Having an integrated project design and construction team can spell the difference between having a project that ends successfully and on schedule and having a project that’s mired in change orders, cost overruns, and even litigation.
Image courtesy of Zebra Imaging Inc. Zebra's holographic images are useful for client presentations or enhancing collaboration on complex projects where shared documentation is key. Fifteen years into the 21st century, construction-related technology has yet to produce jetpacks, ironworker robots and other items predicted by science fiction. But one futuristic product is already available—three-dimensional holographic prints that provide unique visualizations of project designs and concepts for collaboration.The technology, developed by Zebra Imaging Inc., Austin, Texas, encodes 3D digital data from a variety of software products onto specially designed polymer film tiles ranging in size from 12 in. by 12 in.
Photo Courtesy Icon Architectural Group Construction of a Grand Forks, N.D.-based UAS airport and testing facility, called Grand Sky Development Park, includes hangers for drones of all sizes, from fixed wing to octocopters. Related Links: Grand Sky Development Park Commercial Drone Operators Take Flight for Construction Construction of site improvements, including security fencing, access roads and culverts for a $25-million, 217-acre unmanned aerial-systems park, began in Grand Forks, N.D., in July. But even before the first phase broke ground, the developer started pushing drone-related research by partnering with the developers of an airtraffic-control system for drones.The facility, called Grand Sky
Change Readiness is the means of understanding and increasing the likelihood of innovation adoption by stakeholders in the capital projects industry. Research from Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Kansas (KU) shows that even when a compelling innovative solution is implemented, there is 70% likelihood that by the time a fifth project is executed, the innovation will have been forgotten and practices will revert to what was as been done in the past. The implications of this finding help explain the slow evolution of the capital projects industry. Fiatech is addressing this problem. The first step in the process
Courtesy, OriginClear Inc. Jar (far left) contains original flow-back water from a fracking site in Bakersfield, Calif.; it is laced with oil and chemical particulates. Another jar (middle) contains treated water, or effluent, after going through OriginClear Inc.'s EWS treatment. The last jar (far right) contains the sludge that was removed. A company that makes systems for algae growth and harvesting has repurposed its machines to tackle flow-back water from the oil-and-gas industry. The water-separation technology, which recently completed successful testing in Bakersfield, Calif., uses electricity, instead of chemicals.“The energy cost is low, on the order of 0.14 cents per
Photo Courtesy of Mott MacDonald The corroding steel structure behind this century-old red granite facade is causing the granite to crack. The condition is treated by sending an electric current through the steel, stopping the corrosion. Engineers are using a newly developed carbon-fiber-reinforced geopolymer mortar as a conductor for cathodic protection (CP). The mortar helps to carry an electrical current through the steel frames of structures built before 1960, guarding against corrosion.“We just take the joints out, put the necessary wiring in, re-tuck the joints with the anode material and refit the joint with heritage mortar. It’s as simple as
A recent ENR survey of design firms, general contractors and subcontractors included two questions about technology. One asked what percentage of revenue the firms invest in research and development, and the other asked how the respondents feel about their data security. The responses suggest there might be a correlation.Overall, of 208 executives who responded to the questions, 42% say they spend less than half a percent on R&D. Take the investment up to just under 1% and 14% more join the club. Add another half percent investment and the group expands another 10% before dropping back to a 6% increase
Related Links: Bentley Adds Cloud Support to Its Design Software With Connect Vendors Serving Construction Comment on Cyber Security Concerns Today The world’s largest cloud-services company is offering $250,000 in prizes to local governments that enter and win its cloud-computing competition. The competition is open to entries until August 21 from any municipality in the world. In its "City on a Cloud" competition last year, Seattle-based Amazon Web Services Inc. gave away Amazon cloud credits to eight winners that harnessed cloud computing in a new or innovative way. This year it will do the same. The eight winners are grouped in
Photo Courtesy of NRCS Arkansas' 116-ft-tall Lake Alma Dam impounds 8,000 acre-ft of water. Since construction in 1970, the community has flourished below it. Graphic Courtesy of DamWatch A national view of DamWatch shows alerts blooming as storms move through the Midwest in late June. Each flag is tagged to facility specific data. Related Links: DamWatch The precurser to DamWatch, ScourWatch Hartford, Conn.-based USEngineering Solutions unveiled on June 23 a national system to detect incidents that could imperil nearly 12,000 dams across the country. It integrates multiple data streams, including sensors and national seismic and meteorologic data, to issue alerts
Sami Masri, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, uses the Microsoft Kinect to gather data on the condition of roads. The device’s infrared projector, infrared camera and RGB camera are mounted beneath a vehicle to create a 3D image of the road as the vehicle drives; this data along with GPS information is used to identify cracks and potholes and localize them.If devices like Masri’s prototype were installed in all 2016 Toyota Corollas, for example, live road health monitoring could be possible for Departments of Transportation (DOT’s) across the nation, similar
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