A look at the world of Construction Technology – by Arnie Gess, publisher of Construction Links Network.

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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.

Brickeye, a leading construction IoT and data analytics technology company, has successfully completed a $10 million investment round with new investors including BDC Capital’s IP-backed Financing Fund and Graphite Ventures, along with additional funding from existing investors. The company aims to utilize the funds to further develop its risk mitigation and productivity platform for the construction and insurance industries. Brickeye’s IoT solutions enable job site monitoring, intelligent alerts, and automation, empowering stakeholders to mitigate risks, enhance productivity, and protect margins in high-rise construction projects. This investment affirms Brickeye’s commitment to innovative solutions that reduce risk and boost productivity in the construction sector, with potential to positively disrupt the industry through its IoT platform.

TEAM IM recently announced the 2nd major release of Dropbox Sign for Procore. This version leverages Procore’s new Side Panel functionality released at Groundbreak 2023, Procore’s annual construction technology conference attended by over 3,800 industry professionals. Procore Side Panel offers a new, context-aware way for Procore partners and customers to seamlessly access third-party integrations within the Procore Platform – right next to their existing tools. This eliminates the hassle of constant app-switching, granting users access to partner tools and data when and where they need it. Procore Side Panel improves efficiency and streamlines workflows, thus creating a fully connected ecosystem experience.

The National Safety Council recently held its second annual Safety Innovation Challenge, in collaboration with Safetytech Accelerator, where six prominent technology providers globally showcased their advanced safety solutions. This initiative builds upon the National Safety Council’s MSD Solutions Lab, created in 2021 with funding from Amazon, to prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) for organizations of all sizes. MSDs are the most common workplace injuries, and the challenge focused on addressing upper-body MSDs by identifying over 50 companies with innovative solutions, including exoskeletons, motion-sensing software, and more. The top six innovations, including companies like 3MotionAI, Bioservo, Feraru Dynamics, Hilti, LifeBooster, and Reactec, presented their products at the NSC Safety Congress & Expo. The challenge aims to connect employers with scalable solutions to mitigate MSD injuries, emphasizing safety innovation and collaboration for safer workplaces.

The Construction Startup Competition 2023, a major event in the construction industry, recently announced its winners. The competition, now in its 7th edition and led by Cemex Ventures along with various partners, seeks to identify the ‘Builders of the Future’ who are contributing to a more sustainable, efficient, and innovative construction industry. This year’s winners were divided into four verticals. In the “Green Construction” category, Firstplanit and Vizcab secured the top positions. Frontline, FYLD, and RodRadar were winners in the “Enhanced Productivity” vertical, while Construex triumphed in the “Construction Supply Chain” category. In the “Future of Construction” vertical, Civ Robotics and sensmore emerged as the victors. The winners will have the opportunity to compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals at Pitch Day 2023 and receive cash prizes, and they will benefit from various opportunities in the construction industry, including networking and access to capital investment. This competition aims to foster innovation in an industry traditionally resistant to change, and it has attracted startups from around the world, with a focus on improving the construction sector’s efficiency, sustainability, and innovation.

Noise pollution is a significant concern affecting both humans and wildlife, with construction sites being a major contributor. Construction equipment often exceeds safe noise levels, reaching up to 120 decibels (dBA), well beyond the recommended 85 dBA limit set by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Prolonged exposure to this noise can result in irreversible hearing loss and health problems, including heart disease and high blood pressure. Moreover, noise from construction sites disrupts nearby residents’ lives and negatively impacts animals reliant on sound for communication and survival. Electrification of construction vehicles offers a solution by reducing noise levels, making the work environment safer and less disruptive for communities. Greenland Technologies, with its electric construction vehicles, helps create quieter and more eco-friendly construction sites while mitigating the economic costs of noise pollution. This shift toward electrification enhances worker well-being and preserves wildlife habitats, contributing to a greener future in the construction industry.

Frost & Sullivan has awarded Autodesk with the 2023 Global Company of the Year Award in the building information modeling (BIM) and digital twin industry. Autodesk is a global leader in software for various sectors, offering BIM and digital twin solutions as part of its Design and Make Platform, which facilitates integrated cloud-powered software for better project outcomes. Autodesk serves over 6.74 million subscribers and operates globally, with a history of driving technology innovation. Their solutions enable decisive planning, augmented design, automated construction, and autonomous operations, supporting collaboration, real-time analytics, and customer-driven innovation. This recognition acknowledges Autodesk’s excellence in innovation and leadership within the industry. Frost & Sullivan’s awards highlight outstanding achievement and technological innovation in various markets.

