Monday, September 23, 2024 
Monday, September 23, 2024
October 13, 2023
A look at the world of Construction Technology – by Arnie Gess, publisher of Construction Links Network.
Editorial submission deadline is every Tuesday – end of day. Ideal for news releases, blogs, podcasts, upcoming webinars, case studies, whitepapers and videos. Always free for members – see media kit.
Technology is transforming every aspect of the construction industry, from design and planning to project management and execution. As new tools and techniques continue to emerge, it’s more important than ever for professionals in the field to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations. This blog series offers in-depth coverage of the most important developments in construction technology. Whether you’re interested in the latest software platforms, the newest building materials, or the cutting-edge research shaping the future of the industry, you’ll find it all here.
In the construction industry, where time and money are precious commodities, the struggle to efficiently manage data can result in significant losses. This data management crisis has affected various industries across the board, while simultaneously eroding both productivity and profitability. In a 2023 survey of decision-makers in project management, business operations, and digital transformation roles, Quickbase found staggering results that paint a bleak picture of data mismanagement. According to responses, 50% of workers waste over 10 hours per week chasing information from various sources while slugging through administrative tasks. This situation leaves workers with limited time to dedicate to meaningful tasks, with a surprising 58% spending fewer than 20 hours per week on projects that are pivotal for achieving significant results. Learn more by reading this blog, courtesy of TrueLook Construction Cameras.
Design and engineering professionals have broadly adopted BIM, but it hasn’t gained the same degree of traction among field teams. While 3D models are an essential aspect of construction, working with them presents numerous hurdles that can drive up project costs and delay schedules. For one thing, these models are complex and require specialized hardware and a lot of computing power. They’re also difficult to navigate, relative to the 2D drawings that many in the field prefer, and you typically need an expert with specialized skills to work with them. To compensate for these and other challenges, field teams usually end up incurring excess hours of the VDC manager’s time to handle routine informational requests throughout every project. As a result, BIM has been a wedge that has solidified silos and limited coordination between field, office, and VDC teams. At the same time, however, reality capture technology is becoming widely embraced on construction sites, which provided a unique and timely opportunity for OpenSpace to help unite these teams. Read the blog.
Every innovation in the world of construction arises from a pressing need, and the introduction of construction project management software emphasizes this reality. The software’s origin was a response to the construction industry’s struggle with balancing efficiency and chaos, caused by complex projects and multifaceted operations. For years, the sector faced challenges with manual coordination, excessive paperwork, and outdated tools, resulting in delays, inflated budgets, and compromised quality. Read this blog courtesy of OnTraccr Technologies and get a good understanding of construction management software.
Construction equipment has undergone a technological transformation over the past decade, resulting in significant improvements in productivity, efficiency, safety and environmental impact. AEM’s newly published whitepaper, Benefits of Construction Equipment Technologies and their Impact on Society, discusses four key equipment advancements. Read this AEM article.
STACK Construction Technologies and PCL Construction have formed a strategic partnership to enhance PCL’s preconstruction processes. PCL, a prominent General Contractor with a yearly work volume of 6 billion USD, sought a more robust preconstruction solution to support their growth. They selected STACK due to its data availability, cloud collaboration, data security, and integration capabilities. PCL aims to optimize its estimating processes using STACK’s innovative takeoff feature and open API, facilitating better data accuracy and decision-making. This partnership reflects their commitment to innovation in the construction industry, emphasizing cloud technology, improved collaboration, and efficiency, with the goal of revolutionizing preconstruction.
Poland-born construction tech startup AI Clearing has recently secured a significant deal with one of the world’s largest construction sites and raised a $14 million Series A funding round led by New York-based VC Prudence. AI Clearing specializes in tracking and analyzing the progress of large construction projects, including highways, solar farms, airports, and railways, utilizing data from drones, mobile apps, and project designs to provide automated daily updates. The platform also detects discrepancies such as delays and budget overruns. Its clientele includes construction companies, infrastructure owners, and financial investors, and it has worked with notable firms like VINCI and PCL Construction. The startup aims to address the challenge of digitizing progress and quality tracking in construction, a sector traditionally reliant on manual methods.
The Province of British Columbia is taking significant steps to accelerate the approval and construction of new homes by developing a cutting-edge digital building permit tool. This initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to position British Columbia as a North American leader in digital permitting and construction. The Minister of Housing, Ravi Kahlon, expressed enthusiasm for this effort, emphasizing the importance of speeding up the delivery of new homes to address housing needs. The tool is being developed through a pilot partnership involving the Province, 16 local governments, and one First Nations government. Testing is expected to begin in partner communities by March 2024, with plans to expand it to other areas.
