Things To Do In SW Florida

As a contractor licensing company, we work with contractors daily. We like to share important information with them. Since we help so many people become contractors, we thought that we’d share some statistics about the industry in the last few years.

7% of the total U.S. GDP was in construction.

77% of construction spending occurred in the private sector in 2018.

Construction spending in the United States was at $1.23 trillion in 2017

14% in spending on home improvement projects in 2017.

6 million people worked in the construction industry in 2017.

15% of construction firms have more than 1,000 people on staff.

$29.95 was the average hourly wage of construction workers in 2017.

52% of construction employees were born between 1960 and 1979.

32% of construction employees were born after 1980.

91% of construction workers are male.

89% of construction workers are white, 30% are Hispanic/Latino, 6% are black/African American, and 2% are Asian.

20% of construction occurs in NY, Dallas, Houston, LA, and Washington, D.C.

The top 5 states renting equipment are California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois.

64% of on-the-job-fatalities occurring from falls, electrocution, getting hit by an object or getting crushed.

1,034 fatalities occurred in 2016.

75% of construction firms promote themselves on social media.

37% of construction firms experiment with drones.

11% of contractors use wearable technology.

Commercial construction brought in $85 billion in 2017, up 11% from 2016.

35% of construction-related companies increased their staff numbers in 2017.

82% of contractors agree that BIM (Building Information Modeling) is the future of project information

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If you’re a contractor, you need liability insurance. If you don’t have it, make sure your boss does and that it covers you. For one, liability insurance will give you peace of mind that if something bad happens, you won’t be at fault and you will be covered. Second, you are likely to be hired by more people. Many clients don’t want to take on a contractor who doesn’t carry insurance as too many problems could arise.

Liability insurance helps protect business owners, contractors, and homeowners from liability related to on-job accidents, products, and other forms of liability like contractual liability.

It is in your best interest to purchase contractor liability insurance. This insurance protects the contractor, the business, or the assets of the business when it’s being sued. If you don’t carry this insurance, you may not be hired for many jobs. With this insurance, a homeowner or business owner feels protected, and can see that you took measures to protect yourself and them. read more

 

Want to be a contractor? There are a few things you need to do prior to becoming a contractor. You must take a contractor’s license exam. In the state of Florida, a contractor must pass this exam in order to be a licensed general contractor.

 

In Florida, a licensed certified contractor applicant must have passing score on all the parts of the Florida DBPR/BET qualifying examination, be at least 18 years old, meet educational and experience requirements, pay all applicable fees, obtain work’s compensation coverage, demonstrate financial responsibility, and have good moral character.

 

There are a lot of tests, and you must make sure to take the proper tests that will make you eligible for your license. Most exams are open book. In Florida, the test is around $215, which includes all fees.

 

How do you prepare for the exam? You can study on your own. There are books and reference materials suggested by the state. The PSI Online Bookstore and iContractor.net are third-party booksellers of contracting-based books. There are also several organizations online that offer web-based practice exams and courses. Organizations like Dewalt and PSI Learning Academy offer practice exams for the tests. Some home-study based courses in Florida include Cam Tech School and Gold Coast Schools. read more

 

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) continue to grow each year. In fact, the industries are expected to have a total revenue of $150 billion in 2020, which is a big increase from $5.2 billion in 2016.

VR is a computer-generated simulation of a real-life environment. It stimulates the user’s vision and hearing like they are directly experiencing simulated reality. AR blends digital components into the real world. Users interact with virtual things while still being able to distinguish between real and virtual.

AR and VR facts:

• 6o to 70% of consumers see benefits in using AR devices in life or at work.
• AR and VR will become important tools in the workplace:
  • Training will be more engaging
  • Training will be more time efficient
  • Training will be less expensive
  • Training will be more visually accurate
  • Training will be safer
  Team meetings can be more effective and productive by using a 3D display for data visualization in a virtual environment. There will be improved quality for video conferences. Can be used to experience different scenarios and environments. Can help employees learn and acquire more skills. This technology helps businesses invest in employees. Geographical locations won’t be relevant when applying to jobs. Remote staff can be brought together easier. Trainings, interviews, and meetings can be made easier. It can give designers and architects and contractors a more exact idea of what a project will look like. It can enhance product and project design since physical presence isn’t required for feedback. Smaller production costs since the project.

  As the AR and VR industries grow, more construction companies are using them for their projects. Want to use these technologies on the job? Become a contractor! We can help make you a licensed contractor.

  Remember, you need a contractor license to work legally. We are a Florida contractor licensing company. We have contractors across the United States get their contractor license.

  We submit a completed application to the Construction Licensing Board on your behalf after getting information from you by phone or email. We know what the Board is looking for. read more

 

Fraud, unfortunately, occurs in every industry. It may not be entirely avoidable but there are things a contractor or construction company can to help prevent some incidences from occurring. Often, companies do not catch fraud early on because they have too many employees, projects, sites, supplies, and more, going on that they are unable to see the signs of fraud.

In the construction industry, people can be fraudulent by stealing time, whether they leave early, show up late, or take too many or too long of breaks. People also can alter time sheets and get paid for time they didn’t work which can cost a company money. How can you prevent this? Security cameras can help show when employees are truly clocking in and out to see if timesheets are accurate.

The construction industry can be full of dangerous jobs and some employees steal from companies by faking injuries. With an injury, an employee can get paid without doing work, so people fake injuries to get paid for something nothing. Reporting injuries causes a company’s workers compensation benefits to increase.  Security cameras at job sites will be able to record if an employee actually harmed themselves on the job. read more