October 19, 2026

Weekly Tip: Invite your local and state elected officials to visit one of your job sites. This is a great way to educate them about the construction industry and to show them the importance of resilient construction.

How This Helps Your Business: Helps you build relationships with key policymakers, gives you a voice in the legislative process, and can lead to new business opportunities.

How This Helps Make Your Community Resilient: Helps to ensure that policymakers are making informed decisions about issues that affect the construction industry and the resilience of your community.

MORE INFO: Bring Policymakers to the Jobsite and Show Them Why Resilience Matters

Elected officials make decisions that directly affect contractors, homeowners, and the safety of entire communities. From building codes and permitting requirements to disaster recovery funding and insurance-related policies, their decisions influence how homes are built, repaired, and protected.

Yet many policymakers have limited firsthand experience with residential construction. They may understand the goals of stronger building standards without fully appreciating the materials, labor, costs, and practical challenges involved in putting those standards into action.

Contractors can help bridge that gap by inviting elected officials to visit an active jobsite. A short, well-organized visit can provide valuable insight into how resilient construction works and why it matters.

Here are several ways to make a jobsite visit productive:

• Invite the right people. Contact your city council members, county officials, state legislators, or their staff. Focus on officials involved in housing, construction, economic development, or disaster preparedness.
• Choose a project that tells a story. A home with a fortified roof, impact-resistant windows, improved drainage, elevated mechanical equipment, or other resilience features provides an opportunity to demonstrate how stronger construction protects homeowners.
• Show the details. Walk officials through specific materials and installation techniques. Explain how each improvement helps a home withstand severe weather, flooding, wildfire, or other local hazards.
• Explain the costs and benefits. Help policymakers understand the additional labor, materials, training, and inspection requirements involved in resilient construction, along with the potential savings from avoiding future damage.
• Discuss real-world challenges. Share examples of permitting delays, workforce shortages, outdated codes, or other obstacles that make it harder for contractors to deliver stronger homes.
• Connect construction to community recovery. Explain how better-built homes can reduce displacement, limit repair needs, and help neighborhoods recover more quickly after disasters.
• Keep the conversation going. Follow up with a thank-you message, photos, or additional information. Offer to serve as a resource when construction-related issues come before policymakers.

A successful visit does not require an elaborate presentation. A 20- to 30-minute walkthrough and a straightforward conversation about what you are building, why it matters, and what could make the process better can leave a lasting impression.

Always coordinate with the property owner, follow jobsite safety requirements, and make sure visitors have appropriate protective equipment.

Business impact

Building relationships with policymakers gives contractors an opportunity to contribute practical expertise to decisions affecting their industry. Officials who understand your work may seek your perspective on proposed legislation, code updates, permitting reforms, or construction-related programs.

These relationships can also strengthen your professional reputation and help you stay informed about policy developments and potential business opportunities. Participation in public discussions demonstrates leadership and a commitment to improving the construction industry.

Community impact

When policymakers see resilient construction firsthand, they gain a better understanding of which improvements provide meaningful protection and what it takes to implement them.

That knowledge can inform stronger building codes, more practical incentive programs, better disaster mitigation investments, and policies that help homeowners access resilient construction solutions.

Contractors also bring an important perspective to disaster recovery planning. Their experience with damaged homes, rebuilding costs, labor availability, and construction timelines can help officials make decisions that support faster, more effective recovery.

You should know: Fortified Structural Solutions brings experience with the FORTIFIED program and the construction practices that help homes withstand severe weather. Its expertise can help illustrate the practical value of stronger building standards and resilience-focused policies. The Association of Professional Builders provides professional education and industry resources that can help builders strengthen their leadership, communication, and engagement with issues affecting the construction industry.

A practical starting point: Identify one local or state elected official and invite them to visit a project where you are incorporating resilient construction features. Keep your invitation simple:

“We’re working on a project that demonstrates how better construction can help protect homes and families from future disasters. I’d welcome the opportunity to show you what we’re doing and discuss how these practices can benefit our community.”

You don’t need to be a policy expert to make a difference. Your firsthand construction experience is exactly the kind of knowledge policymakers need.

