Page 66 - Green Builder September-October 2018 Issue
P. 66
FROM THE TAILGATE By Ron Jones
New Offerings for the Sustainable Minded
Built for the Future
HEN WE DROPPED THE TAILGATES and
broke out the various lunch containers one
day recently, I seized the opportunity to gather
some insight from some of the most legitimate
W sources in the industry: guys on the job.
At the upcoming EEBA High Performance Home Summit,
scheduled for Oct. 16-18 in San Diego, I have the privilege of
providing a breakfast presentation on the nal day. I have
been asked to talk about the future of the building industry,
a topic I regularly give a fair amount of thought to. Not
only is this an interesting subject, and an obvious source
of concern, but it’s also one that does not suer from any
shortage of opinions.
I have been seeking input from a wide range of folks
connected to the industry, from product manufacturers,
suppliers, marketers, and folks in the media, to builders,
specialty contractors and building ocials. While I’ve found
a wide range of perceptions out there, there is a common
thread in the vast majority of the responses I’ve received.
Namely, the industry is poised for signicant and inescapable
changes going forward.
My jobsite lunch companions were all pretty seasoned
workers. Their histories of experience range from a dozen or
so all the way up to 55 years, but they were all generally in
agreement: “Archaic” is the best way to describe the building
industry as it is conducted today.
They also predict that the direction the industry should
(and will) go is toward more o-site production, modular and
panelized processes, and alternate materials that utilize composites and When I asked specically about workforce issues facing builders,
man-made components, with greater emphasis on life-cycle analysis, they were more circumspect, but the consensus was that if the
environmental impacts, durability and waste stream implications. industry wants to be competitive in the labor sector, compensation
They predict eld operations will be less and less about fabrication, and benets must be improved. The work also has to be interesting
and more and more about assembly. It was suggested that we’ll see and challenging if it is going to attract and hold the attention of
more utilization of machinery, like cranes, and even “y-in” deliveries. the modern workforce. They didn’t express a desire for the work
Keep in mind that these are guys who only minutes before had to be considered glamorous, but they would like to be respected,
dropped their tool belts to break for lunch, like tradesmen have been appreciated and valued.
doing for generations. It proved to be a most enlightening lunch conversation, one I
Additionally, it was asserted that the industry will need more would recommend to anyone who has a stake in the future of this
standardization and innovation, better use of modern communication industry. Over the years we have all been oered the “silver bullet”
tools and technologies, and “bigger systems thinking” if it has any secret sauces served up by self-proclaimed “expert” consultants, each
chance of keeping up with other sectors. They cited the need for hawking their particular avor of snake oil that’s guaranteed to result
challenges and problems to be solved ahead of time rather than in success in the building business. But in my opinion, there is a great
on the y in real time, if the act of building is ever going to realize deal more that can be learned while resting on the tailgate, listening
improved eciency. to the voices of folks who have actually “built” something. GB
64 GREEN BUILDER September/October 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com
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