top three industries that imposes a risk to workers’ lives (as of 2017). 

Implementation of higher safety standards may be the reason that the number of job ads for health, safety and environment roles has increased across the industry. 

Skills And Labour Shortage 

Globally, skills shortages in construction affect 27 of the 46 markets researched (that’s over 58% of the markets). 

 The same challenge is present in the Australian job market. The Department of Jobs and Small Business of the Australian Government shares skill shortage information by occupation: 

  • architect 
  • architectural draftsperson 
  • building associate 
  • construction project manager 
  • surveyor 
  • urban and regional planner 

In construction trades, the market has fallen short of these main skills: 

  • bricklayer and stonemason 
  • cabinetmaker 
  • carpenter and joiner 
  • fibrous plasterer 
  • glazier 
  • painting trade worker 
  • plumber 
  • roof tiler 
  • wall and floor tiler 
It Takes Efforts To Stay Competitive

Times differ. Any industry can witness ups and downs. To make falls less painful, you should acknowledge the importance of being able to transition from one construction site to another. 

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