Engineering Archives - JDB Engineering, Inc.

Nov 07 2018

The State of the A/E/C Industry

What are the current economic conditions within the architecture, engineering, and construction industry? How are the market sectors and geographic regions performing?

There are quite a few indicators that track the health of the industry, and we’ve gathered many of the major metrics in one place to make your environmental scanning easy as you head into planning for 2019!

Click on the image to enlarge the State of the A/E/C Industry infographic, or surf here for a downloadable PDF for sharing!

Architectural Billings

The first stop on this tour of the A/E/C industry’s economic health is the American Institute of Architects’ Architectural Billings Index (ABI), which is broken into several categories. Overall, the ABI for billings is at 51.1 for the latest month. As the ABI is a diffusion index, any score above 50.0 demonstrates growth over the prior month, while any score below indicates decline. The most current data available is for September 2018, and the score of 51.1 demonstrates a billings increase over August. However, the August score was 54.2, so we know that although the billings continue to increase, there is a decreasing rate of growth.

The AIA tracks Design Contracts and Project Inquiries as well. While billings is a lagging indicator – that is, the work has already happened – Design Contracts are very much a real-time indicator, capturing what is happening right now. In August, there was a retraction in contracts with a score of 49.6. However, the index rebounded in September with a score of 54.1, a significant jump. Project Inquiries is a leading indicator of future workload. The September score of 58.8 is impressive, building upon the 58.0 score of the prior month.

Additionally, with the latest ABI survey, the AIA asked architects about revenues for the year, and as an average, AIA members are projecting a net revenue growth of 7.5% for the year.

The ABI is also broken into four large geographic regions. Three of the four experienced billings growth in September:

Midwest = 59.7 (52.5 in August)
West = 51.3 (54.2 in August)
South = 54.1 (57.0 in August)

The Midwest experienced a major increase in growth, while the West and South both reported slowing growth. However, the Northeast did not fare as well, seeing a steeper decline in billings than it had the prior month:

Northeast = 46.6 (46.9 in August)

In addition to geographic regions, the ABI is also broken into major market sectors as follows:

Commercial/Industrial = 50.8 (53.6 in August)
Institutional = 55.1 (52.3 in August)
Residential = 54.9 (55.6 in August)

All markets experienced an increase in billings in September, although the growth in Commercial/Industrial as well as Residential billings slowed compared to the August data.

A/E/C Employment Trends

The next series of charts depicts the employment trends for A/E/C firms, based upon data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. All three data sets demonstrate healthy growth over the past year, although architectural employment, as well as engineering and drafting employment, both depict summer peaks and autumn declines. This is typical of prior years.

Architectural employment in July hit its highest number since November 2008. Likewise, engineering employment hit a new peak in August. Construction employment has not seen the autumn decline of architecture/engineering, and October data shows the highest employment figure since April 2008.

Please note that the figures for September and October 2018 are preliminary.

Confidence & Momentum

Consumer Confidence in the United States, as tracked by The Conference Board, reached an 18-year high in October 2018 with a 2.6 point increase over September.

There’s also an industry-specific confidence metric, published by Associated Builders and Contractors and known as the ABC Construction Confidence Index (CCI). The ABC index is broken into Sales Expectations and Profit Margin (as well as Staffing Levels), and is a quarterly metric. Second quarter data from 2018 was released in late September, and is the most current period available. Like the AIA’s ABI, the data utilizes a diffusion index, with any score above 50.0 demonstrating an increase over the prior period. Survey participants are asked about their expectations for the forthcoming six months.

The CCI for Sales Expectations climbed to 72.6 in the second quarter, up from an already-impressive 72.2. Likewise, the CCI for Profit Margin climbed to 64.5, up from 63.4 in the first quarter. The CCI for Staffing Levels (not shown) fell back slightly, from 70.2 to 69.5, but this figure is still historically high according to ABC.

Another relevant metric is published by Dodge Data & Analytics, known as the Dodge Momentum Index. The index is published monthly and the prior month is often revised at the same time. Dodge further breaks the data into Commercial Building and Institutional Building.

The overall figure for September demonstrates a decline of 2.6% in the index, with Commercial Buildings down 4.3% and Institutional Buildings down 0.1%. This was the second straight month of decline, although the third quarter figure is up from the second quarter. Because the index tracks the first, or initial, report of a nonresidential construction project in the planning stage, a handful of large projects can influence the index from month-to-month. Overall, the trend for the year is still positive. For benchmarking, the year of 2000 represents a Momentum Index reading of 100. This index is an indicator of future construction.

Spending, Backlog & More

Construction Put in Place is a data set published monthly by the US Census Bureau. Although it is a lagging indicator – construction has occurred – it is a useful metric for trending, and also provides a way to analyze the activity in 16 market sectors.

The data is reported two ways; first, the current month is compared with the prior month. Second, the current month is compared with the same month the prior year. For this report, I’m using the year-over-year comparison, which demonstrates that 14 of 16 markets have experienced growth over the past 12 months.