When contractors open their jobsites to policymakers, they open the door to better-informed decisions, stronger homes, and more resilient communities.

October 11, 2026

Weekly Tip: Advocate for the adoption of modern building codes that are based on the latest climate science. These codes can help to ensure that new homes and businesses are built to withstand the impacts of climate change, such as more intense storms and wildfires.

How This Helps Your Business: Positions you as a leader in your field, can lead to new business opportunities, and helps you build a reputation as a contractor who is committed to quality and safety.

How This Helps Make Your Community Resilient: Helps to ensure that your community is built to last, which can save lives and property in the event of a disaster.

MORE INFO: Building Better Today for Tomorrow’s Disasters

Building codes establish the minimum standards for how homes and buildings are constructed. But as communities face changing weather patterns, more intense rainfall, stronger storm impacts, and growing wildfire exposure, those standards need to keep pace with the risks.

Modern building codes incorporate advances in building science, engineering, materials, and lessons learned from past disasters. For contractors, understanding and supporting stronger standards is an opportunity to improve the quality of construction, protect homeowners, and help communities avoid costly damage in the future.

There are several areas where updated building standards can make a meaningful difference:

• Wind resistance: Stronger roof-to-wall connections, improved roof attachment, impact-resistant openings, and continuous load paths can help buildings withstand severe storms.
• Wildfire protection: Fire-resistant roofing and siding, ember-resistant vents, and appropriate construction details can reduce a home’s vulnerability to wildfire.
• Flood resilience: Elevating critical equipment, using flood-resistant materials where appropriate, and following updated flood elevation requirements can reduce damage and recovery costs.
• Water intrusion: Better flashing, roof assemblies, drainage, and moisture management can help prevent costly damage during extreme rainfall.
• Structural performance: Updated engineering and construction requirements can improve how buildings respond to local hazards.
• Beyond minimum code: Voluntary standards and programs, such as the IBHS FORTIFIED program, can provide additional protection beyond what local building codes require.

Contractors can influence these improvements by participating in building code discussions, working with local building officials, and sharing practical experience with home builders associations and policymakers. Your knowledge of installation methods, material costs, construction challenges, and real-world building performance can help ensure that stronger standards are both effective and achievable.

Business impact
Staying ahead of building code changes helps contractors prepare for new requirements, avoid compliance problems, and demonstrate expertise to customers. Understanding resilient construction practices can also create opportunities for specialized upgrades, retrofits, certifications, and projects where homeowners want greater protection than minimum code requirements provide.

Contractors who can explain why stronger construction matters may also differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Homeowners increasingly need guidance on which improvements offer meaningful protection and how to prioritize their investments.

Community impact
Stronger building codes can have benefits that extend across entire neighborhoods. When more homes are built or upgraded to withstand local hazards, communities can experience less property damage, fewer disruptions, and reduced demand for emergency repairs after disasters.

Over time, better construction standards can also help protect public resources by reducing the scale and cost of rebuilding. The greatest benefits come when communities adopt appropriate standards and ensure they are consistently implemented.

You should know: Fortified Structural Solutions brings expertise in FORTIFIED construction and certification, helping demonstrate how enhanced building practices can provide additional protection against severe weather. The Association of Professional Builders offers education and professional development resources for builders, while CertainTeed provides building products, technical information, and training that can support code-compliant, resilient construction.

A practical starting point: Find out which edition of the residential building code your community currently uses and whether any updates are being considered. Contact your local building department or home builders association and ask how contractors can participate in the discussion. Then identify one resilience improvement you can begin recommending to homeowners today, even if local codes do not yet require it.

Building stronger communities starts with building better homes. Contractors have the experience and influence to help make that happen.

VIDEOS

October 5, 2026

MORE INFO: Turn Your Jobsite Experience Into a Voice for Resilience

Contractors see the consequences of building decisions firsthand. You know which materials perform, where homes repeatedly fail, which code requirements create real value, and where regulations or funding programs create unnecessary obstacles. That experience can be valuable when communities and states make decisions about building codes, disaster mitigation, insurance, permitting, and recovery.

