Here are our Top 4 Predictions for the Construction Industry in 2022
by Rebecca Hasulak, Marketing & PR, QuickFrames
Can you believe it’s already 2022? Another 12 months have whizzed by, with their share of ups, downs and “sideways” – especially in the construction industry. As we look ahead, it’s a great time to predict what’s to come in the near future, get prepared and even let ourselves feel some excitement. Along those lines, here are four of our top construction predictions for this year.
1. Personalization
Many other industries have embraced the idea of personalization in business, whether it’s sharing specific marketing messages, crafting tailored sales offers or otherwise personalizing the customer experience. This is a worthwhile shift overall, and just as important in construction. However, in our industry, personalization looks a bit different.
Now and in the near future, expect construction stakeholders to have access to more customized parts from vendors that meet their project’s unique needs. And, expect them to expect this kind of treatment from you. We’ve already seen demand for this in our business, given that customers often have irregular jobsite circumstances. If they can’t bolt our rooftop equipment support connections to members, they have to weld them. So, we’ve come up with custom welded connections, produced with a top-of-the-line plasma cutter, that help them work around their existing conditions. We expect such customized needs to become even more desired in the coming year.
2. Integration Between Parties
Historically, construction has been an industry in which siloes are the norm. Mechanical contractors handle HVAC and piping, erectors assemble the metal framework, project managers make sure the project is finished on budget and within scope… and so on. These individualized areas of specialty are still absolutely the norm, but there’s been an increase in collaborative practices recently.
As other industries are recognizing the benefits of working hand-in-hand (e.g. sales and marketing), construction stakeholders are starting to see they can save time and move faster when there’s cohesion between parties on jobs. We expect to see more communication between vendors and other colleagues earlier in a project, and overlap throughout it.
3. Creativity
If the global pandemic has proven one thing, it’s that people are resilient and adaptable. In order to adapt to supply chain problems, a reduced workforce and material limitations, construction companies have had to get creative. They’ve considered alternate parts, materials and configurations for their needs to prevent being held up on a project – and this openness to trying new things has paid off.
Within our own walls, we experienced the steep rise in steel prices, just like steel fabricators everywhere. But, fortunately, we had planned ahead and already had plenty of steel in stock. Through the sharp increases, we did become more intentional about recycling steel when possible and using our sheets as precisely as possible to get the most from them.
We also found that metal fabricators who used our rooftop equipment supports for their needs, instead of fabricating themselves, were able to save their own steel (and shop time) for their most profitable projects. We’ll see a lot of this type of ingenuity and experimentation in the coming year, as people in all facets of construction encounter obstacles and find new ways to adapt and thrive.
4. Updated Build Processes
Along the same vein of breaking out of the status quo, we’ve heard from large fabricator/erectors who are tired of battling mechanical coordination issues and are changing their processes on new builds to break free from this. In the past, they would put up the columns, beams/girders and joists – then weld in angle iron roof frames – followed by laying down the decking.
More sophisticated fabricator/erectors are now putting up the columns, beams/girders and joists, laying the decking and later on – when mechanical coordination issues are resolved –coming back and installing QuickFrames from under the deck. This method creates all the necessary roof penetrations, sets the curbs and sets the mechanical equipment – all in one motion. It saves all the hassle of coordinating mechanical locations upfront, as well as rework and project delays.
We predict more and more fabricator/erectors will embrace this model (and other modernized build processes) in the coming years.
Interested in learning more about how QuickFrames can save you time, money and headaches on your next job? Contact us anytime!