CALL ME MAYBE
Business is bouncing back, according to Ruby’s 2022 customer call trends report, which has catalogued and analyzed 25.3 million customer-service calls received by small businesses from 2020 to 2021. Key findings include:
- 92% of phone calls represent opportunities for business growth.
- Small businesses receive the highest call volume from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
- Call volume on Friday is 12.92% lower than the peak on Tuesday.
- Businesses receive fewer calls outside of working hours.
- Frustrated callers are more infrequent between January to April.
What does this mean? Among other things:
- Businesses are bouncing back after an unpredictable period in the market, with an overall increase in incoming customer calls.
- More customers expect 24/7 availability.
- Consumers seek small-business services year-round.
- Businesses are better at marketing themselves.
For the full report, visit ruby.com/2022-call-trends-report.
INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OPPOSED BY ABC
President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law on Aug. 16. The legislation provides for $485 billion to combat climate change and inflation, including more than $5 billion in incentives for low-carbon building materials in public infrastructure projects and specified government-owned buildings.
Associated Builders and Contractors has opposed the bill as a matter of spending policy. “The Democrats’ deal to hike taxes in support of hundreds of billions more in government spending while we are already contending with record-high inflation would plunge the U.S. economy into a recession,” ABC has said in a statement.
The bill includes:
- $2.15 billion to install low-carbon materials in General Services Administration–owned buildings.
- $2 billion for low-carbon transportation grants.
- $250 million to develop and standardize environmental product declarations for construction materials.
- $100 million to identify and label low-carbon materials and products for federally funded transportation and building projects.
- $4 billion to improve resiliency in affordable housing.
The goal is to reduce the U.S.’ carbon footprint by 40% by 2030, coinciding with the United Nations Paris Agreement’s deadline to halve global CO2 emissions.
WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT?
There is an alternative for lumber in the works—and it couldn’t come too soon. Due to supply-chain delays caused by the pandemic, lumber was $1,000 per thousand board feet in December 2021, representing a 167% increase from August 2021.
With this in mind, John Cotter, a doctoral student at The University of South Florida, has worked to replace lumber on building sites. “The idea is finding new ways to make building materials using different manufacturing methods,” Cotter says.
His most recent invention is comprised of concrete and a recycled plastic material, which has already been used as a solution for fencing and flooring. Cotter’s next steps are to get the substitute approved at a state level and to set the pricing at an affordable rate.
A TALL ORDER
The T3 Bayside project in Toronto, Ontario, will be the tallest timber office building in North America. Measuring at 138 feet high,T3actually will consist of two buildings, both made using cross-laminated timber.
Plans for the buildings include office, event, retail and public spaces. Each building will also have LEED Gold certification, according to owner and developer Hines, and the exterior will feature exposed timber.
Phase one will be completed in mid-2023.
UP(DATE) ON THE ROOF
NCCER has released new curricula for roofing that meets standards for time-based apprenticeship and includes updates for various roof systems, safety and fall prevention. The second edition of “Roofing” was written in partnership with the National Roofing Contractors Association and meets the Department of Labor’s standards.
NCCER has also released curricula for Electronic Systems Technician and Managing Electrical Hazards. This was revised with updated National Fire Protection Association codes and standards to include the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2019 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.
Learn more at nccer.org/curricula.
