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"A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep," Getting Educated About the Building Industry
Brian Bowen, Executive in Residence, Georgia Institute of Technology
"A mile wide and an inch deep" is how someone once described this construction industry in which we work. In all its sprawling, fragmented untidiness, it almost defies understanding.
This year looks to be the first one in which over $1 trillion will be spent on planning, designing, and constructing our built environment—more money than will be spent on anything else in the economy, other than health care.
No one really knows, but we think more than 11 million people derive a direct living from this industry, working for contractors of all sorts, engineers, architects, and a myriad of other service delivery entities. Of these we guess that at least two million have come into the industry with either no technical background or very little. They work in marketing, public relations administration, finance, legal, human relations, real estate, and the like, all experts in their fields, but with little knowledge of how construction projects come together or are designed and constructed. They are baffled by the "lingo;" no one has any time to explain it all to them; there are no books to read. In effect, they are dropped in at the deep end and told to figure it out! Some do, but many don’t.
Well, help has arrived with a lifebelt! SMPS in partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology has devised an introductory intensive two-day program: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Design and Construction Industry. While this course does not pretend, in this brief time, to give attendees a full technical understanding, it does provide a wonderful framework and overview of the industry. Participants will leave the sessions with an understanding of:
how the industry is organized, its special characteristics, some history on its background, and a sense of future trends
how construction projects are originated and financed and how they are put together
the web of contractual links between the key entities of a project
the current status of alternative methods of project delivery
how the key players (architects, engineers, contractors, design-builders, program managers, and owners) do their work, how they are organized and inter-relate
an introduction to building systems from foundations to landscaping
the corresponding activities that support the workings of the industry, such as codes and regulations, risk management and insurance, and building economics.
Attendees also will take away a bibliography for further reading and study, a glossary of terminology, and much more.
Company response to this course has been consistently positive, to the extent that multiple registrations have been received from firms such as Turner, Skanska, McGraw-Hill, Gilbane, and Hanscomb. Employees return with an understanding of their firm’s position in the industry, a better grasp of how construction projects work, and a framework to continue expanding the knowledge gained. This contributes to making them better team players focused on the success of your company.
Everything You Wanted to Know About the Design and Construction Industry will be offered on February 4-5 in Atlanta. This will be the seventh time this program has been repeated in the last three years, attended by 300+ professionals, which is evidence enough of its popularity. Take this opportunity to transform your career and sign up today! Visit www.coa.gatech.edu/smps/.
About the Author
Brian Bowen is Executive in Residence at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a former president of Hanscomb Inc., International Construction Consultants. He is a developer of and an instructor for Everything You Wanted to Know About the Design and Construction Industry.
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