Dive Brief:

• Data company FMI's Nonresidential Construction Index edged up in this quarter, gaining 0.9 points to stand at 65.8 based on information from a panel of industry executives.
• Productivity fell 1.7 points, however, and the researchers focused on how the construction industry uses – or doesn't use – research and innovation to raise productivity.
• Most panelists agreed, FMI said, that research in markets, methods and materials and coming up with innovations is part and parcel of dealing with the growing labor shortage in the industry.

Dive Insight:

Say "R&D," and most people think of technology or pharmaceuticals, FMI notes. However, construction has gained efficiency from "advanced BIM applications, modularization and prefabrication, 3-D printing and better use of communications in the field." Yet it devotes little effort to the whole topic.