Editorials
A Critical Turning Point for AEC Professionals
Photographer: Vince Muzik
Metro Gold Line, Maplewood, Minn.
Submitted by: Fair Contracting Foundation of Minnesota
“It’s 100 degrees out, and this guy is working his tail off” is what photographer Muzik saw in deciding to snap this photo of Austin Westling, a member of Pile Drivers Local 1847, on a blistering August day as he “puts his entire body” into stripping framework from a cantilever retaining wall. Power tools would have eased the work, but “Austin was doing what it took to get the job done,” says jobsite peer Nick Petrucelle, a member of Iron Workers Local 512.
A change in perspective can be a gift if captured at the right time and place, and each year construction sector professionals expertly reveal—with hundreds of entries into ENR’s The Year In Construction photo contest—that there are more industry perspectives to discover than what meets the eye. Snapped high above bridges, cramped inside tunnels and safely away from demolitions, photos force a rapidly changing industry to stand still.
Yet, amid so much change—as well as challenges that include rising construction costs, crunched project schedules and strained labor pools— the photos grant comfort by showing the many great things that distinguish the industry that have mostly remained the same.
The image here of Pile Drivers Local 1847 member Austin Westling in photo contest winning entry is an example. It captures the moment he committed to tackling a problem with the simplest solution to avoid waiting and to keep work on track, despite less than ideal working conditions, says his jobsite peer Iron Workers Local 512 business agent Nick Petrucelle.
“That attitude is not as common as you’d think,” says Petrucelle, but remains a vivid reminder of the kind of attitude the construction industry needs to attract and develop in the next generation of workers. “Everyone in construction knows technology could change our work lives,” he says. That’s why “it’s important to stay on top of tech trends so you can stay ahead in your career.”
Yet there are some human characteristics that even the most advanced technology can’t replace. As construction starts another year with too many projects and too few skilled hands to do more complicated work, this year’s photos remind industry employers to see the challenges from different perspectives.
The Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the construction industry will need nearly 454,000 new workers in 2025, in addition to replacing regular turnover, to meet industry demand. Says ABC, this even assumes the market slows down. “Not addressing the shortage through an all-of-the-above approach to workforce development will slow improvements to our shared built environment, worker productivity, living standards and the places where we heal, learn, play, work and gather,” notes group CEO and President Michael Bellaman.
In short, the construction industry is at a critical point.
Amid current political moves to roll back the very policies and incentives that have helped expand industry workforce numbers and boosted diversity, skill level and engagement, now more than ever it needs leaders willing to ignore the noise and join their employees in getting down to insuring work gets done.
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