WASHINGTON, D.C. —The National Research Council (NRC) issued a new workshop report which identifies five key activities to advance the competitiveness and effectiveness of the nation’s construction industry.

The workshop which was commissioned by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) gathered industry experts to identify and prioritize technologies, processes and technology deployment activities that have the greatest potential to advance the U.S. construction industry’s capital facilities sector. The capital facilities sector includes commercial, industrial and infrastructure projects.

The resulting report titled, Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry: A Workshop Report, identifies five interrelated activities that could lead to breakthrough improvements in the quality, timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of construction projects.

The five key activities listed in the NRC report are: Widespread deployment and use of Building Information Modeling, a project tracking tool for companies and workers involved in a building project; Improved job site efficiency through effective interfacing of people, processes, materials, equipment and information such as improved material management using radio-frequency identification (RFID) and global positioning systems (GPS) techniques; Greater use of prefabrication, preassembly, modularization and off-site fabrication techniques and processes; Innovative, widespread use of construction demonstration installations; and effective performance measurement tools to drive efficiency and support innovation.

Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry: A Workshop Report is available at www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12717.