The challenge is getting that experience into the rooms where decisions are made. Local and state home builders associations, trade organizations, code committees, and other industry groups can give individual contractors a stronger collective voice.

There are several practical ways to get involved:

• Join your local or state builders association: Learn which legislative and regulatory issues they are currently working on.
• Participate in code discussions: Building departments and code organizations need input from professionals who understand how proposed requirements actually work in the field.
• Attend legislative days: Many industry associations organize opportunities for contractors to meet directly with state lawmakers and their staffs.
• Share real examples: A short explanation of what happened to actual homes during a hurricane, wildfire, flood, or other disaster can help policymakers understand where improvements are needed.
• Speak up about incentives: Grants, tax incentives, insurance programs, and other policies can help homeowners afford resilience improvements.
• Build relationships before you need them: Get to know building officials, emergency managers, association leaders, and elected officials before the next disaster or major policy debate.

Business impact
Being involved helps you understand changes that could affect your company before they reach the jobsite. You may gain earlier insight into new codes, permitting requirements, resilience programs, funding opportunities, and construction standards. You also build relationships with industry leaders and public officials who increasingly need experienced contractors when new programs are being developed or implemented.

Community impact
Good resilience policy can influence thousands of homes at once. Stronger building standards, practical mitigation incentives, better permitting processes, and well-designed recovery programs can reduce future damage and help communities rebuild more effectively. Contractors can bring an important perspective to these discussions because they understand both what makes a building stronger and what it actually takes to implement those improvements in the field.

You should know: The Association of Professional Builders provides education and resources that can help builders strengthen their businesses and engage with broader industry issues. CertainTeed brings the perspective of a major building-products manufacturer operating within building codes, product standards, testing requirements, and evolving expectations for building performance.

A practical starting point: Find your local or state home builders association and ask one question: “What resilience, building code, insurance, or disaster-recovery issues are you working on right now?” Then attend one meeting or volunteer for one committee where your field experience can add value. You do not need to become a lobbyist. You need to bring the contractor’s perspective into the conversation.

VIDEOS

September 27, 2026

MORE INFO: Smarter Security for the Modern Jobsite

Tools, equipment, appliances, copper, lumber, and other materials can represent a significant investment sitting on a jobsite, often when nobody is there to protect it. Theft or vandalism can create costs beyond the value of what disappears. Crews can lose productive time, replacement materials may delay schedules, and unauthorized people entering an active construction site can create serious safety and liability concerns.

New security technologies give contractors more ways to monitor jobsites without having someone physically watching them around the clock. The most useful systems combine several layers of protection:

• AI-enabled cameras: Modern systems can distinguish people, vehicles, and unusual activity and send alerts when predefined events occur.
• Drones: Where regulations and site conditions permit, drones can provide aerial visibility across large or difficult-to-monitor properties. They can also help document site conditions and valuable materials.
• Security robots: Mobile units equipped with cameras, lights, sensors, and communications technology can patrol defined areas and provide another set of eyes on larger sites.
• Smart tool and equipment tracking: GPS, Bluetooth, RFID, and other wireless technologies can help contractors locate equipment and identify when tracked assets leave designated areas.
• Remote monitoring: Connected systems allow project managers or security providers to review alerts and site conditions without traveling to the property.
• Digital access control: Connected gates, locks, and entry systems can create a record of who entered a site and when.

Business impact
Better security can help reduce theft, vandalism, downtime, and replacement costs while giving contractors better documentation if an incident occurs. Tracking technology can also solve a more routine problem: equipment that is not stolen but simply cannot be found when a crew needs it.

Security improvements may also be viewed favorably by some insurers, but contractors should ask their broker or carrier which systems qualify for discounts rather than assuming that installing a particular technology will automatically lower premiums.

Community impact
Security becomes especially important during disaster recovery. Rebuilding can put large amounts of equipment and building materials into neighborhoods where properties may be vacant, damaged, or without normal security systems. Theft or vandalism can delay individual projects and consume resources that are already in short supply.

Better monitoring also helps keep unauthorized people away from hazardous work areas. Keeping projects secure and operating on schedule helps contractors move more homes through the recovery process and supports a more orderly neighborhood recovery.