LeapThought Corp. has proudly announced that its platform, FulcrumHQ, has attained the IFC4 Import Certification, granted by buildingSMART International (bSI). This achievement underscores LeapThought’s dedication to industry-wide interoperability. FulcrumHQ, at its core, integrates Building Information Modelling (BIM) data, promoting seamless data exchange among stakeholders in construction management, enhancing collaboration, decision-making, and cost-efficiency. The certification reflects a commitment to top-tier BIM interoperability standards and aligns with LeapThought’s vision to revolutionize the construction sector. Additionally, FulcrumHQ facilitates compliance with ISO 19650, further ensuring international BIM data management standards. BuildingSMART International praises LeapThought’s innovative solutions and expects significant contributions from them in the future.
Reconstruct, a leader in 3D scanning and digital twinning for construction stakeholders, has introduced Project Snapshot, a feature that allows stakeholders to easily share 3D walkthroughs of construction sites. Users can curate these tours and share them with others, who can view them without the need for technical expertise or logging in. This simplifies the process of keeping project stakeholders informed about construction progress, streamlining coordination, and providing essential details to trades. Reconstruct’s digital twin technology enables reality capture on-site using various devices, creating a single source of project information for tasks such as quality assurance, inspections, and progress monitoring.
The last half-decade or so has been a transformative one in the construction industry as it continues to embrace new technology and methodology at a rapid pace. After continuous realizations that the industry as a whole is much less efficient than it should be considering its size and impact on the entire world, the shifts have been quick and substantial. Just a few years ago much of the technology that is now commonplace on many job sites was little more than theoretical, and while there is still room to grow the industry and its workers are showing an appetite for adaptation. Keep reading this article in Geo Week News.
Flowfinity Inc. has collaborated with non-destructive testing (NDT) engineers to develop a no-code solution that significantly streamlines data collection, formatting, and reporting in compliance with industry standards. NDT often deals with complex data structures, requiring accurate reporting while managing time and cost constraints. Flowfinity’s custom apps enable engineers to generate digital reports and completion certificates on the field, saving time compared to the manual data collection and transcription process used previously. Using Flowfinity’s no-code platform, reports are created in real-time on mobile devices, ensuring accurate and timely submissions. This innovative approach can benefit organizations in various industries with regulatory compliance needs, offering customized data collection and reporting templates. Flowfinity’s no-code platform can be tailored to address data complexity and specialized reporting requirements for process improvement across industries.
Eagle Point Software, the developer of the Pinnacle Series learning management system, has formed an official partnership with Esri, a global leader in geographic information system (GIS) software and mapping. This collaboration aims to benefit architecture, engineering, and construction professionals by providing geospatial learning content that enables more efficient project completion and precise project design through tools offering geographic context and insight. The Pinnacle Series serves as an extensive learning management solution for the AEC and manufacturing sectors, offering a library of videos, documents, and resources for long-term training, on-demand problem-solving, and digital transformation, ensuring a win-win for Eagle Point clients.
Topcon Positioning Systems has introduced the LN-50 3D laser, a cost-effective and user-friendly solution designed for digital layout. With a 50-meter range, the LN-50 caters to homebuilders, MEP trades, and concrete contractors, simplifying precision measurement and layout work, reducing the risk of errors and costly rework. The product offers one-button, self-leveling setup, making it accessible to professionals transitioning from traditional methods to digital workflows. It works exclusively with Topcon Digital Layout software, enhancing productivity and accuracy, and streamlining the transition to digital layout in the construction industry. The LN-50 is available through specialized dealers in the Americas and European sales channels.
Intelliwave Technologies, a global leader in digital solutions for construction materials management and tracking, has announced a strategic partnership with CMiC, a leading provider of next-generation construction ERP. Founded in 2007, Intelliwave Technologies developed SiteSense, a web and mobile-based software solution designed to enhance construction industry efficiency. This integration enables construction professionals to process goods receipts in the field using SiteSense’s applications, resulting in streamlined digital delivery verification. The collaboration offers several benefits, including a 10% reduction in administration costs, up to a 16% improvement in craft labor productivity, and a potential 40% reduction in material bulk purchases. The integration facilitates project and item master creation, purchase order verification, and defect management. It also promises future enhancements, such as touchpoints with the Equipment & Inventory Management module, ultimately improving the digital delivery verification process and vendor payment efficiency for procurement teams.
