Author: Constructech Editors
Building a house can be hard in these turbulent times. Building a housing development can be exponentially harder. Real estate developers have long sought a complete technology answer to the many details that must be confronted in a division under construction. Costs for materials, trades, payrolls, and permits are all part of the problem. For example, the prices of goods used in residential construction, excluding energy, climbed 1.6% in February 2022 (not seasonally adjusted), according to the PPI (Producer Price Index) report from the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Building material prices increased 20.4%, year over year, and have risen 31.3%…
In the 1980s TV show Hills Street Blues, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus would tell his officers at the end of roll call, “All right, that’s it, let’s roll. And Hey!… let’s be careful out there.” It was a popular “catch phrase” in those days and certainly can be applied equally well today. Especially in light of recent events, which should not be taken lightly. Considering this a little differently, it should be the motto for every worker on a construction jobsite, especially those on road and bridge crews. Those work zones are characterized by traffic pattern changes, narrowed rights-of-way, the presence…
The natural concern among contractors and architects to minimize the carbon content of future buildings and the infrastructure around us requires a variety of data. As digital twin technology grows in value, adding ways to calculate embedded carbon and analyze its long-term impact can be a significant benefit. To answer that challenge, Bentley Systems, the infrastructure engineering software company, is making available integrated workflows for LCA (lifecycle assessment) and embodied carbon calculation capabilities in the Bentley iTwin platform to support the sustainable-development goals of infrastructure projects. This integration is a result of Bentley’s collaboration with One Click LCA Ltd., a…
When your company name is associated with being a major developer of Diesel engines and powertrains, it can be hard to transition people to thinking you are also a developer of greener technologies. The best steps are to set up a test facility to get the changes right and then to test them again. Cummins, a giant name among Diesel manufacturers, is following that path. Cummins will open a new Powertrain Test Facility at the Darlington, U.K. campus to help accelerate its move towards cleaner, next generation power technologies focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. Ground…
Keeping track of the ups and downs of construction projects nationwide is a challenge. Numerous associations in the field offer monthly updates and predictions, based on their surveys of members and general data harvesting. Two of the biggest, the AGC (Associated General Contractors of America) and NAHB (National Assn. of Home Builders) will agree and disagree in the same month. As an example, the latest report from AGC shows construction employment climbed by 19,000 jobs between February and March, while spending on construction projects rose for the 12th month in a row in February. Industry employment totaled 7,628,000 in March,…
The handwriting is on the wall—and it is green. From residential builders to infrastructure giants, contractors across the world are recognizing the need to plan and execute for a greener tomorrow. U.S. electric utilities, especially, are under growing pressure to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and integrate cleaner, more sustainable energy sources in a bid to meet aggressive net-zero energy targets. Based on a survey of more than 200 power industry professionals, the 2022 Megatrends in Power report from Black & Veatch and Clarion Energy identifies four major trends – decarbonization, electrification, climate adaptation, and energy transformation – that continue to drive…
There is a difference between integrated and connected. In software applications, integration creates a single solution to multiple problems by combining, not just connecting, elements to work together seamlessly. In an ideal situation, one platform provides the basis, the underlying foundation, for many applications to integrate. As platforms and applications become popular for solving challenging situations, companies seek ways to integrate their applications with the platform and other applications on that platform. As an example, DCW (Digital Construction Works), a construction application and technology services, integrations, and solutions company, launched a Microsoft Certified Power BI Connector for its “integrations platform…
When large suppliers seek new markets, being able to open facilities quickly can give the company a local edge. Contractors that depend on local merchants for their building materials, tools, and equipment, benefit from having those suppliers nearby, not an hour’s drive away. As an example, top-ten electrical wholesale distributor, CES (City Electric Supply), recently opened a branch in Moncks Corner, S.C. This facility, about 35 miles north of Charleston, S.C., will save local builders and remodelers as much as an hour and a half in travel time compared to shopping at the next nearest CES store. With more than…
Innovation requires support to effect execution. If the infrastructure isn’t available to support new transportation methods—electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, for example—the ideas might stay on the shelf or in the parking lot. Given enough time, though, the support facilities can be ready by the time the innovation goes into production. An innovative concept for green aviation is the fully electric aircraft. One example is the use of electric engines for propulsion and helium cells for lift—an electric airship instead of an electric airplane. The design of a hybrid aircraft, combining buoyant lift from helium with aerodynamic lift and vectored thrust,…
For those who don’t live there, Maine has a reputation as being a cold place in the winter. Actually, those who live there think that, too. Snow? Average about 70 inches. Temperature? The average for January is 7 degrees. Needless to say, buildings are weather proofed as much as possible, and heated as economically as possible. Mainers have another reputation to uphold: they are thrifty and conserve energy. Maine became a state in 1820 and, like Maine itself, the Maine National Guard has the distinction of having existed as an organization prior to the existence of the United States itself.…