AuditSoft, a leading safety and compliance auditing software in North America, has partnered with Corfix, an award-winning jobsite safety software, to enhance safety and compliance auditing in North America’s construction industry. This collaboration integrates Corfix’s platform with AuditSoft’s new Open API, streamlining the auditing process. Users can now easily incorporate safety documents, certifications, and forms into their audit reports, eliminating manual data transfers. This digital transition improves efficiency, eliminates manual challenges, and enables safety professionals to access relevant documents easily, enhancing occupational health and safety audits. The partnership aims to make safety auditing more efficient and user-friendly, contributing to a safer and more efficient construction industry. This integration aligns with the construction sector’s trend of investing in specialized platforms like environmental, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) to enhance operational effectiveness and reduce risks, ensuring companies are prepared for current and future challenges. The AuditSoft Open API simplifies client onboarding and facilitates integration with platforms like Corfix.

Promise Robotics, an AI company specializing in cloud-based industrial production for robotic construction and assembly, has secured $15 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to $25 million. This round was led by Horizons Ventures and included participation from Radical Ventures, Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), and strategic investors like the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Relay Ventures, and Alate Partners. The funding will support the commercialization of Promise Robotics’ robotic factory platform, meeting the growing demand from homebuilders. The construction industry faces supply and labor shortages, and Promise Robotics aims to address these challenges by deploying automation at scale to accelerate sustainable home production. Their AI platform transforms off-the-shelf industrial robots into production systems, offering a cloud-based operating system for managing the entire production lifecycle. The company’s innovative approach aims to reduce costs, carbon emissions, and labor challenges in the homebuilding industry, potentially saving billions of dollars and generating new jobs. They plan to make their turnkey factory production solution available to North American homebuilders by 2025.

Hilti, a global leader in construction solutions, has recently put a spotlight on their BIM-driven Integrated Project Solutions (IPS), a comprehensive suite of services designed to optimize and simplify construction projects from design, construction and operation phases. As a solution, the IPS can help manage issues such as space constraints, loading conditions and the application of relevant building codes to any particular projects, resulting in better coordination, improved scheduling, as well as better cost and quality control for customers. By combining engineering expertise, pre-fabrication services, advanced logistics, jobsite automation and digital solutions, the IPS help drive construction practices to be safer, more productive, and sustain

Kojo, the construction industry’s leading materials and inventory management platform, recently announced that design build multi-trade contractor Power Design, Inc. has selected Kojo as its procure-to-pay platform. Active across 23 states, Power Design is one of the nation’s largest design build multi-trade contractors and has completed more than 1,700 projects. Procurement efficiency ties directly to contractors’ bottom lines. Kojo is purpose built to streamline all stages of the procurement process for both field and office teams. It provides detailed analytics to enable better real-time decisions, as well as incremental improvements with each future project. The Kojo platform is trusted by more than 15,000 construction professionals to help them manage projects across 47 states. To date, Kojo has powered over 25,000 projects, saving customers more than $30 million on materials orders.

While there has been growth in corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs and the availability of technologies for assessing risk, measuring performance and improving efficiency, Sphera’s 8th annual Process Safety Report shows there remains a considerable gap between safety intent and achievement. Sphera, a leading global provider of ESG performance and risk management software, data and consulting services, surveyed 239 process safety management (PSM) and operational risk management (ORM) professionals from around the world to delve into the relationships between policy and reality, technology and its adoption, as well as ESG, regulation and compliance. Every year since Sphera’s inaugural Safety Survey in 2016, approximately two-thirds of respondents have pointed to gaps between their organizations’ safety goals and reality. While this number is down to 65% in 2023 from 69% in 2022, it is concerning that process safety goals are still routinely not being achieved, even with the availability of technologies that can help overcome inefficiencies and information silos.

Black Buffalo 3D—a leading provider of ICC-ES approved 3D construction printers, materials, and structural wall designs—joined an expert panel in National Harbor Maryland at DBIA’s 2023 Virtual Design and Construction Leadership Exchange (VDCLex) to discuss innovative technology, robotics, the importance of data, and benefits of automation for design build projects and the greater construction industry. The panel titled, “VDC Deep Dive: How Robotics and Automation are increasing Efficiency in Design—Build,” was moderated by Craig Scott, Senior VDC Manager at Hensel Phelps and featured Peter Cooperman, Interim CMO at BB3D, Tessa Lau, Ph. D, CEO/Founder of Dusty Robotics, and Brian Ringley, Principal Product Manager, Boston Dynamics.

Gordian, the leading provider of unrivaled insights, robust technology and comprehensive expertise for all phases of the building lifecycle, has been awarded a broader public sector contract for facilities and construction services with Kinetic GPO, a trusted Canadian group purchasing organization. Gordian is awarded RFSO Contract Number: 22-06 to provide data-driven construction procurement and strategic facilities management services for Kinetic GPO members and contractors across Canada. This strategic partnership allows Kinetic members to take advantage of special pricing and pre-negotiated terms for an innovative construction procurement system, construction project execution and strategic facilities management services.