Digitally assisted project planning for ceiling and wall installations is a solution that can support contractors on multiple levels. This includes allowing jobs to be completed on time and on budget, despite fewer workers.
T oday’s contractors are up against unprecedented workforce-related challenges. In addition to the construction industry working to successfully navigate a near half-million-worker shortage, dynamics—ranging from federal immigration policy to a rise in new construction projects—are contributing to the reality of contractors having too much work, but not enough workers to do it.
Not only is there a question of whether a project can be completed on time and on budget, but labor shortages are preventing contractors from bidding on jobs. As contractors look for ways to overcome these challenges and stay competitive, many are embracing digital pre-construction services. These offer a host of advantages, from saving time, labor, materials and costs on the job to supporting accurate bids on highly complex projects. Simply stated, digital pre-construction services present solutions that can bridge the workforce gap and bring in more business.
Present and Persistent Landscape
The workforce shortages contractors face today have been “brewing” for years. The labor pool has been slow to recover from a downturn in worker supply driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was preceded about a decade earlier by workers leaving the industry when an eroding housing market forced them to find work elsewhere. Not only are today’s current workforce gaps significant, but they are expected to persist for years.
Estimates from Associated Builders and Contractors indicate 439,000 new construction workers will be needed in 2025 to meet rising demand in the construction industry (Design Cost Data, 2025). Moreover, according to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC, 2024), 94% of contractors are challenged in filling open positions, and a significant number of those positions are craft-workers who perform most of the onsite construction labor.
While contractors struggle to have adequate crews onsite, forces are at work to decrease the pool of available tradespeople. Among these are federal policy aiming to restrict immigration, a rise in the number of workers who are 55 and older, a shortage in training resources, and a lack of interest in the trade from the would-be next generation to come up through the ranks.
As labor shortages continue, contractors can also expect to experience a growing number of project opportunities driven by anticipated lower interest rates inspiring more new construction, post-pandemic office renovations, a surge in the building of data centers and manufacturing facilities and more.
Contractors are experiencing multiple “trickle-down” effects of the labor shortage—all of which in some way impact the bottom line. Consider the following:
- Wages are on the rise and eating into profits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between May 2021 and May 2022, average hourly wages for production and non-supervisory employees in construction rose 6.3%.
- Between February 2024 to February 2025 alone wages increased $1.39 per hour.
- Contractors aren’t only competing for projects, they are competing for workers, which can also drive up the cost of incentivizing new hires through better wages, benefits and more.
- Unsure if they can handle certain jobs, contractors are forgoing job opportunities. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that in 2021 more than one-third of contractors turned down projects.
- According to AGC, 54% percent of contractors are experiencing project delays due to labor shortages. Fewer workers can delay project completion schedules, add to budgets, and prevent a company from moving onto the next job.
- Contractors may also be out-bidding themselves to account for labor-related cost increases and delays.
- Company image, and new-job referrals, can be negatively impacted if a job takes longer to complete or requires additional budget.
Digital Advantages
By using emerging digital support services that offer complete design-to-installation support, contracting businesses can overcome labor challenges as well as take advantage of shifts in the number and complexity of renovation and new construction projects. Following are several advantages digitally assisted support services offer.
Digitalization of the takeoff process supports faster, more confident bidding. Digital services are revolutionizing the way contractors bid on a project. For instance, ceiling solutions can be digitalized and, when applied to a reflected ceiling plan (RCP) layout, automate the exact quantities of every component needed for that project. This capability greatly increases the accuracy of materials needed on the jobsite. Ultimately, digitalization takes the guesswork out of estimating, provides a total materials package in which the contractor can be fully confident, and significantly expedites the bidding process.
Digital support services simplify and accelerate project installation by providing contractors with one convenient and complete drawing package to guide them every step of the way. Digital technology can evaluate a project scope while considering the installation process. As a result, any potential issues, like perimeter hardware clashing, can be vetted before any materials reach the job site. Drawing packages should include a bill of materials, accurate and comprehensive finish schedules for all components across the project, clear layouts, and highly detailed drawings and schematics that enable seamless installation.
Digitalization supports fewer wasted hours. The best digital service will take the lead and collaborate with architects in the design phase of a project to clearly understand the materials needed to execute the design intent. That digital service will then collaborate with the contractor to revise plans based on actual job-site conditions, eliminating time that otherwise may have been wasted backtracking to fix mistakes. This level of collaboration and project efficiency will enable a project to be completed on schedule and on budget and allow contractors to move more quickly to their next job.
Digital technology can optimize materials within a project space based on realistic scrap reusability. For example, digitalization can analyze every cut panel at the perimeter of a ceiling and determine if the cut-away scrap can be used in another perimeter location. This significantly reduces material, providing huge cost savings for the contractor while helping to facilitate sustainable construction practices.
