Labor and Employment Professor’s Study Shows that the Marcellus Shale has Boosted the Construction Industry

According to a report in the Pittsburgh Business Times, Robert Bruno, a labor and employment relations professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has determined that the shale fields in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and Northern West Virginia are a strong job growth engine that have provided work for between 36,320 and 45,400 construction jobs between 2008 and 2014.  The Pittsburgh Business Times quotes Mr. Bruno’s study, saying “An examination of national and relevant state employment data for the construction industry indicates that but for natural gas projects, the [Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and Northern West Virginia] region would have experienced substantially higher incidences of construction industry job displacement.”

The full Pittsburgh Business Times article about Professor Bruno’s study is available here.

Report Indicates that the Average Construction Dispute Costs Nearly $11k

A recent article in the Engineering News-Record details a report titled “The Interpersonal Cost of Conflict in Construction” issued by the Center for Construction Research and Training.  The report reviewed and analyzed 41 conflict incidents that arose on various construction projects and determined that each conflict resulted in an average of 161.25 hours (or approximately 20 days) of lost time due to managing the conflict.  The report also indicated that the average cost of a cost of each conflict was $10,948.00.  Finally, the report determined that the primary trigger of conflicts attributed to interpersonal issues is most often actually an issue stemming the construction process.

This report emphasizes the importance of coordination between the various trades and the need for open communication between the contractors and subcontractors on a project.  Based upon this report, it is clear that proper coordination and planning of the construction process can result in a considerable savings in the form of avoidance of costly and time-consuming conflicts.

The entire Center for Construction Research and Training report may be accessed by following this link.  The ENR article summarizing the report is available here.

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