Author: Constructech Editors
Wooden buildings are hardly a new idea. One aspect of the wooden building that has started to take off, generated by the quest for lower carbon footprint in new construction, is the mass timber structure. Mass timber construction is a carbon removal technique that involves using specialized wood products to construct buildings, including high-rise buildings. Manufacturers use products such as CLT (cross-laminated timber), LVT (laminated veneer lumber), and glulam (glue laminated timber) to produce wood panels and beams that can replace concrete, steel, and masonry as building materials. Because it displaces emissions-intensive steel and concrete, mass timber can significantly reduce…
In case you haven’t been on this planet for a year or so, fuel prices have gone up. And up. And up some more. As rising fuel and maintenance costs add pressure to already slim margins in today’s economy, businesses need robust, data-driven telematics to manage their fleet operations effectively. Even though prices are starting to come down, the market is also responding. Truck and equipment companies are making changes to incorporate advanced technology to meet the demand. Take Navistar as an example. Navistar committed to a connected and data-driven future with the standardization of a factory-installed telematics device on all…
A lot of information has been coming out on the 3D-printed building approach to rapid construction. Perhaps forgotten in the rush, other rapid methods are available, especially for residential construction. As the economy shakes out from the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, builders are looking for better ways to get people into new homes. Among the resources available to help are specialized exterior panelized wall systems from Tempe, Arizona-based HercuTech. Their innovative product, HercuWall, is an ICC-certified panelized exterior and demising wall system technology comprised of four common materials – EPS insulating foam, reinforced with a patented steel ShearStrip,…
Smart homes are a reality and a concern. A basic aspect of “smart homing” is that the house and its many smart appliances and functions are connected via the internet, either for diagnostics or remote monitoring or for automatic resupply—the talking refrigerator effect. And while the technology is available to meet most demands, the end user—the homeowner—is not quite sold on the total package. According to Parks Associates, a market research and analysis firm, three-fourths of respondents to a recent survey have concerns about the safety of their personal data in the connected home. In addition, their research finds 50%…
Not all great software comes from Silicon Valley USA. The entrepreneurial spirit and creativity necessary to develop new and valuable software applications can be found around the world. Arguably the trigger to releasing much of that creativity was the introduction of the IBM PC (personal computer) in 1981. The machine was based on open architecture and third-party peripherals, allowing developers to produce applications and devices galore. Okay, Apple fans, the two Steves, Jobs and Wozniak, had the Apple II out first (1977) and it even had color graphics but the Z80 processor wasn’t up to handling the heavy lifting…
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in 2021, is starting to get its funds spent. Almost $1 billion has been earmarked for renovation and other improvements at 85 airports across the country. The U.S. DoT (Dept. of Transportation’s FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) will award funding to improve terminals of all sizes to increase energy efficiency, promote competition, and provide greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Two grants will also be awarded to build new air traffic control towers. Historically, the FAA has invested in runways, traffic-control towers, and “back-of-house” infrastructure, areas out of sight from the flying public. Thanks…
The trend is toward making low carbon a reality in construction. Whether moving to electric powered equipment and vehicles or finding ways to minimize or eliminate CO2 in the concrete used onsite, contractors know that the future will be constrained by energy and emissions issues. But how can you find suppliers offering low-carbon materials? Building Transparency is a nonprofit organization that provides open access data and tools to foster a better understanding of the low-carbon materials available. Building Transparency is the result of nearly 50 industry partners coming together to develop the EC3 (Embodied Carbon in Construction calculator). EC3 was initially…
Buy, build, rent, gig? The “gig economy” has taken over in many areas as people respond from the last years of lockdowns and social distancing by abandoning office jobs for self-employment. The classic, of course, is the Uber and Lyft drivers who respond to notices on their smartphone apps and pick up and deliver people, food, and many other legal items. What was once a fringe economy casually referred to as freelancing has become a major employer of independent-minded people. Got a car and need some extra money? Pickup the app and pick up people, no taxi license needed (in…
The largest non-U.S. software company is German giant SAP. In fact, SAP is the second largest company in German (by market capitalization) behind Linde and ahead of Volkswagen. SAP has overcome some early concerns about the complexity of its ERP (enterprise resource planning) system and with an expanded line of cloud and smaller entity products is now embraced across the world. One of the large companies using SAP is Schneider Electric, a French-based world leader in energy-management and automation. Schneider Electric, with revenues of about 29 billion euros annually, is very conscious of the markets it operates in and is…
Older multifamily units are being examined for possible efficiency improvements through automation. Many, built before central air conditioning was available, are still populated with window AC units that are a significant energy waste. With the extreme heat being experienced across the country in 2022, those units are running overtime, inefficiently cooling apartments during unoccupied hours as well as times when people need that cooling. Air conditioning units are second only to heating as the most expensive appliance to run in the home, so making them more efficient is one of the first steps towards achieving a fully smart energy system…