Bulletin Board Magazine 2021 Volume 3

to 28% and eliminating capital gain tax treatment for taxpayers who exceed certain income levels. Estate and inherent taxes will see major reductions of exemptions, requiring major attention to your will and estate plans. For example, in 2021, up to $11.7 million dollars of estate assets are exempt. A likely cut to pre–Tax Cuts and Jobs Act levels would reduce that exemption to $5 million (maybe even as low as $3.5 million). A host of new concepts for promoting energy efficient fuels, ending the ability to shift profits to offshore business operations and leveling the playing field between U.S. companies and foreign competitors, are also identified. A more interesting aspect contained in the proposal is the investment in the Internal Revenue Service, which would allow the agency to hire more tax examiners, implement new technology, and execute expanded audit engagements to reduce fraud and increase enforcement operations. The tax code has become a very complex subject and the service center admits that its agents struggle to keep up. Dollars will be provided to increase training, recruitment and retention of its own talent. Labor and Materials Labor has been a critical element in short supply for the industry regardless of COVID- 19’s impact. Layered on top of increasing wage rates was the extra incentive provided by the CARES Act for unemployment benefits. Adding a federal component to the state’s unemployment insurance caused many workers to delay their search for new employment. These additional supplemental funds can debatably be argued as a hindrance to restarting the U.S. economy rather than a way to keep it from stalling. Builders must continue to grow the workforce by demonstrating their commitment to it. That commitment can be a combination of many factors. Buzzwords like quality of life, job satisfaction, growth and mobility are areas that must be factored into a successful company culture.

Sometimes, the construction industry faces unexpected price increases or material shortages. It gets really ugly when both occur with little warning and we see dramatic spikes in relatively short periods, with volatility measured by days rather than months or quarters. The pandemic unleashed supply and material challenges in a very unprecedented timeline. Builders must look to add pricing escalation clauses in contracts when they are absent, ensure estimators and project managers clearly communicate, and document with suppliers to avoid unfavorable cost fluctuations when a project is bid. Project review and monitoring will be key to ensure that these short-term pricing bubbles do not impact bottom line results. Technology Who knew how vital a videoconferencing subscription would become? We all found out in March 2020 when COVID shut us down. Operations scrambled to find ways to communicate and maintain order. Understanding the mute button was almost as important as the subject of the meeting. Technology provided a significant amount of assistance in moving through our lockdown and is an area we should continue to embrace. Collaborative software expanded its footprint beyond the field, to the office, and now to dozens of remote work sites for project management and administration. The ability for a company’s entire operating structure to be supplied with real-time results was a big key in negotiating the decentralization of operations. Evaluating the effectiveness of your company’s software is just as important as reviewing the results of a job during close out. Post lock-down managers should look to identify weaknesses or lags in the reporting system and identify remedies. Software costs have always been viewed as an overhead expense, but lockdown demonstrated how important they are.

Worker safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) will see new emphasis and upgrades. Wearable tech measuring a worker’s biometrics, like temperature and heart rate, is readily available. Companies have seen results in terms of safety metrics with lowering of reportable health claims and incidents, which can lead to lower premiums in health costs and a reduction of lost time by employees. We have management employees who serve in highly technical and specialty areas. Add the title, “drone pilot,” to that list. Using this remote tool to gain a visual view of a project when an in-person inspection becomes limited or time-consuming is a great alternative. Video or still images captured as a job progresses will allow management to measure productivity, identify safety concerns and create teaching moments for the next job site. The Pandemic Effect The impact of the pandemic can not be exaggerated. No business and no person have been left unimpacted. How we conduct business and how our employees work will change. The establishment of a remote workforce will require an evaluation by management for the need and amount of office space currently maintained. Many workers thrived in the remote environment and management should balance and maybe modify its historical view of job responsibilities as well as internal measurement of an employee’s value with these new parameters. Flex hours are also an item for consideration as those working from home successfully managed their job responsibilities with their own family duties. Consider how an employee’s time is consumed in a day. Even a modest commute of 20 minutes from home to work means 40 minutes per day of consumption. We allow employees 30 or 60 minutes for a lunch break. Do we think that they really needed that full time allotment while working from home?

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