A Sign of the Times

When you work on the preservation of historic properties, it is always exciting to discover some hidden artifact preserved for decades. Recently while I was removing wallpaper from a wall in the hallway of my home, I discovered a hidden signature on the plaster that said, “This wall finished papering by WM Pelletier, July 21^st, 1910”. William Pelletier was so proud of his work back in 1910 he was compelled to sign his name. As I reflected upon this discovery, I realized that it captures a major shift in people’s attitudes from then to now. The era of taking pride in a job well done is being threatened.

Thirty-plus years ago, the net worth of an individual was measured by the competence of his/her work. No matter what vocation you were in, whether it be doctor, politician, professional athlete, or tradesman, the skills deployed in your work were a direct reflection of who you were. In the construction trades, this meant you attended to the details of your job even when nobody noticed. It meant you went the extra mile because you saw your work as being a reflection of your values. You put your best effort into everything you did, not because someone was watching, but because that is who you were.

Over the past fifteen years, there has been a shift in this ethos. Work no longer defines our character. Our vocation has morphed into a means to support the activities we truly enjoy. Work is work, not an activity that fulfills our purpose. This attitude fuels a work ethic based upon doing the bare minimum to just get the job done. The goal of work is now to make as much money as you can rather than do the best job possible. You see this behavior in retail workers, flight attendants, and the health industry. It has become so pervasive that it can be rare to find someone who truly enjoys their work.

In the construction industry, the minimalist state of mind has produced an industry of checks and balances put into place to assure that work is done to satisfactory levels. Instead of relying on the pride of the workforce, we depend upon detailed specifications defining all work processes. Excellence is achieved by a system of quality control measures where workers are monitored by management, video surveillance, and QC checks. Re-View, for example, uses a litany of tests to assure quality control on all of our work. The days are gone where all you had to do is tell someone how to perform a task. Now you have to check their work to ensure all of the details are satisfied.

I don’t know how we got here. Maybe it is a result of us Baby Boomers spoiling our kids and burning ourselves out in the pursuit of a desired status of living. Maybe it is an outgrowth of the Great Recession where careers were displaced and employers began to treat the staff like disposable assets. It could be a product of social media, where people are more concerned with how they are perceived in a virtual reality rather than in the real world. It could also be a result of the pursuit of the almighty buck at the expense of everything else. Or perhaps it is some combination of these and other factors that have shifted our perspective.

The construction industry is at a turning point. A generation of people dedicated to their trade is about to retire, and there are too few self-motivated people in the system ready to take the lead. If the next generation of leaders is more interested in making it to Friday than making a difference, we are all in trouble.

This Trend is Sustainable

Sometimes trends in the construction industry are reflected in the strangest of places. I read an article about how the H&M clothing store is struggling. For those of you who don’t have teenage daughters who are always looking for cheap and stylish clothing, H&M is renowned for selling low-priced, trendy clothing that might last for one season. They have mastered the trade of selling disposable clothing. The fact that their sales are down reflects a consumer trend that is moving towards quality and sustainability rather than fashion. Consumers are being drawn towards classic designs that will last for decades. Recently, I have seen this same trend towards quality and away from throwaway building materials gaining momentum in the construction industry.

For the past thirty plus years, the construction industry has concentrated on how to deliver a structure for the lowest possible price. This obsession with lowering cost has driven manufacturers to pursue cheaper materials and designs, and owners to squeeze every penny from the bidding process. This “price is king” mentality consistently drove down quality of design, materials, and labor to a point where class action lawsuits became the resulting profitable industry. Just like the cheap blouse at H&M, windows, hardware, appliances, plumbing fixtures, lighting, etc. are designed to reside in the landfill after satisfying a ten-year warranty. But a growing dissatisfaction with cheap construction practices has given birth to a refreshing trend towards sustainability.

I first saw this movement towards quality reflected in my business. Re-View Windows restores historic windows and manufactures historic replica windows that are designed to perform for centuries. Our business model is based upon quality, not price, and over the past 25 years, we have seen a consistent demand for business. Our products are also designed to be easily maintained to extend the life over several generations. One doesn’t have to look far for other examples of the drive towards quality and sustainable design: 

1. The Green Building Movement which has previously focused on energy efficiency has expanded to concentrate on sustainability and recyclability. The life cycle of a building is a critical factor in this program.
2. The use of recyclable materials is expanding in all areas of the construction industry with materials such as aluminum, glass, and wood gaining acceptance at the expense of petroleum-based products like vinyl.
3. The glass industry is shifting its priorities from energy efficiency to quality. “We became myopic about energy efficiency…now we are starting to think in terms of life cycle,” said Mic Patterson of Schuco USA.
4. The need for increased strength has long driven the concrete industry for years. Now, due to the escalation in repair and replacement costs, manufactures are paying more attention to durability than strength.
5. Commercial project bidding practices are evolving as evidenced by the increasing popularity of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method. Rather than basing the reward of a project on lowest price, this method connects the owner, design team, and key subcontractors to work together from design through implementation.
6. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has adopted a “circular construction” model where materials stay in play for longer, getting reused or recycled whenever possible. Buildings are being viewed as “material banks” and the bill of materials captured by BIM facilitates reuse.
7. The use of independent quality control of construction processes is more widely used than ever before. At Re-View, for example, we have glazing, finishes, sealants, and other elements tested by independent agencies on a regular basis.

I’m greatly heartened to see this trend toward better-quality and more sustainable construction

practices gain a foothold. It’s been missing for far too long, resulting in added job expense in the form of rework, missed deadlines, and shoddy workmanship. When construction quality suffers, the

industry as a whole suffers. I’m hopeful that as we move into 2019, we’ll see a greater emphasis on

quality control and personal ownership of all aspects of the end product. For now, since my daughters

are both grown, I’m just glad my days of purchasing sub-standard clothing at H&M are over.