Bingham: The primary concerns about the construction-labor shortage include the ability of subcontractors to staff projects after normal working hours when most tenant-improvement projects take place, increase in labor costs due to overtime charges for after-hours work, decrease in productivity due to workers only being able to work four-hour shifts at night after having already worked an eight-hour shift during the day and potential health impacts to employees working 12 or more hours per day.

GlobeSt.com: How has the shortage affected TIs?

Bingham: Because subcontractors cannot provide full crews during the night shift, we are seeing subcontractors providing workers who can only work four-hour shifts due to state labor laws. This is because the employee has already worked an eight-hour shift that day. The labor shortage has impacted subcontractors' ability to adequately staff after-hours projects with qualified workers who can work a typical eight-hour shift.

GlobeSt.com: How how might this issue be resolved?

Bingham: Tenant-improvement work quite frequently happens at night and/or on weekends as a result of having to work around existing tenants so as to mitigate disruption to the tenant's operations. As such, many projects are completed typically between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. Or, in the case of working in certain facilities, the shift start time can be pushed back to 8 p.m. or later. When subcontractors are busy, they're going to select projects that are more conducive to working standard business hours, which in the construction industry can range from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, their workers will be committed to these day-shift jobs, thus leaving night shift and after-hours projects with workers on overtime pay for a four-hour period. The resolution to this is for the subcontractors to start increasing their crew size such that they can service both day and night projects if they primarily work in the tenant-improvement sector.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the construction-labor shortage?

Bingham: The commercial-construction industry is now experiencing a completely opposite effect in labor than when the recession hit in 2008. That is, there is now a significant shortage of qualified workers caused by those who left the industry altogether after the recession and a lack of significant hiring by subcontractors. Combine these factors with an increasingly busy workload within the construction community, and we now have a labor shortage. Ultimately, this will affect building owners and tenants since construction costs will continue to escalate through increased labor costs and extended project schedules.

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SAN DIEGO—Much has been said about the shortage of construction labor in San Diego because of the flood of construction projects in this market, but what you may not know is that tenant improvements are suffering more than most projects. The primary concerns about San Diego's construction-labor shortage include the ability of subcontractors to staff projects after normal working hours when most tenant-improvement projects take place because TI work is typically done after hours at night and construction workers prefer to work normal hours, Bingham Construction's CEO Jeff Bingham tells GlobeSt.com.

Additionally, while construction works can work eight hours during the day on one project and eight hours at night on another project, many are limiting their hours at night to four hours, causing delays in build-out as well as increased costs.

We spoke with Bingham about this issue and how it might be resolved.

GlobeSt.com: What are the primary concerns about the construction labor shortage?

Bingham: The primary concerns about the construction-labor shortage include the ability of subcontractors to staff projects after normal working hours when most tenant-improvement projects take place, increase in labor costs due to overtime charges for after-hours work, decrease in productivity due to workers only being able to work four-hour shifts at night after having already worked an eight-hour shift during the day and potential health impacts to employees working 12 or more hours per day.

GlobeSt.com: How has the shortage affected TIs?

Bingham: Because subcontractors cannot provide full crews during the night shift, we are seeing subcontractors providing workers who can only work four-hour shifts due to state labor laws. This is because the employee has already worked an eight-hour shift that day. The labor shortage has impacted subcontractors' ability to adequately staff after-hours projects with qualified workers who can work a typical eight-hour shift.

GlobeSt.com: How how might this issue be resolved?

Bingham: Tenant-improvement work quite frequently happens at night and/or on weekends as a result of having to work around existing tenants so as to mitigate disruption to the tenant's operations. As such, many projects are completed typically between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. Or, in the case of working in certain facilities, the shift start time can be pushed back to 8 p.m. or later. When subcontractors are busy, they're going to select projects that are more conducive to working standard business hours, which in the construction industry can range from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, their workers will be committed to these day-shift jobs, thus leaving night shift and after-hours projects with workers on overtime pay for a four-hour period. The resolution to this is for the subcontractors to start increasing their crew size such that they can service both day and night projects if they primarily work in the tenant-improvement sector.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the construction-labor shortage?

Bingham: The commercial-construction industry is now experiencing a completely opposite effect in labor than when the recession hit in 2008. That is, there is now a significant shortage of qualified workers caused by those who left the industry altogether after the recession and a lack of significant hiring by subcontractors. Combine these factors with an increasingly busy workload within the construction community, and we now have a labor shortage. Ultimately, this will affect building owners and tenants since construction costs will continue to escalate through increased labor costs and extended project schedules.