Author: Constructech Editors

M&As (mergers and acquisitions) are a fast way to expand a company’s portfolio, bringing existing skills under the roof quickly and often with minimal changes. A master plan can be a significant benefit, organizing the acquired companies into strategic groupings that play to the combined strength of all the parts. Fidelity Building Services Group (Fidelity BSG) is such a company, having been on an acquisition binge lately. In 2023 alone, Fidelity BSG has acquired ESC (Environmental Systems Corp.), SSE (System Service & Engineering), Darnold Mechanical, and most recently, Power of Clean Energy. To add these companies to their portfolio with…

Congress has them, the Supreme Court has them, the White House has them—although fewer than years gone by—and everybody in Washington is looking for them. Of course, “they” are leaks. Some can be strategic, some political, others national security related; in each case, the government wants to plug the leak and prevent damage. Builders and building owners are also on the look out for leaks, physical ones more than data or political. Leaky buildings signal dwindling energy efficiency and higher utility bills to homeowners and commercial building managers. Air that escapes from a building through windows, doors, and walls creates…

Building information modeling, otherwise known as BIM, has been around now for several decades, although not always by that name. BIM is a process that generates and manages digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building information models span the whole concept-to-occupation or concept-to-use lifecycle of a structure or infrastructure component. BIM models are computer files that may be in proprietary formats and contain proprietary data. However, the concept is that the data can be extracted, exchanged, or networked to support decision-making regarding a built asset. Open-source versions are becoming popular, especially with smaller companies, as they can…

The news has been filled with exciting tales of AI (artificial intelligence) “chatbots.” ChatGPT and other programs, while seemingly appearing spontaneously on the scene, were born of years of effort by teams of programmers and experts. The GPT (generative pretrained transformer) applications like ChatGPT have become a part of the search engine world with Google and Bing adopting competing forms. According to ABI Research, this has ignited massive interest in Gen AI (generative AI) since late last year. So far, the opportunities for Gen AI have been limited to the B2B (business-to-consumer) space, with the B2B (business-to-business) largely undefined. In…

President Eisenhower’s administration developed a proposal for an interstate highway system in 1953, eventually resulting in the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The result was the Interstate Highway System. And while some older freeways were adopted into the system, most of the routes were completely new construction, greatly expanding the freeway network in the United States. Construction of the original Interstate Highway System was judged complete in 1992, regardless of deviations from the original 1956 plan, and despite several stretches that did not fully conform with federal standards. The total construction cost approximately $114 billion in 1956…

We all want to work safely and have those around us safe as well. Construction is known for being a dangerous occupation with many trades among those with the highest injury record. For example, according to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Admin.), in 2021 roofers were in the third most dangerous occupation (59 deaths per 100,000 workers) with iron and steel workers in fifth place (36.1/100,000). Take iron workers as an example. One of the most common reasons for fatalities in this field is because of accidental falls, slips, and trips. Because these workers are tasked with constructing large structures…

Taking the lead in changing the way age-old processes are done can be a daunting and dangerous experience. It can also be financially rewarding and satisfying. What the news business might call “leading or bleeding.” Whether new technology—looking at you, AI—or new processes, finding answers to questions that seem to already be answered is the way science is supposed to work. Take the basic components of construction, both buildings and infrastructure. Concrete production is going through various stages of experimentation to reduce the greater part of its CO2 emissions. Competing processes all show some advantages so narrowing them down to…

The science known as Systems Theory is the transdisciplinary study of “cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made.” Every system has boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structure, function, and role, and expressed through its relations with other systems. A system is “more than the sum of its parts” by expressing synergy or emergent behavior. Changing one component of a system may affect other components or the whole system. Some systems support other systems, maintaining the other system to prevent failure. Obviously, buildings are systems. From the foundation to the roof, each…

In the 1960s, mushroom use became associated with psychedelia and youth counterculture, the so-called hippies. Today, researchers are studying other fungi for much different purposes. Mycelium, for example, is a web of fungal fibers that can flourish in organic refuse and dimness. It might serve as a foundation for eco-friendly flame-resistance. At the RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) in Australia, scientists are manipulating mycelium’s structure chemically to enhance its fire-inhibiting characteristics. Typically, fungi are discovered in a composite form blended with residual feed material. However, RMIT discovered a method to cultivate pure mycelium sheets that can be layered and…

With the trend to all electric homes and commercial buildings, suppliers are rapidly moving their product lines to provide the required controls and apps. A leader in this is Schneider Electric, a specialist in the digital transformation of energy management and automation. The company has been fleshing out its connected devices and controls under the Connected Room Solution and other lines. Occupant comfort in any space is best optimized when the temperature, lighting, occupancy, and humidity are accounted for in the room. Knowing the number of occupants in a room enables proactive conditioning for the space. It is no longer a…