As the construction industry grows, so does the need for effective safety management and jobsite auditing practices. And for the most part, the outlook for construction equipment, jobs and projects looks pretty good lately.
This month, the Construction Sector Council (CSC) released details from its latest forecast of workforce supply and demand, called “Construction Looking Forward.” If you’re not familiar with P.E.I, it’s one of the smallest provinces here in Canada. But even though they’re smaller than other provinces, they’re expecting a local boom in the construction labour force. The CSC predicts that about 1,500 workers will be needed to close gaps by retiring workers and fill new jobs. And another 1,500 will be needed for New Brunswick, 6,000 for Nova Scotia, 2,200 for Newfoundland and Labrador – all Atlantic provinces.
In Ontario, the CSC predicts that the construction labour force will rise by 43,000 over the next nine years, and with 77,000 retiring workers needing to be replaced, the total new recruit count will be closer to 120,000. The council predicts record high employment levels for Manitoba, where 16,000 new recruits will be needed, and British Columbia, where meeting industry demand will require 44,000 new construction workers. Other provinces like Saskatchewan also celebrated growth in the industry. While we haven’t covered them all, we’re sure you get the picture: Canada’s construction industry looks like it has a bright near future.
On the global scale, growth in the construction equipment industry is also signaling a rise in demand. Occupational Health & Safety magazine reported on that growth today, focusing on positive results from companies like Volvo Group and Caterpillar. According to OH&S, Volvo Construction Equipment’s deliveries rose by 30%, and the company is expanding with new plants planned for manufacturing excavators and articulated haulers, and of course providing jobs for the regions where these new plants appear. Similarly, Caterpillar reported a 41% rise in sales and 83% rise in profits from 2010 to 2011.
The news isn’t all positive, though. We also found recent figures from the Association General Contractors of America (AGC) highlighting employment declines and job losses. According to the AGC, U.S. construction jobs declined in 111 out of 337 metropolitan areas. But about 169 areas saw increases.
“The mixed construction employment results reflect the conflict between slowly rebounding private sector demand for construction and declining public sector investments,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “For every metro area that is adding construction jobs, there is another one where construction employment continues to fall or is stagnant.”
Here’s a breakdown on the job losses and increases for certain areas, from the AGC:
The largest job losses were in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (-7,100 jobs, -14 percent), followed by Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. (-5,200 jobs, -5 percent); Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla. (-3,400 jobs, -11 percent) and New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. (-3,300 jobs, -11 percent). Springfield, Mass.-Conn. (-23 percent, -1,800 jobs) lost the highest percentage. Other areas experiencing large percentage declines in construction employment included Anniston-Oxford, Ala. (-20 percent, -200 jobs) and Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. (-19 percent, -600 jobs).
Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J. added the highest percentage of new construction jobs (45 percent, 1,700 jobs) followed by Bakersfield-Delano, Calif. (31 percent, 4,000 jobs). Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. added the most jobs (5,300 jobs, 13 percent). Other areas adding a large number of jobs included Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo. (5,000 jobs, 8 percent); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (5,000 jobs, 6 percent); Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. (4,600 jobs, 14 percent) and Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
As job numbers fluctuate, safety should be part of filling any gaps. On any scale, it will affect the bottom line. If you’re in charge of filling safety roles for any organization, remember that retiring workers can signal the opportunity for positive change. Is it time to take another look at how you manage safety? If you’re hiring for a safety position, do you look for new approaches and new thinking from your candidates? Bringing in new blood is a great way to inspire change and improve performance with new safety solutions.
When I pulled my car into the service bay at the auto repair shop, a service agent scribbled the car’s VIN number onto a small scrap a paper. Another agent followed, taking down my name on a pad of paper.