Digital support services give contractors the confidence to take on more complex designs that often come with a higher “price tag.” As architects push the boundaries to meet expectations for greater individuality and ingenuity in their designs, contractors must install these complex visuals with impeccable precision. When ceiling and wall designs handed down from architect to contractor become increasingly complex, the accurate, fast bidding supported by digital services can offer contractors a critical competitive advantage on a project. Moreover, these digitally assisted services can help ensure things are completed correctly the first time, outline recommendations for easing installation and, overall, reduce time, material, and labor—delivering outstanding results no matter how complicated a design vision.
Project Planning Support
- In choosing a partner offering digital services, keep in mind the following.
- The service should offer complete support and bring designers, architects, product manufacturers and the contractor into the process.
- Every asset provided needs to be integrated into the entire project, including estimating, product ordering, and so forth. In addition, the service should never be exclusively digitalized.
- The strongest services respect and leverage the value of human collaboration on everything from design evaluation to ways to enhance digital technology.
- A digital service that is complimentary says a great deal about the value that provider puts on engaging in a true partnership with the contractor.
Digitally Assisted Planning
When designing the interior of the new rotunda, a circular space inside the newly renovated Minneapolis American Indian Center, the architects from the Cuningham Group understood the importance of incorporating circles into the design. “Circles are very important within the Indian community,” explained Eric Lagerquist, associate principal, Cuningham Group Architecture, Minneapolis. “The medicine wheel and the drum circle are big elements of Native culture.” These two concepts figure prominently in the ceiling design for the 1,906-square-foot room which serves as a ceremonial space within the building.
Today, when a visitor steps inside the rotunda, the circular design creates the illusion of eight wedge pieces extending out from the center of the ceiling. However, achieving this effect requires many components and a great deal of accuracy. This design included suspending 16 ceiling clouds from the plenum to form the inner and outer circles. The plenum itself was painted black and had suspended pendant lights flush with the level of the ceiling clouds, creating an illusion of a floating ceiling.
Each ceiling cloud was created using 4′ x 4′ panels, field cut to fit the design and installed in a black exposed tee grid system, which was also field cut to accommodate the shapes of the panels. Black straight and curved perimeter trim was then installed to enclose the outer edges of each ceiling cloud.
The complexity of the design prompted ceiling contractor TJ Rokke of Architectural Sales of Minnesota to seek guidance for the installation from the Armstrong design and pre-construction service. In addition to a drawing package, which included detailed layouts of the panels, suspension system, hardware, and trim, digitally assisted project planning provided the Armstrong manufacturing team with a detailed trim schedule showing the exact length, radius and miter of every trim piece in the project. The trim was then pre-cut, pre-mitered, pre-curved and shipped to the jobsite. The trim pieces, which formed the outer edges of the 16 ceiling clouds, were assembled on the ground and suspended 20 feet above the floor. Working from scissor lifts, the installers were then able to lay in the grid and ceiling panels that would complete the complex design.
“This is a high-profile design,” said Rokke. “These are not your standard square or rectangular ceiling panels. Measuring and cutting all the angles takes time in the field, but with the trim being cut to size in advance by the manufacturer, that saved a lot of time and helped make sure that the ceiling clouds in the inner circle and the ceiling clouds in the outer circle were the same size.”
The highly unique, incredibly precise circular ceiling design that welcomes guests of the Minneapolis American Indian Center is one of dozens and dozens of digitally assisted installations meeting client expectations and impressing people occupying a wide variety of spaces. Moreover, these installations have provided contractors with the on-site efficiency they need to complete projects on time and on budget, as well as the confidence to bid on more “showcase” projects.
Conclusion
The challenges of fewer workers and other factors expected to further shrink the availability of qualified labor and increase the number of construction jobs require construction firms to have a business strategy focused on more than just recruiting workers.
Digitally assisted project planning for ceiling and wall installations is a solution that can support contractors on multiple levels. This includes allowing jobs to be completed on time and on budget, despite fewer workers.
In addition, digital services can allow contractors to bid on more construction projects and tap into the movement toward more complex ceiling designs—ultimately, helping ensure they not only maintain their business, but support its growth. CD
Eric Herr is the senior manager of sales and operations, ProjectWorks, Armstrong World Industries. Herr leverages nearly 25 years of experience in distribution and the construction industry to ensure customers can easily design, bid, order, and build with Armstrong products. As a ProjectWorks leader, he focuses on customer-centric solutions that facilitate stronger relationships between designers and contractors, efficient and accurate installation, and beautiful results.
References
Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). (2024) New Survey Shows How Nation’s Failure to Invest in Construction Education and Training Programs Makes It Hard for Firms to Build. www.agc.org/news/2024/08/28/new-survey-shows-how-nations-failure-invest-construction-education-training-programs-makes-it-hard.
Design Cost Data. (2025) Construction Industry Faces Need for 439,000 New Workers by 2025. https://dcd.com/articles/construction-industry-faces-need-for-439000-new-workers-by-2025.