Only Communications and Religious facilities saw declines over a year ago. Furthermore, seven sectors saw double-digit growth in September 2018, compared with September 2017.

Overall, the metric is showing an 8.9% increase in Construction Put in Place compared with a year ago. Water Supply, Conservation & Development, Transportation, and Lodging were the biggest gainers, while Commercial, Manufacturing, and Health Care saw the smallest levels of growth. This data demonstrates an increase in infrastructure construction – something that has been talked about for years.

Another metric reported by the US Census Bureau is US Nonresidential Construction Spending, and again it is compared against the previous month as well as 12 months prior. Although the data shows a decrease in construction spending from August 2018 to September 2018, there is significant growth over September 2017.

In addition to the Construction Confidence Index, ABC also publishes a quarterly Construction Backlog Indicator, broken into regions and project types. The columns on this chart demonstrate the average backlogs in months, while the circles depict variances from the previous quarter, in percent.

The average backlog is now 9.9 months, which is a new high for this index. Note that this data is for the second quarter, which is the most current data available. This is also an increase of 12.2% over the previous quarter.

Broken into regions, firms in the South are experiencing the largest backlog levels, slightly more than 11 months. The Middle States region tracked by ABC is the only geographic area not seeing double-digit backlog figures, and also the only region to see a decline, although slight, over the prior quarter.

Firms operating in all three market sectors tracked by ABC experienced growth in backlogs, with both Commercial/Institutional and Infrastructure firms seeing backlogs of just over 10 months. Firms operating in the Heavy Industrial sector report backlog averages of 7.8 months; however, this is a jump of 33% over the prior quarter.

One final metric tracked in this report is open US Construction Sector Jobs, based upon data from multiple sources including the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure for August 2018 – the most current available – was 298,000 open jobs, significantly up from the 215,000 figure of August 2017. This trend is not new, although it appears to be picking up speed as construction firms across the country continue to struggle with finding qualified employees. In addition to negatively impacting construction firms’ ability to pursue and deliver projects, the worker shortage also appears to be leading to increased wages, potentially driving inflation growth in construction costs. Stay tuned to see what impact this trend will have on the A/E/C industry.

There’s our latest A/E/C environmental scan. Are there other metrics that you regularly track?

Are you pulling together your strategic and marketing plans for 2019? Need help with planning or facilitation? Contact me at 717-434-1543 or sbutcher@jdbe.com to discuss how jdbIQity can help position your firm for a successful year (and beyond)!

Connect with Scott

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdbutcher
Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottdbutcher

Jun 20 2018

Perspectives from a Recent College Grad

by Bradlee Maramba

On December 8, 2017, as a recent college graduate, I walked into the offices of JDB Engineering proactively looking for a job. To my surprise, I was actually able to speak with a couple of JDBE executives. After the conversation, I was offered the opportunity to come in for an interview, which occurred two weeks later. The new year began with a job offer, and on February 1, 2018 I began my career as an electrical designer with JDB Engineering. Although it seems like it has only been a few weeks since I started, I am now four months into the job as I write this.

In the short amount of time I have been here, I have learned a lot about the design and construction industry; and there is much more to learn. However, this is not my first time being exposed to construction. During the summer of 2014, I had the opportunity to intern for a large construction company, where I was responsible for site walkthroughs, surveys, and working with drawings for bidding and subcontracting. I also gained hands-on experience with construction through several renovation projects undertaken by my church, including a complete renovation of a 15,000 sq. ft. building.

Generally, people seem to take buildings for granted today, but being exposed to the engineering aspects of construction has given me a deeper insight of buildings and systems. It has also given me a greater appreciation for them because of the amount of work that goes into designing a building. I recently finished a small, simple outdoor pool bar project that required a considerable amount of time because of the amount of detail work it needed. There is much more to just laying out electrical fixtures and equipment, lighting, and wiring on a drawing. There are surveys, meetings, conference calls, code conformance, drawing and model development, coordination, specification writing, and other tasks that go into every project.

Another thing I’ve learned to do is ask questions (after I have done what I could). Being a quiet person, I tend to not say much. But I quickly learned that I need to speak up and ask questions if I am to learn. Through that, I also learned to set aside my pride because I did not want to look like I did not know anything – even though the truth is that I was lacking knowledge. I had to set that aside and step out of my comfort zone to grow and to learn. I do appreciate my coworkers, who are patient with me as I ask them a number of questions throughout the day. I definitely have learned a lot more because they go above and beyond when they answer my questions.

However, of all these things I’ve been learning, I’m beginning to understand that detail is the most important attribute of this industry. It is the reason for all the surveys, meetings, conference calls, code conformance, drawings, models, coordination, and specifications. It is why we have all types of code books to specify how we go about designing a building or system. It is the reason why this title I hold as an “Electrical Designer” exists. One could have the most organized and clean drawing in the world, but missing a single detail could make that drawing void. Missing a minor detail in a meeting could cause major problems in time, money, and other project aspects. I am currently going through a learning period here as I am handed more and more “empty” drawings and with less and less guidance, and I am seeing that I have a long way to go. There is definitely much to learn.

