HVAC Ductwork Installers

Hiring in a Tight Labor Market

As the job market soars and unemployment rates shrink, many industries are experiencing rapid growth – heating, ventilation, and air conditioning included.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for HVAC jobs is expected to increase by 13% by 2028, which is much faster than the average industry.

With that success, however, comes a labor shortage many businesses will inevitably struggle with.

When building begins on the next hospital, hotel, retail facility, or high-rise, the last challenge developers want to face is a lack of skilled tradespeople to get the job done. Yet, as the “Baby Boomer” generation continues to retire, that is exactly where we find ourselves.

Labor Pool Lacking in Skilled Tradespeople

After generations of stressing college education at the expense of the trades, the U.S. is now dangerously short of skilled labor. Unfortunately, there is no easy way out.

According to an article in Forbes, 2019 saw 7.6 million unfilled jobs, with only 6.5 million people looking for work. At the same time, our infrastructure is aging and commercial growth is accelerating.

Long term, the United States must rehabilitate the reputation of vocational schools and create the same excitement and sense of success about the trades that we have traditionally used to back college careers. It will not be a false equivalency. Today, jobs in the trades provide the same or superior levels of compensation and benefits as those available to college graduates.

In the meantime, how are contractors and developers to deal with the lack of labor for today’s projects?

At ZEN Industries, we have part of the answer. In the field of HVAC ductwork acquisition and installation, there are still many opportunities to optimize manpower, getting the job done more efficiently and with significant savings.

Optimizing Ductwork Installation Labor

Did you know that your ductwork fabricator can save you up to 25% on installation costs? At ZEN, we we’ve been pioneers in providing the most accurate, precisely measured, shrink-wrapped, and labeled ductwork orders in the industry.

When ductwork arrives on-site with the precision of a numbered Lego set or an Ikea bookshelf, entry level labor can handle the work. No more wasting the valuable time of senior crewmembers sorting a jumble of parts into place.

• Already carefully measured in our virtual building models, cutting on site is reduced or eliminated.
• With comprehensive fidelity to the building plan, we deliver precisely measured duct lengths requiring the absolute minimum of joints and fittings, saving on install time.
• On large projects, we sort and time deliveries by work zones, helping to prevent any confusion as to where a specific ductwork delivery is to be installed.

By eliminating as many on-site hassles as possible, ZEN helps you optimize your use of skilled labor, maximizing the efficiency of the install.

Would you like to learn more? Call us at 877-600-0274, or visit our Contact Us page today!

Eliminating Field Sketching Labor

Let’s take a step back to before the ductwork order is even placed. Traditionally, some of the most skilled and highest paid construction labor performs an on-site task called Field Measuring and Sketching.

FMSL is an expensive undertaking. An experienced PM, superintendent, or foreman must measure areas, obstructions, sketch runs and fittings, figure lengths, and elevations. On a commercial project of any size, FMSL adds tens of thousands of dollars in experienced labor time to the cost.

At ZEN Industries, we’ve found that measuring HVAC duct runs and fittings in software is faster and more accurate, results in less errors, optimizes materials purchases, and results in significant cost savings.

Even if the initial drafting was not performed by ZEN, Building Information Models (BIM) from the architects can be used. In the hands of ZEN’s experienced CAD teams, we can apply this to our computerized modeling capabilities to perform Coordination/FAB Duct drawings.

The benefits delivered include:

• Elimination of Field Measuring and Layout Labor.
• Optimized Field Labor (your least experienced crew can handle the job).
•  The PM, Superintendent, or Foreman can spend that time managing additional projects.

Helping contractors and developers optimize skilled labor in a tight labor market is just a part of what we call The ZEN Way. Altogether, we have years of experience proving that The ZEN Way can deliver project cost savings between 30% and 35%.

Would you like to learn more? Call us at 877-600-0274, or visit our Contact Us page today!

The ZEN Way

The ZEN Way is an industry leading approach to the world of HVAC fabrication and installation.  It offers our clients an array of exceptional savings and opportunities for efficiency.  Some key features of the ZEN Way include:/p>

• Accurate project estimating that combines decades of experience with the latest layout automations and building information management.
• Elimination of field measuring and sketching labor through the use of advanced coordination drawing and shop drawing capabilities.
• Optimization of on-site labor through delivery of precision fit, wrapped and labeled pieces that take the puzzle work out of installation, reducing time and saving money.
• Avoidance of on-site trade conflicts by careful eliminating collision issues before installation saves both the aggravation of trouble-shooting on-site and the labor of solving problems that never needed to happen in the first place.
  

The ZEN Way has been proven to save contractors up to 35% over traditional methods! Would you like to work with ZEN Industries? It’s easy, give us a call at 877-600-0274, or visit our Contact Us page today!