How to address the skilled labor shortage?
What can a window manufacturer do to cut down on window installation time?
2019 was a successful year for construction work despite skilled labor shortages, with some of the all-time highs in new buildings going up. Then a global pandemic happened in 2020 that shut down construction sites for nearly a year. Now that job sites are mostly open and people are ready to get back to work, why has there not been a bounce-back in skilled labor available? Let's get into our thoughts on it and what we, a window manufacturer, try to aid in the problem of less-skilled labor.
Why is there a shortage of skilled workers?
- More and more baby boomers are retiring. Today's youngest baby boomer is 57 years old, which, if they played their cards right, could be already retired or retiring in the next few years. The workforce would be fine if the baby boomer workforce replaced the Millennial workforce 1:1, but that is not turning out to be the case.
- Few people are entering into trade positions. Millennials currently account for over 1/3 of the labor force. They grew up in a time that heavily pushed college instead of trades. When you examine that millennials are also not starting families right away or at all, you can extrapolate that this will heavily affect the number of people entering the workforce, let alone trade positions.
- It is harder to attract a young workforce to work in a trade versus other less manual fields. Many other industries have adopted work-life strategies that have not been as heavily adopted within the construction industry, making them more appealing to the workforce.
What are the effects of skilled labor shortage in the glazing industry?
- Glazers can take on fewer projects due to a lack of workforce.
- Projects take longer to do with a smaller workforce causing project delays that affect all other trades.
- Quality could take a hit. With fewer skilled laborers able to mentor the new workforce, workers could sacrifice quality to just getting the job done.
- Shortage of workers can lead to the workforce being overworked and eventually burning out and leaving the industry.
How to solve the skilled labor shortage in the glazing industry?
- Transition more manual products like a storefront to a less labor-intensive alternative. We are now offering a Pre-Assembled Storefront that workers can easily install with a Smartlift. The 12' x 10' openings showed in the video below were installed by Peerless employees, who are not installers, in 30 minutes.
- Unitize more windows into one unit and use lifting technology to set bigger units with less workforce. If you are worried about the safety of your workforce with bigger units investing in a lift can make installations safer and quicker. Utilizing our co-extruded accessories with the ability for all units to be set from the interior of the building also aids in a safe job site.
- Utilize co-extruded accessories on window and door frames to reduce installation time. We have done many time studies around traditional accessories versus co-extruded accessories. On average, the co-extruded accessories are 3 times faster than traditional accessories.
- Ship windows and doors on pallets and organize pallets per what is needed at the job site reducing multiple touches and disorganization. Shifting to a palletized strategy was huge for us internally when organizing and ensuring little to no shipping damage. Our customers have also found that having pallets to unload faster and organize where it is needed on the job site has been a drastic time saver. A newer option to save some more time is to get your project shipped on a Conestoga trailer with the ability to unload multiple ways and straight to the corresponding floor.
Labor shortage does not have to stress out your business! Utilizing newer technology that has been proven to save you time and money will give you the ability to continue growing with less workforce available.
Need help on your next project? Request a Quote Today!
