Construction engineering and management is different from other scientific and management disciplines. We take advantage of proven technologies and try to turn them into cost-effective solutions in the construction field. We must devise ways of solving problems with clarity and ease, while always thinking of the practical reality of how things should be done.
I’m now on the edge of proving out such a product that stands as an example of what we can expect to see in the industry in coming years. It is an automated surveying robot that provides the position of a tunnel boring machine in real time. It’s being field tested on a nearly complete 1000m sewage tunneling job in the city of Edmonton, Alberta. The tunnel test bed showcases th future of technology integration and automation in construction in the coming 10 years.