Author: Peggy Smedley
Connectivity is skyrocketing at a rapid clip, thanks to new innovations and the rapid rise of AI (artificial intelligence). Couple the rewards technology enables, with the mighty risks that many companies certainly aren’t prepared for at this moment in time. The best time to become aligned with this new AI revolution was yesterday. Sadly, that’s no joke. The Broadband Assn.’s new 2024 Broadband Capex Report suggests broadband providers invested $89.6 billion in U.S. communications infrastructure in 2024, which brings the industry’s total to more than $2.2 trillion since 1996. Last year, we saw the AI era swell, driven by expanded…
Safety is a moving target in the construction industry. Roughly 100 years ago, safety simply wasn’t a priority in the construction industry—but all of that began to change in the 1970s when OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Admin.) entered the equation and businesses quickly began to realize an unsafe jobsite could potentially cost a lot of money. Worker deaths in America are down from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 15 a day in 2019—so some progress, but there is still work to be done. But one death is still one too many. In the past decade…
It’s time to take a closer look at labor productivity in the manufacturing industry. For such a long time, productivity in manufacturing remained stagnant—but are the tides beginning to turn? Is AI (artificial intelligence), the IoT (Internet of Things), and other emerging technologies boosting productivity enough to the point where we are seeing some gains? The numbers tell an interesting story. In the decade leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. manufacturing’s total factor productivity decreased by an average of 0.3 percent per year, and McKinsey & Co., suggests this is due to a number of factors including the aging…
There are sustainability opportunities all around in the construction industry, if we are willing to look for them. From sustainable materials to waste reduction to water conservation to new innovation and technologies, there are a few ways to create a more sustainable jobsite—and more sustainable homes, buildings, cities, and communities for the future. For today’s blog, perhaps we can consider two new case studies that are trying to lead the way for innovation in the construction industry. Wood Waste No More Perhaps one of the biggest challenges in the construction sector is waste. And we all know there is a…
As many know, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation designed to enhance online safety by installing guardrails on the development of frontier AI (artificial intelligence) models. Some people are praising the push for transparency and accountability, while others are worried about ambiguities and burdens on developers. Everyone has their opinion. A lot has to do with whatever political side of the aisle you stand on. Wherever you stand on this fencepost, the bottomline is regulation for AI is coming—and in some cases it is already here. And the fact remains; we are talking about AI almost in the same…
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Year in Infrastructure 2025, learning about new offerings from Bentley Systems, hearing inspiring case studies from award winners, and meeting with others in this community to discuss the latest trends in infrastructure. Allow me to share with you what I learned. Here’s a hint: AI (artificial intelligence) was front and center, just as it is in many discussions today. “AI is emerging across design, construction, and operations, touching every phase of the infrastructure lifecycle,” says Nicholas Cumins, CEO, Bentley Systems. “The outcomes go well beyond time savings. They are showing us a…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in more than two decades in covering the technology and industrial space, it’s that complexity is the new constant. Disruption used to be episodic—COVID, tariffs, material shortages—but now the baseline expectation is that everything is becoming faster and more interconnected at a rapid clip. In construction and manufacturing, that means dealing with supply-chain disruptions, labor scarcity, the push into direct‑to‑consumer models, and other business evolutions. The reality both construction and manufacturing are facing today is a difficult one. More than 76% of today’s supply-chain operations are impacted by labor gaps. In manufacturing alone, as…
The construction jobsite, and the technology that proliferates it, looks very different than it did two decades ago, but one thing has remained constant: the Constructech Top Products are a barometer of how innovation continues to evolve. I have had the privilege of helping guide this program for nearly two decades, and the journey tells the story of technology in the construction industry. When I look back across the decades, I see an arc of maturation in the construction technology space—from early ERP (enterprise-resource planning), to the conception of BIM (building information modeling) that led the way for digital twins,…
The construction industry is in an interesting place. Costs are up. Labor is lacking. Construction starts are up. Projects are increasing, both in volume and in complexity. Digital transformation and agentic AI (artificial intelligence) are here—and they are signaling a shift for construction teams. And there is strong optimism surrounding the industry and the opportunities. FMI’s CIRT (Construction Industry Round Table) report shows the Sentiment Index rose to 65 in the third quarter of 2025. Why? There are a strong pipeline of projects and a renewed confidence in the U.S. economy. Excluding labor, members ranked backlog quality and profitability as…
As we approach the final quarter of 2025 and head to 2026, we must consider the large, changing, and evolving global forces that are shaping our world, and ultimately how we use technologies like agentic AI (artificial intelligence) and the IoT (Internet of Things) in our businesses. We have reached a point where we need data to inform our actions. We need digital tools to drive our future, but we must do it in the context that we live and work in. This is why I was so excited when a new report crossed my desk. Last month, we saw…