In a recent opinion piece in The New York Times, journalist Ezra Klein rings the alarm that the $1.6 trillion U.S. construction industry has not enjoyed the productivity gains of other industries. He cites a research paper from two University of Chicago professors, which explains that construction productivity has decreased since 1950 while manufacturing productivity, for example, has increased ninefold.
I appreciate Mr. Klein’s alarm as well as his humility in admitting he has no idea how we get construction productivity rising again. Two decades into a career focused on bringing productivity gains to construction, I do have an idea.