I am so appreciative for this opportunity I have, and am looking forward to more growth and learning here for years to come.

Nov 28 2017

What is a Trap Primer – and Why is it Required?

by Steven R. List, PE, ICC

Were you ever in a building that had a putrid odor? More than likely it was sewer gas emitting from a floor drain. All plumbing fixtures, including floor drains, are required to have traps. A trap looks like a “U” shape pipe. If you look below your kitchen or bathroom sink, this will give you an idea of what a trap looks like.

A trap is simply a fitting that provides a liquid seal to stop the emission of sewer gases. However, there needs to be water draining into the trap to create the liquid seal. Bathroom sinks and kitchen sinks are normally used daily; however, floor drains may not receive liquid drainage for months. Without liquid frequently entering the floor drain and trap, the liquid seal in the trap will evaporate over time, and sewer gas will emit from the floor drain.

Prior to the invention of the trap primer, people would periodically pour water into floor drains to maintain the liquid seal.

A trap primer is a device that causes a small amount of water to drain to the trap via piping from the trap primer. For a water-supply-fed type trap primer, this happens automatically, based upon a water pressure drop when there is flow within the potable water piping system, such as using a sink faucet, flushing a toilet, etc.

Another type of trap primer can flow water from the potable water system to multiple floor drains/traps. This type of trap primer consists of an automatic timer, electric solenoid valve, vacuum breaker, and a piping manifold with valved outlets, which are each piped to a floor drain trap.

Plumbing codes require that trap primers be provided for “emergency” floor drains and other traps subject to evaporation. An example of an “emergency” floor drain is one in a toilet room. Trap primers must conform to ASSE 1018 or ASSE 1044 standards – ASSE stands for the American Society of Sanitary Engineering.

More recent plumbing codes have added a trap seal protection device as another method to protect the trap seal against evaporation. A barrier-type floor drain trap seal device can be installed in floor drains. It is an elastomeric type check valve/flapper that opens to allow water to flow and closes in a no-flow condition to prevent trap seal evaporation. This type of device must conform to ASSE 1072, and may be used in both new and existing floor drains.

If you have noticed a not-so-pleasant odor in spaces where there are floor drains, check to make sure you don’t have a dry trap and do have a functioning trap primer.

For more information, or if you have questions about which trap primer type is the right solution for your situation, contact Steve List at 717.434.1557 or email him. Also check out JDB Engineering’s list of plumbing engineering services.

Nov 08 2017

JDB Engineering Announces Specialty Services

At JDB Engineering, innovation is at the core of who we are and what we do. We’ve continued to innovate our business model, and are pleased to share with you four specialty service lines.

The first two are not new – we’ve been providing these services for many years. However, to better meet client demand, we’re elevating these service lines within our organization:

JDB Industry provides process and industrial engineering solutions, controls, and automation. JDB has worked with many Fortune 500 manufacturing and food processing firms, plus many well-known private companies, offering myriad engineering and process-related services.

Check out our blog post “Explosion Protection for Dust Collectors” to get a taste for the type of projects in which JDB Industry specializes.

JDB Illumination is focused on architectural, industrial, and specialty lighting and controls. From mixed-use to manufacturing, higher education to health care, our talented in-house team of lighting design specialists have a deep background of designing, specifying, and installing specialty lighting.

“Understanding Correlated Color Temperature” is the first post in a series of JDB Illumination blogs to help you better understanding lighting.

New Services

Beyond elevating these services, JDB Engineering is pleased to announce the addition of two specialty service groups to diversify our offerings and respond to the pace of disruption in our industry:

JDB Insight provides IT strategy, integration, evaluation, and information management to help our clients collect data and translate it to meaningful information for decision-making.

Our first blog post out of the gate is “Walk Before You Run: Defining Project Scope.” Whether planning a design and construction project or a technology-related project, properly defining the scope on the front-end will save myriad hassles on the back-end.

jdbIQity expands upon our staff’s unique talents, offering training, marketing and business development consulting, and facilitation, integrating business intelligence into our portfolio of services. This is a natural extension of our education-based approach to the marketplace.

“Those that Lead, Speak. And Write.” is our latest jdbIQity post, and is a call-to-action for business leaders to enhance their personal brands as thought leaders, which in turn will help elevate the brands of their companies.

Core MEP Engineering

Even with these new offerings, JDB Engineering is still first and foremost a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering firm. Call us consulting engineers, facility engineers, or architectural engineers. All apply, and all are at the heart of what we do.

So when you’re finished reading the posts from our specialty services, surf over to “Bigger Isn’t Always Better – Why Oversizing Packaged DX HVAC Equipment Isn’t Good,” or read the current most popular blog on our website, “When do Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Systems Make Sense?”

Be sure to visit our blog regularly, and follow us on social media, to read new content when it is released.

Questions? Reach out to Timothy A. Warren, PE, LEED AP, JDB Engineering’s president, or Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM, vice president and CMO to learn more.