Author: Constructech Editors
Buildings are going up faster, closeouts happening sooner, and paperwork for payment getting processed faster. If everything goes according to plan/design, that is. But how often does a project finish exactly like it was supposed to? Between start and finish there is usually a pile of change orders going from owner to general to subcontractors and trades and back up the chain. Technology trends such as BIM (building information management), digital twin, and 3D design are reshaping construction. With a shift towards faster, more iterative project delivery, the industry is frustrated with many of the current tools available including paper,…
Construction work is truck intensive and hard-working trucks can develop problems. Sometimes, they don’t even have to work hard, just long. Toyota is conducting a safety recall involving certain 2022 model year Tundra (including HEV) vehicles in the U. S. Approximately 46,000 vehicles are involved in this recall. Vehicles in this recall have certain nuts on the rear axle assembly that can loosen over time, and, in some cases, fall off, potentially causing an axle shaft sub-assembly to separate from the axle. If complete separation occurs, this can affect vehicle stability and brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash.…
Take a group of experienced contractors and a new technology, combine their expertise with the technology’s capabilities and the result can be impressive. When seven leading construction and drywall companies—Webcor, DPR Construction, Swinerton, Nevell Group, KHS&S, Daley’s Drywall & Taping, and California Drywall—participated in the construction field’s version of a clinical trial of a robotic finishing machine, their feedback resulted in a Level 4 Targeted Spray system from Canvas. Canvas created its Innovation Partner Program, which now has the seven companies involved, in December 2021. Like nearly every company in the industry, since the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted projects, they have…
Inventory management can be a cost center or a profit center for a contractor. Missing tools that show up in inventory mean that tools won’t be available when and where needed. Tools that are ready to work but aren’t in the inventory list are too often replaced, at additional cost, by panicking supervisors heading to the jobsite. If these scenarios sound familiar, think about how a similar problem can challenge a major tool rental service. Among the major national contractor suppliers, Home Depot and Lowe’s battle it out for customers. Each strives for efficiency matched to customer service and the…
Most companies of any size have a website, an internet presence. Whether you actively deal in international trade, build across borders, or just communicate with people in other countries, your actions will be scrutinized for illegal behavior—behavior you probably didn’t even know was illegal. Posting notices about cookie use is a common indicator of taking privacy seriously but it can’t be the end of the story. According to a survey by Gartner of more than 5,800 customers conducted in December 2021, 71% of B2C (business-to-consumer) customers and 86% of B2B (business-to-business) customers expect companies to be well-informed about their personal…
The term “smart” as used in “Smart Home” and “Smart Building” is often a replacement for “connected.” The expansion of connectivity brought about due to the IoT (Internet of things) has increased the dependency on individual modules being available at all times. The connected home can be compared to a string of holiday lights: In one version, if one bulb burns out, the string goes dark. Using parallel wiring allows the string to keep burning brightly even if individual bulbs fail. The challenge with the smart building is to know which approach is best. The IoT is being implemented in…
Coral does it, oysters do it, can we do it too? The building blocks of biology can be used to develop building blocks—actually, concrete masonry units (CMUs)—that are carbon free. A starting point is using living organisms to create zero-carbon building materials. According to the Institute of Civil Engineers, enhancement of the mechanical properties of cementitious materials) by using bacteria is known as biocementation or MICCP (microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation). On hydrolysis, bacteria produce carbon dioxide, which forms calcium carbonate in the presence of calcium ions. The precipitation of calcium carbonate in the concrete matrix augments the mechanical properties…
LED otherwise known as light emitting diode, lights have become the go-to for energy-conscious homeowners. They reduce energy costs and are being recommended as the lighting alternative. Bulbs and fixtures that use much lower wattage while providing light, both in color temperature and lumens, equal or better than incandescent or florescent units are becoming the norm. And when designing the entertainment area in a new construction or remodeling project, LEDs in strip or tape format adds changeable colors and new ambiance to the room or, in some case, the outdoors. A familiar name in LED lights is American Lighting, a…
Do you have customers who come to you with photos from magazines showing custom kitchens and bathrooms, saying “We want ours just like this,” and then get frustrated when your designers can’t match the photo? All too often, the layout in the photo is dramatically different than the floor area in the customer’s home. The answer might be found in a new application called 3D Kitchen Designer and its Design from Photo feature. 3D Cloud by Marxent’s automation feature for kitchen designs allows home improvement retailers and custom home developers to apply styles from inspirational kitchen photos directly to a…
As the world slowly comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic’s worst days, architects and designers are researching what the effects were on living spaces, commercial and residential. The changes experienced by people in all walks of life were drastic in many cases. People found ways of coping with the restrictions, remote working, new-found need for cleanliness, and other aspects of the pandemic, working around the limitations in their buildings that were overlooked in normal times. How can this knowledge be applied to the future design and construction of buildings? What are the criteria for a healthy home going forward? The…