You should know: AUTOTRAK INC and Bedrock Wireless offer technologies related to tracking equipment and assets, an important layer of modern jobsite security. Buildertrend represents the project-management side of the connected jobsite, while Dell Technologies provides computing infrastructure that can support increasingly connected security and monitoring systems.

A practical starting point: Walk one of your jobsites after the crew leaves and look at it from the perspective of someone trying to get in. Identify the equipment or materials you would least want to lose and the areas you cannot easily see. Then choose one vulnerability to address with better lighting, an AI-enabled camera, asset tracking, access control, or another appropriate security measure.

VIDEOS

September 21, 2026

Provide your workers with exoskeletons to help them lift heavy objects and to reduce the risk of injuries. Exoskeletons can also help your workers stay productive for longer periods of time.

MORE INFO: Give Your Crew a Little Extra Muscle

Construction takes a physical toll. Repeated lifting, bending, kneeling, and overhead work can contribute to fatigue and musculoskeletal injuries, especially when workers perform the same demanding movements day after day.

Wearable exoskeletons are designed to reduce some of that physical load. Unlike the powered robotic suits you might picture from science fiction, many construction exoskeletons are relatively simple wearable devices that support a specific part of the body or movement. Depending on the design, they can provide assistance to the shoulders, back, legs, or knees.

Contractors are beginning to encounter several types of wearable support:

• Shoulder and arm support: Useful for prolonged overhead tasks such as electrical work, drilling, painting, and drywall installation.
• Back-support systems: Designed to reduce strain during repetitive lifting, bending, and material handling.
• Knee and leg support: Can assist workers who spend significant time crouching, kneeling, climbing, or working in demanding positions.
• Passive exoskeletons: Use springs, elastic elements, or mechanical structures to redistribute forces without batteries or motors.
• Powered systems: Use motors or other powered components to provide greater assistance for certain demanding applications.

The key is matching the technology to the task. An exoskeleton that helps with overhead work may offer little benefit to someone moving around a jobsite all day. Comfort, mobility, fit, heat, interference with other PPE, and worker acceptance also matter. These devices should complement good ergonomics, lifting practices, job rotation, and appropriate equipment rather than substitute for them.

Business impact
The potential value extends beyond completing a task faster. Reducing physical strain may help workers finish demanding shifts with less fatigue and could help experienced tradespeople remain productive longer in their careers. Fewer strain-related injuries and lost workdays can also mean fewer disruptions to schedules and crews.

There is a recruiting and retention angle as well. Providing tools that reduce unnecessary wear on employees sends a clear message that protecting skilled workers is part of how you run the company.

Community impact
After a disaster, construction demand can increase quickly and remain elevated for months or years. That puts additional pressure on an already limited skilled workforce. Technologies that help reduce worker fatigue and physical strain can support the capacity needed to repair more homes and infrastructure while protecting the people doing the rebuilding.

A practical starting point: Do not outfit your entire crew on day one. Identify one physically demanding, repetitive task such as overhead drilling, drywall installation, or material handling. Find an exoskeleton designed specifically for that movement and let the workers who actually perform the task test it. Their experience will tell you whether the technology deserves a bigger role on your jobsites.

VIDEOS

September 14, 2026

MORE INFO: Let Robots Handle the Repetition

Construction robotics are becoming increasingly practical for tasks that are repetitive, physically demanding, or require the same motion hundreds of times. The goal is simple: use machines where automation makes sense and keep skilled workers focused on the work that requires experience, judgment, problem solving, and craftsmanship.

Robotic and automated systems are already being developed and deployed for jobs such as bricklaying, rebar tying, layout, drilling, drywall finishing, painting, material movement, demolition, and site preparation. For contractors, the opportunity is to look at where crews spend significant time performing predictable tasks and determine whether technology can reduce that workload.

Good places to look for automation include:

• Highly repetitive work: Tasks involving the same movement or process throughout the day.
• Physically demanding work: Activities involving lifting, bending, carrying, overhead work, or other repetitive strain.
• Precision work: Layout, measurement, drilling, and other activities where consistent positioning matters.
• Material handling: Moving heavy or bulky materials around the site.
• Debris removal: Getting waste out of the work area quickly so skilled workers can keep moving.
• Hazardous environments: Tasks where automation can reduce worker exposure to unstable structures, dust, debris, heights, or other risks.

