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Corruption exists in all industries. Unfortunately, corruption is higher in construction than any other sector of the economy. It is estimated that there are 10-30 percent losses through corruption yearly for the construction industry.

Reasons why corruption can happen easily and occurs a lot in the construction industry:

• The size of the industry’s projects, which are often big, creates a bigger opportunity to inflate costs.
• Inflating costs is easier to hide since all projects are so unique.
• With many contractual links, there are many opportunities for bribery.
• Control and oversight can be difficult when many different tasks are outsourced.
• Complex projects allow for mistakes to be hidden easier.
• Companies learn to adapt to bribery and corruption to keep up with their competition.
• There is space for corruption when there is a lack of due diligence.
• Each profession and trade have different codes of conduct and practices.
• There is not one single organization that is responsible for the industry.
• There’s not a lot of transparency, historically, in the construction field.
• Public companies have more control of the market so it’s harder for private companies to compete.
• Worker’s poor jobs can be easily hidden under layers of other materials.
• When there is a lack of projects, there is a higher risk of bribery.

There’s a lot of money in construction – it’s worth more than $3.2 trillion a year and the global output is $17.5 trillion roughly. Many constructors don’t want to be a part of the corruption but feel pressured to, especially when competition is doing it.

Just like with fraud, you can prevent corruption by being transparent and open with all business you do.
The construction industry is a growing, exciting place – and contractors are in high demand. Need to get your contractor license? As a contractor licensing company, we can help you get your contractor license in any state.

We have helped thousands of contractors across the United States get licensed. Do not practice without a license – it is illegal in most states to work as a contractor with no license. read more

Construction Unions have been around in the United States since the 1935. In 1935, the Federal Labor Relations Act gave U.S. workers the right to have collective bargaining rights. Since then, unions appeared and grew.

Most construction trades have unions and your trade (as a contractor) usually determines what union you will be in. The union guarantees training that will help increase a contractor’s pay, pension plan, and access to job opportunities.

Here are the top/most popular construction unions:

Laborers’ International Union of America – This union, also known as the Laborer’s Union, was formed in 1903; it has more than 500,000 members in nine regions. This union was one of the first unions to create a plan to help improve health and safety of workers and drug/alcohol rehabilitation programs.

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America – This union was founded in 1881 and it has more than 500,000 members in the North American chapter. For years, they fought for increased wages, sickness/death benefits and eight-hour work days read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t solely the future…it’s here. The construction industry and all forms of contractor work are slowly adopting AI into their practices. AI is now seen as a norm, it’s not “sci-fiction” like once seen years ago. Each year, AI technology continues to evolve and advance.

In the construction industry, there is a lot of potential to use AI, especially on projects that require careful handling or tedious work. Repetitive tasks can be automated through AI and human error can decrease. AI can help people save time, monitor progress of wok, identity errors and risks, and send alerts. Overall, AL can help reduce or avoid problems or unnecessary costs.

Besides the reasons listed above, we wanted to share more ways AI is being used in the construction field.

• AI is being used for risk assessment. AI is making risk assessment faster and more accurate because AI can compile lots of data and analyze it and access construction risk factors.
• AI is being used to boost productivity through construction management software by monitoring and supervising operations from brickwork to flooring. AI systems can alert when there are problems and show corrective steps.
• AI is being used for safety. AI looks for risk factors and reports them.
• AI is being used for documentation – it makes it accurate and accessible with a lot less errors.
• AI can take stock of inventory.
• AI comes in the form of robots which can help eliminate accidents and injuries.

AI continues to change in the construction industry. More solutions are being made to improve communication, security, and more.

Looking to be part of an advanced industry? Want to work with AI technology? Become a contractor! To be a contractor, you need to be licensed to practice legally, like in the state of Florida. read more

There are so many different types of contractors – plumbing, electrical, HVAC, general, etc. For this article, we wanted to focus on mechanical contractors and share a little bit about the job.

According to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, a mechanical contractor is a contractor who offers services that are unlimited in “the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system if such duct work is performed by the contractor as necessary to complete an air-distribution system, boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems, lift station equipment and piping, and all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith, and any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system.” read more

Construction managers have many responsibilities including planning, execution, monitoring, controlling and closing a project. It can be a stressful job but it’s also a rewarding job. These managers have to care about the budget, time management, quality, contracts, and safety.

A good construction manager (CM) should be analytical, creative, know how to deal with stress, know how to solve problems, know how to communicate, and show leadership and support. A CM should know math, physics IT, technical engineering, have training in evaluating performance and productivity, have construction site experience, and have additional specialties related to the field they are managing. Good CMs should understand technical complexities, have organizational data analysis skills, and have a knowledge of security procedures and legal matters.

CMs need to know how to communicate well (clearly and effectively) to keep a project and business functioning. CMs keep information concise and precise. They know how, when, and who to delegate tasks to. They create a teamwork environment, evaluate progress, respect deadlines, how to prioritize tasks, and how to problem solve. read more