Too many organizations treat procurement as a back-office function—only pulling in technical or operational experts at the last minute, or worse, not at all.
Industry Watch – Why the West Would Never Blacklist Like This (But Still Struggles with Delays)
I’ve long believed the construction industry places too much emphasis on schedule. Finishing early or on time might look good on paper, but if it comes at the expense of safety or quality, is it really a win?
Commentary – Alberta’s Bill 30: A Game-Changer for Payment Practices in Construction
Bill 30 isn’t just about compliance—it’s about redefining how projects are financed and disputes are resolved.
Commentary – Reflecting on 2024 and Charting the Course for 2025
As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the lessons of 2024 and look forward to 2025. This year has been marked by significant shifts in technology and a continuation of trends previously observed. The articles published on this blog are a testament to the evolving challenges and innovations…
Best Practices – How to Achieve Transparency in the Use of Artificial Intelligence
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, transparency in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a critical aspect of public procurement. As procurement professionals, it’s imperative to acknowledge AI’s role in both the preparation of responses to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and the delivery of services requested in these RFPs. This topic has…
Commentary: The Importance of Living a Principled Life
Living a principled life isn’t easy. Society and life will challenge you. I know that my story could have gone another way.
Best Practices – How Architects Can Proactively Manage Value Engineering and Avoid Budget Overruns
Value engineering (VE) can often feel like a losing game for architects. Even after multiple rounds of pricing and reworking designs, projects frequently go over budget, leaving architects to shoulder the cost of rework with little to no compensation for the extra effort.
Industry Watch – Why Construction Claims Happen and What Procurement can do about it.
Construction projects are fraught with risk. Increased cost, delayed schedules, site safety, property damage, and poor quality are just a few. Procurement is uniquely positioned to mitigate these risks. The key is knowing when and where these risks could arise and having the expertise to know how risks can be mitigated. The trouble with construction…
Best Practices – Managing Payments for Off-Site Construction
Managing payments in construction can be challenging, especially when dealing with off-site construction techniques like modular construction. Recently, I came across an insightful article on Lexology suggesting that developers or owners might need to pay for prefabricated modules before their delivery to the job site. While I certainly understand why this may be necessary, I…
Industry Watch – How New Zealand is modifying it’s laws to protect subcontractors
In an article published by Mirage.news we learn of an Amendment to New Zealand’s Construction Contracts Acts of 2002. The Act which was initially enacted to prohibit conditional payment terms in construction contracts, has now been amendment to require retention to be held in trusts. A Global Movement The move by the government of New…
Review – This Year’s AIA Conference was amazing. Here are highlights from A’23
It’s no longer enough to have one Architect a hand full of Engineers. Modern projects include dozens of new technologies and just as many design specialists. BIM technology, Biophilic design, lighting concepts, passive heating and cooling, day lighting, delivery models, and building accreditations are just a few of the specializations in Architecture Today.
Commentary – What will be the Construction trends in 2023
Our end of year newsletter covered a lot of ground.
First we looked at the market conditions for end-of-year for 2022. Then we considered which of those conditions were expected to have the greatest impact on the industry.
We closed our newsletter with a look at what trends we expected to see in 2023. Here is what we expected.