Author: Peggy Smedley
The new year always brings new health goals for many people—get more sleep, move more, drink more water, etc. Well, at CES 2025 last week we saw a plethora of announcements of connected devices and technology that will help people reach those goals. And there is some research to back up that these types of devices are making people happier. Sleep related technologies were in full swing at CES this year from smart mattresses, to anti-snore pillows, to sleep trackers, to smart rings, and beyond. But at CES, it is all about the data. Sleep, Work, and What’s to Come…
Cyberattacks are running rampant right now. It’s like a competition between the bad actors. My guess is you already knew this, likely because your company may have experienced it firsthand. If you haven’t, well, you are lucky. Very lucky. As 2025 continues to unfold, construction companies must prepare for a future that will require greater cybersecurity. New programs have already gone into effect for defense contractors. Where Have We Been? First, let’s examine what we are currently up against. The BCI (Business Continuity Institute) launched its BCI Update Series: Cyber Resilience Report 2024 last year, and the numbers are staggering,…
Will the recent events in New Orleans impact travel to some degree in the days to come? No two events have shaken the U.S. travel and hospitality industry more than September 11, 2001, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which interestingly was unfolding roughly 20 years later. The U.S. BTS (Bureau of Transportations Statistics did an interesting comparison on the two events and the impact on travel. What ultimately occurred in both cases was a steep drop in travel initially, and a slow upward trajectory of a recovery. The drop in monthly passengers in September 2001 from the previous month is significantly…
Much has changed and much continues to stay the same in the construction industry during the past several decades since I started Constructech magazine. Technology has—and continues to advance—and materials continue to evolve as well. Interestingly, one thing that continues to amp up is talk around sustainability in this sector. For today’s blog, let’s look at three big sustainability trends to watch in the construction industry in 2025 and beyond. Keep an Eye on Cement Perhaps this goes without saying, but construction materials can be some of the biggest carbon emitters on the planet. Worldwide, every year, cement and concrete…
As we head into a new year, we must keep a pulse on how technologies are evolving—and how technology partnerships will enable new opportunities. For today’s blog, let’s look at the state of the hyperscale and hybrid cloud to help paint a picture of what is to come in the months ahead. To start, we see some companies are switching to hyperscale cloud computing for faster speeds, reduced downtime, and more. This is also driven by the rise of AI (artificial intelligence), big data, machine learning, and the IoT (Internet of Things). Grandview Research suggests the hyperscale computing market size…
Is construction safety a priority at your company? There has been an evolution that has happened with safety in the past several decades—from not a priority at all to something companies are considering more heavily for a variety of reasons. But what do numbers show us? What trends have emerged? And where are we headed? Let’s start by identifying that an unsafe construction jobsite costs companies some serious money—okay a lot of money! One head injury claim now costs construction companies in the United States on average $94,285. That’s because for each $1 of insured costs, the uninsured costs range…
Technology continues to race onto the automotive scene—and as 2025 and CES begin, many are asking a plethora of questions. Perhaps the biggest heading into CES 2025: How will the technologies and conversations seen and heard shape the automotive space in the year ahead? It’s that very question that has me pondering and eagerly taking a closer look at the automotive industry and what people will be discovering at CES and the rest of 2025. For starters, the automotive space at CES has evolved since its early beginnings—moving from a pure auto focus to a greater range that includes industrial…
As we head into a new year, we must first take a pulse of where we have been so we hopefully can identify where we are going. This will be key for the construction industry, as we ramp up the anticipated work in the year ahead. So, let’s take a moment to assess exactly what is happening. Construction is adding work—and jobs—but contractors are still struggling to fill all the open jobs. Seems a bit screwy right? The most recent numbers are very revealing. Work is rising. Construction employment rose in 238—or 66%—of 358 metro areas between October 2023 and…
Roughly 71% of companies believe AI (artificial intelligence) offers the best ROI (return on investment) for customer engagement—but are we running too fast and furious at a solution that might not ultimately yield the best results? That is the question I would like to explore this week. Apply Digital surveyed 500 senior leaders from large enterprises across North America about what customer engagement tactics are proving most successful. Certainly, AI entered the conversation and was cited as the most valuable. But where AI is being used in customer engagement is interesting to consider. The Role of AI in Customer Engagement…
This is the time of year to peer into that crystal ball and take a closer look at what is to come in the year ahead. Many analysts and construction companies are throwing their predictions into the ring, helping paint a picture of how 2025 will unfold. Today, let’s take a close look at where we are today—and then look at where we are headed in 2025. Where We Are Now JLL suggests the first three quarters of the year brought consistency in costs and the start of interest rate cuts, along with high levels of construction activity. In 2024,…