NUMBER NINE – According to the US Census, construction productivity is nearly the same as it was 80 years ago. In fact, it has actually declined since the 1960’s; while similar industries have grown their productivity by up to 1500%.  Owners report that: 85% of projects go over-budget, 92% go over-schedule and 75% do both. And yet 55% of contractors, on these same projects, view themselves as highly efficient. Before drawing contractor-bashing conclusions that 75% of contractors must be inept and 55% don’t even know it, let’s consider construction payment’s impact on productivity. First, the payment chain for construction projects is already longer and more reliant on links in the chain above it than any industry it is compared to. And, of course, progress payments decelerate incrementally for each subordinate link in the payment chain. But, with payment processes getting more complicated, “everyone holding the money longer” and banks withholding working capital support at all links in the project payment chain, projects become acutely starved for fuel. It seems reasonable that budgets and schedules would be stressed as a fuel starved project delivery chain throttles back progress; and it follows that most contractors would not feel the blame for this.

What is BuildPay?

BuildPay uses financial technology that connects the entire payment chain, enabling fast, direct payments, quicker build times (encouraged by better payments), and better material pricing (made possible by guaranteed payments). Construction the way it should be. #GotPaid