2024 Q1

Building Business Resilience in Uncertain Times

Featured Article: Catalysts of Change: Exploring Megatrends Reshaping the E&C Industry

In part two of our series on megatrends, we discuss continued urbanization, rising income inequality, increased political polarization and further globalization.

What’s Your Core Mission? How to Build Employee Engagement and Resilience

While many companies look to talent development and company branding to attract and retain talent, they often overlook a powerful and underrated lever to help mitigate the problem: establishing a clear and inspiring company mission.

2023 Q4

Building Tomorrow: The Evolving Built Environment

Featured Article: Megatrends That Will Change How You Do Business

Having a long-term strategy can help your firm chart a course for the future. To assist in this strategic focus, FMI has put together a two-part series on megatrends that will impact our industry’s future.

Employee Recognition and Rewards Still Matter in a Slowdown

Employers should make efforts to establish optimal environments through assessing and improving operational and labor practices to ensure that well-regarded talent stays with the firm during a slowdown.

2023 Q3

Is it Time for an Organizational Check In?

Featured Article: Prefabrication in Construction: Strategic Considerations for Building Products Manufacturers

As prefabrication continues to evolve, building products manufacturers (BPMs) must understand how to position their firms for success. This will require adjusting their approach to effectively align with changing market dynamics. BPMs have an opportunity to separate themselves from their competition […]

Why the Residential Building Products Sector Remains Attractive for Private Equity

The residential building products sector has long been a core area for private equity investment. Despite recent uncertainty, the sector has remained resilient in the short term and is expected to present a variety of investment opportunities in the medium and long term.

Don’t Waste Money Chasing Opportunities: Create a Winning Business Development Strategy

Getting smart about your go-to-market strategy, picking the right customers and positioning yourself to win will help your company gain profitable market share without overspending in the process.

2023 Q2

The Changing Landscape of Building Products

Featured Article: Data Centers: Driving Innovation in Building Products

Building products manufacturers and suppliers looking to capitalize on the money pouring into the sector will need to understand these new environmental, social and economic trends to adjust products and services to address shifting client demands.

Private Equity: Capitalizing on Supply Chain Issues in the Building Products Sector

Since niche original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been gaining market share, many are looking for capital to expand their operations into different product lines or geographies, creating opportunities for private equity investors to accelerate their growth.

Artificial Intelligence for Engineering and Construction Firms

Distinguishing between the hype and reality of AI’s capabilities can be difficult, given its prominence in today’s conversations. It’s time to cut through the noise and discuss how AI is truly changing the construction industry – without invoking images of autonomous humanoid robots capable […]

Using the Built Environment to Further Impact Investing Goals

The number of fund vehicles with stated environmental, social or governance (ESG) or impact mandates doubled from 2016 to 2021. As more companies look for ESG investment opportunities, it’s important to partner with a firm that understands the nuances of the built environment and that can find […]

2023 Q1

Trends Shaping Today's Built Environment

Featured Article: Beyond the Buzz: Harnessing the Power of Data Analytics in Construction

Data analytics continues to be a hot topic, and construction is no exception to this trend. As the engineering and construction (E&C) industry becomes increasingly technology-driven, companies are turning to data analytics to improve operations and gain a competitive edge.

Improving Your Post-Job Processes to Become an Operationally Superior Construction Firm

Operationally superior companies continuously review and update their processes, and that discipline extends to post-job procedures as well. Here we talk about post-job process improvements and how you can leverage insights from one job to better your entire organization.

Now is the Time to Prepare for Transferring Ownership of Your Company

The generational shift from baby boomers to their successors is underway across the built environment, with 41% of the current U.S. construction workforce expected to retire by 2031. This article dives into the steps owners and executives can take now to start the ownership transfer process.

2022 Q4

Placing Your Bets for 2023

Featured Article: Project Delays Are Coming: Develop a Strategy Now

As the economy becomes more uncertain, engineering and construction firms are beginning to see more project delays and cancellations. It's not enough to have a strategy in this environment. You need to execute, integrate and constantly reassess your plans to optimize your market position. Learn how […]

Quiet Quitting: The New Leadership Challenge

Many are talking about quiet quitting. Yet, quiet quitting is not laziness, but a symptom of poor management. Discover ways to motivate your people.

Closing the Gender Pay Gap: Why Women May Be the Key to Solving E&C Labor Challenges

Companies that make efforts to diversify their workforces and recruit employees from various backgrounds will be better able to compete in a continuously evolving market. As the labor shortage continues to be a problem across roles in construction, think about how you can create an environment that […]

Creating a Process Playbook That Drives Operational Excellence

Operationally superior organizations are constantly evolving and adapting to changing conditions with clear goals and ways to measure progress. The easiest place to start on continuous process improvement is developing a playbook or standard set of practices. Once those have been implemented for a […]

2023 M&A Outlook for Construction Services

Signs of a coming recession indicate challenges for some portions of the economy, but certain construction services segments will continue to see strong growth despite economic headwinds. This article dives into those sectors most ripe for consolidation in 2023.

