Author: Peggy Smedley
Today’s workplace is an interesting place. We are in the middle of a workforce evolution that is transforming what we are all calling the future of work. And, yet there are still operational inefficiencies that exist at many levels of the organization. For the purpose of our discussion today, AI (artificial intelligence) can certainly step in and help, right? The Importance of People Eagle Hill Consulting recently conducted a survey and found 68% of employees say much of their time is spent on low-value inefficient tasks. Okay, let’s be honest, that is wasted time spent on things that could be…
By now we have all heard about the Trump Administration’s tariffs and other changing economic factors and how it will have an impact on the construction industry. Truthfully, it is a constantly changing, moving target, and in just a few short months, there have certainly been ups and downs. For today’s blog, let’s look at what all these market changes will mean to the construction industry and the industries that supply materials. The best way to understand how current economic factors will impact industries such as construction and supply materials is to start by looking backward. Robert Gulotty, an associate…
The IoT (Internet of Things) has been around for decades—and here at Connected World we have been covering the space since before Kevin Ashton uttered the three-word phrase. I am sure many of you are asking who? That is how fast things change, and we move to the next acronym(s). Now we are hearing all about gen AI (artificial intelligence) and how it is going to completely alter the way we work. The question now becomes: How do these two come together and what will this all ultimately mean for the future of work? What Is the IoT? First, let’s…
Construction injuries cost the industry roughly $11.5 billion per year, according to the National Institutes of Health. One type of concern and collision the industry must consider is car crashes. These collisions can cause harm to those working on road construction projects—and they can also cause serious dangers for those driving to and from sites. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, so it’s a perfect time to reexamine the risks associated with driving distracted while working. https://youtu.be/Tnde7tQIxcA The Risks of Distracted Driving at Work The NSC (National Safety Council) suggests you are four times as likely to crash when using…
From energy to broadband, our nation has many categories of critical infrastructure that need to be strong and secure. Our infrastructure impacts every American, every community, and even every industrial process. Good, reliable, and resilient infrastructure has a positive impact on our lives, while weak infrastructure will certainly have dire consequences. “America’s infrastructure is the foundation on which our national economy, global competitiveness, and quality of life depend,” says Darren Olson, chair of ASCE’s (American Society of Civil Engineers) committee on America’s Infrastructure, which is the committee that writes and advises on the Infrastructure Report Card. He is also a…
The demands of rebuilding U.S. infrastructure continue to grow. FMI Corp.’s 2025 Civil Infrastructure Construction Index shows the first quarter 2025 index increased to 57.7% from 50.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This marks the 10th quarter of expansion. Still, there are challenges. 72% of respondents indicate current backlog levels are either higher or consistent with backlogs at the end of 2023, and that nearly 40% of respondents report they have insufficient personnel to meet their 2025 backlog demands. Today’s construction and engineering firms need to deliver these infrastructure projects quickly with fewer workers, all while infrastructure projects continue…
Microsoft in Action at Hannover Messe Gen AI (generative artificial intelligence) is here for many industries. In fact, 80% of manufacturing customers are considering using gen AI in their manufacturing operations and in their business processes—and it will fundamentally transform the factory floor and change how frontline workers interact with data. Certainly, this will be a point of conversation at Hannover Messe, which is scheduled to take place March 31-April 4. At the event, more than 4,000 companies will attend, with roughly 130,000 attendees, 1,600 speakers, and some 300 startups are anticipated to walk the long aisles from roughly 150…
Both FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) and CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) will be a big consideration for federal contractors in the year ahead. Let’s break down what this means for your construction business. FedRAMP provides a standardized approach to security authorizations for cloud service offerings. It was established back in 2011 and then in December 2022, the FedRamp Authorization Act was signed as part of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act, which codifies the program as the authorities standardized approach to security assessment and authorization for cloud computing products and services that process unclassified federal information. The…
While generative AI (artificial intelligence) has been the talk of tech for the past several years, agentic AI now offers new opportunities for business—and companies should be preparing for what comes next. Agentic AI builds on generative AI. Gen AI is simply the idea of turning large quantities of data into actionable intelligence. AI agents build on this capability. NVIDIA suggests agentic AI uses sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems. It suggests agentic AI uses a four-step process for problem solving: perceive, reason, act, and learn. Simply, it will enhance productivity. Agentic AI in Customer…
The construction industry is facing many challenges: the need to build more, faster, and with constrained resources. Does construction need more workers? Yes. But what is actually required more than ever is innovation and excitement about a new way of doing things, and central to that is technology, which is one of the reasons we developed the Constructech Top Products awards program. With the help of a panel of judges, the hope is the research conducted for the 2025 Constructech Top Products awards program will help businesses identify the best products in the construction market, as well as the solutions…