Business impact
The biggest opportunity may be increased capacity. If automation reduces the hours your skilled workers spend on repetitive tasks, those workers can focus on quality control, detailed installation, troubleshooting, supervision, and customer communication. Robotics can also help reduce physical wear on experienced employees, an important consideration when skilled labor is already difficult to find and retain.

For most contractors, this does not mean buying an expensive robot tomorrow. Some technologies can be rented, subcontracted, or brought onto specific projects through specialized providers. The first step is understanding what is available and whether the economics make sense for your workload.

Community impact
Robotics could become particularly valuable during disaster recovery, when the amount of construction work can increase dramatically while qualified labor remains limited. Automated equipment can help with debris removal, site preparation, material handling, assessment, and repetitive rebuilding tasks. Increasing the amount of work each crew can safely manage can help more properties move through the recovery process.

You should know: Equipter develops equipment designed to make debris management and cleanup more efficient on jobsites, while Combilift specializes in material-handling solutions that can help contractors move difficult loads more efficiently. Automist demonstrates another side of construction automation: using smart technology to perform important building functions with less dependence on manual intervention.

A practical starting point: Ask your crew one question: “What repetitive task eats up the most time or wears you out the most?” Pick the most common answer and research whether a robotic, automated, or mechanized solution already exists. You may find that the best first use of robotics is solving one very specific problem that your team deals with every day.

VIDEOS

September 7, 2026

MORE INFO: Turn Your Jobsite Into a Connected Operation

A lot of jobsite problems start with something simple: the right information did not reach the right person at the right time. A crew arrives before materials are ready. A change gets discussed but never documented. Equipment is somewhere else when it is needed. A safety issue gets noticed but not communicated.

A smart jobsite uses connected technology to give your team better visibility into what is happening across the project. Instead of information living in texts, phone calls, paper notes, photos, and someone’s memory, digital tools can create a shared source of information that travels with the project.

You do not need to automate your entire company. Start with the areas where poor information costs you the most time or money:

• Project communication: Give crews, supervisors, subs, and the office access to current plans, schedules, changes, and assignments.
• Photo documentation: Capture organized, time-stamped jobsite photos so progress and problems are easier to document.
• Progress tracking: Know what has been completed, what is behind schedule, and what needs attention.
• Equipment and materials: Track important assets and improve coordination around deliveries and availability.
• Safety: Make it easier to report hazards, document inspections, and communicate issues quickly.
• Damage assessment: Photos, digital measurements, 3D visualization, and other tools can help teams document existing conditions and plan repairs more efficiently.

Business impact
Better information can mean fewer unnecessary trips, less downtime, faster decisions, better documentation, and fewer surprises. It also gives owners and project managers a clearer picture of multiple jobs without needing to physically be everywhere at once. The goal is not technology for technology’s sake. It is removing friction from the work you already do.

Community impact
These capabilities become especially valuable after a disaster. Contractors may suddenly be managing more projects, more crews, more inspections, and more documentation across a wider geographic area. Better coordination can help contractors assess damage, prioritize work, deploy resources, and move projects forward more efficiently. When hundreds or thousands of homes need attention, small improvements in each project’s workflow can contribute to a faster overall recovery.

You should know: CompanyCam provides contractors with jobsite photo documentation and project organization capabilities. Chief Architect Software, Chaos, and Arktek 3D Rendering Studio represent different ways design and visualization technology can help teams understand buildings and communicate proposed work. Dell Technologies provides the computing infrastructure behind increasingly data-intensive construction workflows, while Epson offers imaging and visualization technology that can support how project information is viewed and shared.

A practical starting point: Pick one recurring jobsite problem this week. Maybe it is missing photos, slow field-to-office communication, outdated project information, or poor progress visibility. Test one digital solution against that specific problem on a single project. If it saves your team time or prevents mistakes, expand from there.

