Author: Constructech Editors
Constructech recently caught up with DeWayne Adamson, CEO, JobPlanner, and he shared the details about his recent partnership with TrueProject. What follows are the highlights of what he had to say about the future of partnerships and JobPlanner. Can you share a little bit about your recent partnership with TrueProject? Absolutely! Our recent partnership with TrueProject is a significant milestone for JobPlanner and the industry. TrueProject’s cutting-edge project management and predictive analytics capabilities are seamlessly integrated with JobPlanner. This collaboration empowers our users with unprecedented insights and actionable data, enhancing their ability to manage and complete construction projects efficiently. By…
The increasing use of technology by heavy highway and civil contracting companies is defining a new level of success. Heavy highway companies, which are often referred to as heavy or civil contractors, manage large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, and airports. With significant resource demands and increasing operational challenges, integrating advanced technology, specifically Construction Cloud systems, is proving to be a game-changer. What Is Heavy Highway Construction and What’s at Stake? Heavy highway and civil construction projects are challenging because of their vast scope and intricate requirements. Unlike commercial construction, which focuses on buildings or structures used…
John Rosch, North American sales manager at Explorer Software recently caught up with Constructech Editorial Director Peggy Smedley to talk about the importance of data, the value of analytics, and how emerging technology solutions are optimizing construction. Peggy Smedley: Business analytics have increasingly become a greater priority in recent years. Why is this? John Rosch: Recent technological advancements have enabled us to easily gather, store, and organize data from various sources into comprehensive datasets. Businesses have found that traditional static reports are insufficient and quickly outdated. Advanced analytics now allow for realtime reports that summarize data and provide actionable insights…
Steven Gross, vice president of client solutions, Computer Guidance Corp., recently took time out of his busy schedule to catch up with Constructech Editorial Director Peggy Smedley to talk about the importance customer environments, the value of workflows, and how emerging technology solutions are impacting construction. Peggy Smedley: What are some of the biggest needs in the construction industry today? (Steven Gross): Efficient and integrated capture of critical information from the field. This information should only be entered once, it must be captured on a timely basis, and be subjected to the necessary controls to ensure accuracy. It should then…
“I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” –HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey When Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick co-wrote the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, artificial intelligence was about 90% science fiction and 10% hopeful experiments. Then, they projected that AI (artificial intelligence) would require a vast computer and database on board the space probe taking a crew to Jupiter; in 2024, AI is resident on a handheld smartphone and needs a connection to the vast database known as the internet. And, as Shakespeare wrote, therein lies the rub. In the film and subsequent novel,…
By now, most people should understand the risks of being complacent with cyber protection—something widely discussed in last month’s featured article. Cybersecurity Ventures reports cybercrime will cost victims $9.5 trillion worldwide in 2024 and rise to $10.5 trillion by 2025. As enterprises continue to move toward total digitization, cyber threat actors see additional devices and systems as new opportunities to enter a network. Like chess, the challenges of cybersecurity are knowing your vulnerabilities and the strengths of your opponents. And, like chess, they change each move. A weak point is found and exploited, that causes a response by repairing the weakness.…
The Trifecta of Threats The construction industry is facing a trifecta of economic forces in 2024, making it difficult for owners to get their projects off the ground, let alone complete them efficiently and profitably. Soaring inflation is eroding budgets and profit margins; increased interest rates are making financing more expensive; and persistent supply-chain disruptions are causing shortages and delays in obtaining critical materials. According to Dodge Construction Network’s latest report, many projects aren’t even getting started because of these rough economic factors. Dodge states total construction starts declined 1% in March, marking the second consecutive month of contraction driven…
The 1930s radio vigilante The Shadow had the “power to cloud men’s minds so they can’t see him.” Today, we have computer villains who adopt the same approach, clouding a computer’s “mind” so they are invisible and can operate in the shadows. They are called hackers. What is needed, then, is a comparable hero, a Shadow, that can fight the evil at its own level. It is known as cybersecurity. And the war has been ongoing for decades, each side winning some and losing some battles, technology shifting from one side to the other, success one day replaced by failure…
Technology continues to play a key role in the construction industry and the adaptation of new innovative technologies continues to accelerate. Today’s ERP (enterprise-resource planning) solutions must step up to the plate to reduce costs, increase productivity, support smarter business decisions, automate manual labor-intensive processes, reduce risks, and facilitate communication among project stakeholders. The Value of a Dynamic ERP: Data An ERP continues to be the foundation of commercial constructors’ technology stack. A cloud-based, web-based ERP solution delivers an integrated approach where all stakeholders can access invaluable business information anywhere, anytime, and on demand to view status, predict future outcomes,…
We read a lot about the IoT—the Internet of Things—and how it can be beneficial to companies and people in general. But what constitutes IoT in today’s world? From the basic, home-based IoT environment to the large, nation-wide IoT architecture, the major elements are easily recognized. How common is IoT? In 2021, Walmart said it managed about 1.5 billion messages from IoT devices daily. In particular, the company uses the IoT to help maintain food in refrigerators and coolers and plan in-store maintenance needs. And that’s one company. For a device to be a part of the IoT, at minimum a few…