Education on the Cutting Edge

by Paul Deffenbaugh | 1 November 2018 12:00 am

In this issue of MCN, we offer the MCN Building and Roofing Awards (page 16), which showcase some of the more exciting designs in the metal construction industry. This level of complexity is especially prominent due to the unique properties of metal building materials. Designers are stretching the boundaries of what can be done with metal, and they’re combining it with other new materials and technologies to create buildings that look and perform like nothing we have ever seen before.

In part, architects are able to do this because they are devoted to continuing education. They challenge themselves to push the design envelope, and they are required to complete continuing educational units (CEUs) that maintain their professional standing.

But what about contractors, trade or general? Most states don’t require licensed contractors to continue their education after they qualify for the license. That means a commercial contractor who went into business 30 years ago could be working with the same knowledge he had back then.

Of course, that’s not true because we all have to meet this new push for complicated buildings that require difficult construction practices. We couldn’t compete if we didn’t continue our education, updating it annually.

I’ve observed, in fact, that those contractors who are the most devoted to continuing their education are the ones who get the more complicated projects. Those projects bring a certain level of prestige, making it easier to land the next project, and the next one after that. The result is that a devotion to continuing education allows a contractor to differentiate himself from his quality competition, and that means you compete less on price and more on value.

Years ago, I was speaking with a contractor who was well into his 70s, and he told me a story about how he needed to look something up in “Architectural Graphic Standards,” so he fetched his office copy and was astounded to find that his copy was nearly 20 years old. He laughed about it, pointing out that kind of thing happened when you’d been in business as long as he had. But, he also added ruefully, that he probably needed to take a bit of a refresher course. He knew that the industry was passing him by a bit, and I admired him so much for the delight he took in planning his educational update. It was like he was a young person coming into the industry for the first time, and he was seeing everything with fresh eyes.

That’s the kind of benefit you get from continuing education, both for you and the people in your company. Don’t let your job become stale. Refresh your approach and take on new challenges. For all of us, they’re out there, and how we meet those challenges— with a head of full of education or fearing we won’t understand them—will reflect on ourselves and our companies for many years to come.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/education-on-the-cutting-edge/

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