VIDEOS

August 31, 2026

MORE INFO: Build the Workforce Your Business and Community Will Need

The construction labor shortage is not something contractors can solve by waiting for more qualified applicants to appear. One practical approach is to start developing talent earlier by building relationships with local high schools, technical programs, and community colleges.

That does not require creating a full apprenticeship program from scratch. A contractor can start small and give students exposure to real construction careers while helping educators understand the skills employers actually need.

Ways to get involved include:

• Invite a construction or trades class to visit one of your jobsites.
• Volunteer to speak to students about careers in construction.
• Offer internships, summer jobs, job shadowing, or work-based learning opportunities.
• Help instructors understand the skills and technologies being used on today’s jobsites.
• Demonstrate resilient construction practices such as stronger roofing systems, water management, wind-resistant connections, wildfire-resistant materials, and proper installation techniques.
• Donate leftover materials or equipment that students can use for hands-on training.
• Identify promising students early and give them a clear pathway from the classroom to employment.

Business impact
Developing relationships with schools gives you access to potential employees before they enter the broader labor market. Students can learn your expectations for safety, workmanship, communication, and quality early. Over time, that can create a more reliable recruiting pipeline while strengthening your reputation as an employer that invests in its people.

It can also change the way young people view construction. A student who sees modern tools, technology, building science, drones, resilient construction, and real career advancement may see an industry they had never previously considered.

Community impact
A skilled local construction workforce is part of a community’s disaster preparedness. After a hurricane, wildfire, flood, tornado, or other major event, communities can suddenly need enormous amounts of qualified construction labor. Having trained workers already living in the region can help contractors scale more effectively and support faster, safer rebuilding.

There is also an opportunity to introduce resilience principles before young workers develop their professional habits. If the next generation understands why correct installation, stronger building practices, mitigation, and building codes matter, those practices can become part of how they approach construction throughout their careers.

A practical starting point: Contact one local high school, technical school, or community college this week. Ask for the person responsible for construction trades, career and technical education, or workforce development. You do not need to propose an entire program. Offer a jobsite visit, classroom presentation, or conversation about what local contractors need from tomorrow’s workforce.

A resilient community needs people who know how to build and rebuild it. Contractors are in a unique position to help develop those people.

VIDEOS

August 24, 2026

MORE INFO: How Resilience Spreads From One Home to the Next

Resilience becomes more powerful when homeowners can see it. A fortified roof, impact-resistant windows, improved drainage, or wildfire-resistant materials create a visible example of what better preparation looks like. When one homeowner makes the investment, neighbors have someone nearby they can ask about the cost, process, contractor, and results.

Contractors can help create that ripple effect. At the end of a resilience project, explain what was improved and why it matters. Then give the homeowner simple information they can share when neighbors start asking questions.

Ways to encourage the ripple effect include:

• Provide before-and-after photos the homeowner can share.
• Give them a simple explanation of the resilience upgrades completed.
• Ask permission to place a project sign or share the project locally.
• Encourage satisfied homeowners to talk about their experience with neighbors.
• Offer a neighborhood resilience assessment or educational event when several homeowners express interest.
• Document successful projects as examples of what can be accomplished locally.

Business impact
Neighborhood referrals can be particularly valuable because your completed work is already your proof of performance. One successful project can generate additional projects nearby, reducing lead-generation costs while allowing crews to work more efficiently within the same geographic area.

Community impact
Resilience becomes more meaningful as adoption increases. When multiple properties strengthen roofs, improve drainage, reduce wildfire vulnerabilities, or make other mitigation improvements, the neighborhood as a whole becomes better prepared for the next disaster. Successful projects can also demonstrate demand for broader resilience initiatives.

You should know: Contractors can extend this ripple effect by connecting neighborhood-level activity with larger community resilience efforts. Fortified Structural Solutions brings experience with resilience and FORTIFIED-related programs, while the Association of Professional Builders provides contractor education and industry resources that can help builders become more effective advocates for stronger construction practices.

A practical starting point: During your next final walkthrough, spend two minutes explaining the broader value of the resilience improvements you completed. Give the homeowner three simple things they can tell a neighbor: what you upgraded, why they chose it, and what benefit they expect from it. One informed homeowner can become one of your strongest advocates for resilience.

VIDEOS