Big Brother is watching your tools. That’s the idea behind a new asset-management system from Snap-on Industrial. Photos courtesy of Snap-on Industrial In its place For its latest tool box, Snap-on installed four to six cameras that take high-speed snapshots of drawers as they are closed. A computer compares those images to stocked drawers and alerts asset managers of discrepancies. Born in the aerospace field, the company’s latest tool box is designed to help people in construction, especially those who work in high-risk areas that require tight security over “foreign-object damage” or “foreign-material exclusion”—such as nuclear powerplants—or those using large
Texas could become the nation�s leader in clean-coal technology, with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently giving its approval to three such projects. The powerplants, though, face some opposition from neighbors opposed to the new coal plants�clean or not. Map: Sue Pearsall for ENR Three clean-coal projects are estimated at nearly $8 billion in construction costs. On Dec. 14, the TCEQ gave an air-quality permit to Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center, allowing it to build a 600-MW, $3.5-billion clean-coal powerplant in Penwell. On Dec. 29, the state agency granted an air-quality permit to the Summit Power Group of
PENNELL Metromont Corp., a Greenville, S.C.-based provider of precast/prestressed concrete building systems, announced earlier this month that it has acquired a majority interest in Royal Concrete Concepts of West Palm Beach, Fla. RCC manufactures custom precast concrete modular building systems for residential, educational, commercial and military projects. The Florida firm’s product line includes unitized modules for residential construction that are shipped virtually complete with all components and finishes, including cabinetry, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, windows and doors. The company’s manufacturing facility has the capacity to build 25 three-bedroom houses per day. SANGER "The investment in RCC allows us to further diversify
Louisiana Superdome, Phase Three�Re-Skin | New Orleans Holy Cross School Campus | New Orleans Related Links: The 2010 Best of the Best: ENR 21 Winners The Austonian | Austin Louisiana Superdome, Phase Three—Re-Skin | New Orleans Region: Texas and Louisiana Submitted by: Gibbs Construction While ensuring that waterproofing, vapor, wind loads and other Superdome repair needs were met, a metal-wall panel system with a structural sub-framing clip-attachment system was developed so a single wall panel can be removed from any location without disturbing the adjacent wall panels. The result employs an adjustable-clip system. New anodized panels match the original facade
Dwayne Smith, a senior engineer at URS Corp., San Francisco, is a geotechnical program manager on a levee enlargement project in New Orleans that is shaving a decade off the time it normally takes to build and consolidate such a structure. Photo: Courtesy Angelle Bergeron Smith's design uses sand, fabric, rock and clay stabbed with 8.8 million linear ft of wick drains to speed the work. Related Links: ENR: The Top 25 Newsmakers of 2010 Joe Collins: Hoisting Hero Sent Clear Message to Industry When Voting for Higher Safety Randy Holman: Corps Manager Has the Right Rx for DOD�s Medical
Randy Holman, credited with overseeing the surge in military construction activity at San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston prompted by mandated base realignment, describes the program as “fast-moving, complex and dynamic.”
One person can make a difference in the industry and save lives. That’s what crane man Joe Collins learned when he cast a pivotal vote for construction safety. Collins is often called upon to lift heavy loads. Related Links: ENR: The Top 25 Newsmakers of 2010 Dennis Kamber: Helping Engineers Lead the Way to Risk Reduction in New Orleans Randy Holman: Corps Manager Has the Right Rx for DOD�s Medical Megabuild in San Antonio Dwayne Smith: Design for Rapid Levee Construction Shaves Off Decade in Schedule Steve Underwood: Novel Choreography of Massive Truss-Lift Ballet Receives Raves “I really believe in
Article toolbar Last year, an estimated 350 people representing specialty contractors flocked to a pre-bid meeting regarding construction of a 145-acre Legoland Florida theme park on the site of the former Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in Winter Haven, 45 miles from Orlando. The development, which will be the world's largest Legoland, is the only theme park under construction in Florida. The gaggle of contractors gathered was a sign of the nearly starved construction economy—tantamount to vultures circling. Rendering courtesy of Legoland Florida TOY TOWN Giant, nonstructural LEGO pieces will adorn both new and renovated buildings at what is planned as
MOSS Scott Moss has been named president of Moss & Associates, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which is in the initial phase of a multiyear transition. Moss began his career as a project engineer with Centex Rooney. He most recently served as vice president of Moss. Dan Kaufman has become president of R.J. Griffin & Co., headquartered in Atlanta. Kaufman most recently served as manager of the company’s South Division, also in Atlanta. Jack Nix Jr., formerly president and CEO, will continue as CEO only. Mike Bartlett will serve as executive vice president and COO after David Paris Jr.’s retirement. Melanie Parks
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