Top Construction Blogs of 2021

Welcome to 2022—a new year, with new opportunities and challenges throughout the construction industry. Despite a resurging pandemic, continued labor challenges, rising costs and supply chain issues, the business of construction not only persevered throughout 2021, it transformed. Together, we continued to modernize how the construction industry works, we realized some significant new technology breakthroughs and we introduced a connected construction experience with Trimble Construction One.

Read on for the top 2021 construction blogs, as captured through our Trimble Viewpoint blog, with posts covering noteworthy trends, new technologies, industry best practices and much more. Editor’s Note: some blogs were written before the mid-year release of Trimble Construction One (formerly ViewpointOne) and Viewpoint’s finalized rebranding as Trimble Viewpoint.

Many of our blogs focus on key industry trends and issues that impact the business of construction. Here’s some of the best from 2021:

1. Construction Infrastructure Resource Center—Tackling America’s critical infrastructure projects took center stage in 2021 as the proposed $1 trillion-plus Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made its way through Congress for approval. Our resource center followed all developments around the bill and the potential impacts it will have for contractors.

2. Why Diversity Matters in Construction and 6 Tips to Successful DEI Programs—Diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce is another pressing issue in construction. Read why DEI programs are important and how to get them started.

3. How to Beat the Construction Labor Shortage Through Youth and Technology—Arguably the biggest industry challenge is the ongoing skilled labor shortage in construction. This blog looks at how technology is changing the game for recruitment, training and retention.

4. How to Address the Uncertainty Over Construction Materials—2021 was the year of the supply chain challenge and construction was no exception. Learn how modern strategies and solutions are helping contractors ease the materials burden.

5. Why Your Old Construction Technology is Eating Your Profit Margin—As more and more contractors are finding, operating as they always have just isn’t good enough anymore. In this blog, we break down why modernization is essential to business continuity and show what profits you might be leaving on the table by using outdated tech and workflows.

6. What is Modular Construction?—Modular and prefabricated building practices are changing the game for how contractors bring projects to life. This blog, from our UK team, looks at the benefits of offsite building and the technologies making it possible.

Like any business, consistent learning is the key to staying productive and competitive. That’s why we provide regular blog posts with the tips, tricks and best practices to stay ahead of the curve. Here are a few our readers loved:

1. Top 10 Contractor Mistakes—They might seem obvious, but these are the mistakes and strategic guffaws that trip contractors up time and time again. Learn what pitfalls you should be wary of and how to avoid them.

2. 5 Ways to Boost Profits with a New Generation of Construction Analytics—The future of construction is data, and the more ways you can gather, parse, analyze and apply data, the better your construction organization will run. See the technology making this a reality and saving contractors millions of dollars.

3. Critical Cloud Security & Ransomware Defense Tips for Contractors—With modern technology comes modern responsibilities, and in the digital age protecting your business data and workflows from threats is more important than ever. Get the latest cybersecurity tips and strategies here.

4. Fine-Tuning Field Service Operations—For contractors with a service business, staying competitive means delivering faster, more meaningful experiences. Read why connected mobile technologies are key to making that happen.

5. 5 Ways to Master Work-in-Progress Reporting—Job cost and work-in-progress reporting are the backbone of effective construction accounting. Learn why trying to stay on top of these through manual processes and disconnected systems might not be the best idea.

6. Construction Forecasting: Planning the Road Ahead—With powerful, real-time data at our fingertips, we can do more, including better predict the outcomes of future work. In this blog from our Australian team, learn how you too can get started.

We partner with our clients to ensure their continual success through technology. That means providing them the consistent resources they need to connect and scale their businesses to meet their needs. It also means celebrating these success stories. Here are a few top 2021 blogs in this arena:

1. Introducing Trimble Construction One—Our story of the year! With Trimble Construction One, we delivered a truly connected, cloud-based construction management platform to our clients. Trimble Construction One is a suite of flexible, customizable, best-in-class construction solutions to help plan, do and manage your entire construction process. Find out more in this blog.

2. Widening the Widowmaker—We love it when our clients do amazing things or overcome significant challenges. For Arizona-based Hunter Contracting, that meant being creative and flexible in building a new road along a treacherous mountain pathway.

3. Crafting a Construction Technology Package for a Good Cause—It’s those times when you can really make a difference that become meaningful. Read how we helped one local Habitat for Humanity chapter make a bigger impact.

4. Collaborate 2021: Construction Technology Conference Day 1 Highlights and Collaborate 2021: Construction Technology Conference Day 2 Highlights—Okay, so it’s two blog posts here, but our recaps of our 2021 Collaborate user conference were definitely among our readers’ favorites. These in-depth posts breakdown key highlights and takeaways from conference sessions.

5. Achieving Real-Time, Connected Construction Data—Want to see the real-world impact a connected construction environment is having? Just ask Dave Steel Company and how they applied Trimble Construction One to meet specific needs.

6. Complete Resources for Your Construction Year-End Processes–On Tap!—Year-end accounting and HR processes were once the bane of many contractors. Read about all the ways we’re helping our clients automate and streamline these once arduous tasks.

And there you have it, our top blog posts of 2021. Be sure to subscribe to stay on top of the very latest industry trends, best practices and technology innovations that 2022 has to offer!