Construction research at Jantins focuses on a wide variety of topics related to the design and construction of infrastructure projects. Construction faculty have extensive expertise and experience in the following signature research areas:
Construction is a large, dynamic, and complex industry that plays an important role in the U.S. economy and the global economy. Construction work ranges from major civil engineering and infrastructure projects (dams, highways, airports) involving a multitude of individual construction firms, to the construction and renovation of residential, commercial, and industrial structures, to routine residential repairs. In 2005, the industry accounted for $1.2 trillion of construction put in place, the equivalent of 13 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, and employed about 11 million workers (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). The Business Roundtable has called construction a “seminal” industry because the price of every factory, office building, hotel, or power plant that is built affects the prices that must be charged for the goods and services produced in it. These prices affect U.S. consumers and the ability of U.S. businesses to compete in a global market.
Construction is also one of the most dangerous industries for workers. Among all industries, construction had the fourth highest rate of fatalities (following agriculture, mining, and transportation) and the second highest rate of nonfatal injuries and illnesses (after transportation) in 2005 (BLS, 2006a,b).
Hazards in construction work include the following: working at heights, in excavations and tunnels, on highways, and in confined spaces; exposure to high levels of noise, chemicals, and high-voltage electric lines; the use of power tools and heavy equipment; manual materials handling; and sustained awkward postures. The leading causes of death among construction workers are falls from elevations, being struck by vehicles and equipment, electrocution, machine-related incidents, and being struck by objects. Significant health risks include hearing loss, silicosis, musculoskeletal disorders, skin diseases, and health effects associated with exposures to lead, asphalt fumes, and welding fumes. Additional health hazards and associated diseases include fume fever (metal, polymer), cadmium poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning, acute inhalation injury (nitrogen dioxide, ozone, phosgene), manganese poisoning, asbestosis, acute solvent syndrome, peripheral neuropathy,4 allergic contact dermatitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, occupational asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
The Construction of Buildings subsector comprises establishments involved in constructing residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings. The Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector includes establishments involved in infrastructure projects—for example, water, sewer, oil, and gas pipelines; roads and bridges; and power lines. The Specialty Trade Contractors subsector engages in activities such as plumbing, electrical work, masonry, carpentry, and roofing that are generally needed in the construction of all building types. Thus, while two of the subsectors refer to types of construction projects, the third refers to types of workers who work on all types of projects. This categorization obscures differences in injury and illness rates among different types of projects.
Construction workers across the entire industry are typically younger than the national labor force, although the average age in the industry has been increasing. The majority of construction workers are ages 25 to 54 (75.4 percent), are male (90.3 percent), and are white (90.8 percent). However, these numbers mask significant differences within segments of the industry, such as the proportions of unionized and non-union workers, the percentages of workers in skilled trades, and those in unskilled or manual labor jobs.
The construction industry is overwhelmingly one of small establishments. Of the 710,000 construction firms with payrolls in the United States in 2002, almost 80 percent had fewer than 10 employees, accounting for 24 percent of the construction workforce. In contrast, only 585 construction firms (less than 1 percent) had 500 or more employees (8 percent of construction workers). Ninety-eight percent of all firms had fewer than 100 workers (79 percent of the construction workforce), while 2 percent of all firms had 100 or more workers (21 percent).