2022 Q3

Driving Sustainability and Diversity in the Built Environment

Featured Article: Harness the Power of Your Board by Diversifying Your Directors

The concerns around building diverse and inclusive workplaces have been a part of office conversation for the past 60 years and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Here we provide a framework for leaders to capitalize on the increasing diversity in the industry and establish diverse […]

How Leaders in the Built Environment Can Champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The future of the industry will depend on expanding opportunities for all people, something that the most successful companies are already paying attention to across their organizations. To help understand this, we interviewed Rev. Larry S. Bullock, CEO of USMCA.

Creating Operational Excellence through Improving the Field and Job Sites

For many engineering and construction (E&C) firms, the first area they turn to for improvement is the field, since it often seems to be the easiest place to work on efficiencies. Yet, operationally superior organizations know that you must implement the right practices, processes and people across […]

Private Equity: Finding the Value in the Built Environment

Skilled private equity investors can spot opportunities, but the complicated outlook for the economy and the construction industry, including building products, facilities services and related E&C industrial industries, means that it’s going to take deep industry knowledge to find the right […]

2022 Q2

How to Win the Big Talent Race: Tactics and Strategies

Featured Article: Employee Stock Ownership Plans: An Effective Recruiting and Retention Strategy

The built environment offers tangible payoffs for those who do the work: world-class projects and feats of engineering. Success within the space is tied to a sense of shared ownership with employees feeling they have buy-in and a say in the decision-making process. ESOPs are a great means to an end, […]

Industry Trends Shaping E&C Ownership Transitions

Handing over an organization’s reins to the next generation and transitioning ownership are never easy processes. For optimal results, the ownership transfer and management succession (OTMS) approach starts with identifying, selecting and developing key associates; ensuring that leadership roles […]

Megaprojects: How Great Leaders Can Be the Difference Between Success and Failure

Discover what differentiates a great leader of a large project from an average one and how your organization can help people develop critical competencies.

Preconstruction: The Foundation in Operational Excellence

To be operationally superior, E&C firms need to develop and implement preconstruction processes that will create a defined game plan before people show up to a job site. Being organized helps retain talent, win business, improve productivity and increase profits.

Trading on Excellence: The Value of Talented Field Leaders

When engineering and construction (E&C) firms think about leadership development, the focus naturally goes to C-suite and business development teams. While those managers are a critical part of a firm’s ultimate success, companies often neglect to develop on-site leaders who are ensuring projects […]

2022 Q1

Strategies for Navigating Volatile Times

Featured Article: Compounding Competitive Advantage: The Integration of Strategy, Project Selection and Execution Framework

Being selective about what projects you take is becoming a business imperative in today’s market. Engineering and construction firms need to have superior execution that aligns with clear strategies to increase their competitive advantages.

Why Contractors Need to Understand Embodied Carbon

Carbon accounting isn’t required on all projects yet, but there are major incentives for early adopters.

Don’t Risk Poor Cash Management Due to Lack of Strategy

Regardless of market conditions, having the right level of liquidity is a crucial aspect of successful risk management for contractors.

Engineering and Construction Compensation: What Executives Need to Know

Companies need to pay attention to broader economic trends and other data issues when determining pay in today’s highly competitive environment.

2021 Q4

Recalibrating Your Operations For 2022

Featured Article: Project Selection Discipline Yields Better Performance Outcomes

The statistical risk of taking on a bad job increases with the size and number of projects. Sophisticated project selectivity controls can help manage this risk and make balanced, objective pursuit decisions.

How Strategic Investments in Your Talent Drive Operational Excellence

A focus on team productivity and unity will provide sustainable short- and long-term success.

Supply Chain Disruption: Is Now the Time for Contractors to Warehouse or Carry Inventory?

Purchasing and holding long-lead inventory of construction materials can provide advantages for certain projects or customers, but also brings with it carrying costs, increased risk and other considerations for your business.

Planning Compensation in a Dynamic E&C Environment

By carefully evaluating jobs and employees, E&C companies are better positioned to meet operational needs and address talent requirements among a workforce that can afford to be demanding.

Anything But Typical: Managing Subcontractor Default Risk in Today’s Environment

As the pandemic continues to disrupt supply chains and cause inflationary pressure on the engineering and construction industry, we talk to four large subcontractor default insurance carriers about the events of the last two years, key trends and what’s next in 2022.

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