End-of-year considerations for contractors

The end of the year is almost here, but we’ve got a few items for your consideration before we close out 2025. In this issue, we look at contractors' hopes for AI, explain why choosing your clients carefully is critical and share what you need to know about hail and hazardous chemicals.

But first, see how one project manager uses holiday decor to make the best of a bad situation.

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What the hail?!

We know what wind and water can do to a structure, but a weather event we don’t talk much about is hail. These balls of ice form during severe weather and can range in size from a seed to a softball. While Hail Alley (along the Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming state lines) sees the most activity, hail can occur anywhere there’s a thunderstorm. And researchers expect larger hail thanks to climate change.  

Last year, severe thunderstorms were responsible for about $54 billion in economic losses and hail “accounts for roughly 50 to 80% of insured claims filed from thunderstorm-related losses,” notes Steve Bowen, meteorologist and chief science officer for Gallagher Re. That damage includes holes in roofs, windows and siding, of course, plus the water damage from rain and melting hail inside the structure.   

Why it matters: Your clients and prospects want resilient buildings that have a lower total cost of ownership. Educating them about hail risk and choosing impact-resistant materials like shingles and cladding establishes you as a proactive and informed contractor—and that can be a competitive advantage! (Wired)

Contractors feel good about AI

The latest AI for Contractors survey from Dodge Construction Network and CMiC reveals rampant optimism about advanced construction tech, with a whopping 87% of contractors saying AI will have a meaningful impact on their business. “Will” is the important part, however, indicating that many respondents have yet to actually adopt AI into their businesses. Contractors are using AI for less than 15% of 23 project and management tasks included in the survey.  

Why it matters: Most contractors (70%) who have already adopted AI say it improves effectiveness, allowing them to spend less time on repetitive, manual tasks (85%); and gain more insights to create lessons learned (75%) and support better decision-making (70%). Investing in AI now not only produces these efficiencies but also gives you a head start on your competition. (ConstructionOwners.com)

Don’t overlook chemical hazards 

While cold-weather concerns may be top of mind for site safety coordinators right now, new data from CPWR shows that hazardous chemicals require attention, too. The research found that more than one-fifth (22.9%) of construction crew members reported hazardous chemical exposure for four or more hours per week, versus a scant 6.7% of non-construction workers. Hazards include respirable crystalline and fused silica, carbon monoxide, iron, and inorganic lead and arsenic. 

Why it matters: With the labor shortage continuing, you need to keep your current crew healthy! Review the dangerous materials on your job site and sign up for hazard-specific resources and training from organizations like CWPR and NIOSH to mitigate risk. (EHS Leaders)

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>>  Advancing AI: Contech could ease the labor shortage

Customer selection is key

"A big part of our business is client selection... If you pick really, really good clients, and you pick good architect partners, and you pick good employees, you can screw a lot of things up and get a very good outcome. You can have the best system and the best software and processes and the technology ...but the wrong client—there's nothing you can do to solve that problem." 
- Jeremy Martin, Risher Martin Fine Homes

Third-generation builder Jeremy Martin of Risher Martin Fine Homes joins “The Build Podcast” host Matt Risinger to discuss, among many other things, how customer selection is a critical key to success for his fixed-priced custom home construction company. 

Thanks for reading today's edition! You can reach the newsletter team at thelevel@mynewsletter.co. We enjoy hearing from you.

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The Level is curated and written by Margot Lester and edited by Bianca Prieto.