There is a lot going on in the area of asset management that portends dramatic change in our approach to resource management in the near future—and it’s about time.The adjustments that will be required of the A/E/C/FM industry to move it to disciplined asset management systems will force it to develop new workflows and measures of value, just as the gradual embrace of building information modeling has done, but the changes are necessary and the payback will be large. The simple premise is that physical assets should be evaluated, first of all, on their contribution to desired organizational outcomes. Asset
Image Courtesy of ESA/Foster + Partners The European-designed lunar shelter is printed with rubble and binding agent. Related Links: Foster + Partners Space Shelter Design 3D Concrete Printing at Loughborough University in the U.K. Concrete printing in 3D has a future in the near term, with commercial applications coming in a couple of years, predict researchers in the U.K.Richard Buswell, senior lecturer in building-services engineering at Loughborough University, spent four years on a team developing a computer-controlled process for producing complicated concrete elements not possible by traditional means. The $2-million project, completed in 2011, produced a series of 1-meter-sq, curved
Photo Courtesy of Arup The particles are fused by a laser. Related Links: How To Print A 3-D Object With Laser Sintering 3D Printing Materials Survey Industries ranging from medical equipment manufacturers to aerospace are increasingly using 3D printing for the fabrication of intricate and costly objects. In Europe, designers are exploring the technology for use with construction-element production, as well.Dan Kirk, direct metals manager at 3D printing firm CRDM Ltd., High Wycombe, U.K., says printing is not going to replace traditional processes for steel work, but "it will give you the opportunity to create designs that you couldn't previously
Autodesk has added a new feature to its BIM 360 suite of field collaboration tools that is designed to help contractors and project managers extract data more effectively from 3D building information models for layout planning.
Photo by Kevin Marino/Balfour Beatty Keith Walsh, virtual-design construction intern at Balfour Beatty, helps fellow employee Daniel Shirkey, senior process manager for traffic planning and design, navigate virtual- jobsite software, called HazYard, which Walsh helped program. Shirkey wears an Oculus Rift headset he bought after attending the second AEC Hackathon in March. Related Links: Greg Howe's Take on AEC Hackathon 1.2 AEC Hackathon: an Industry First Sponsor prizes are beginning to ensure the usability and usefulness of software developed at the architecture, engineering and construction "AEC Hackathons" now popping up around the country and, soon, abroad.For the weekend charrette, team
Related Links: Video Backgrounder (YouTube) The Construction PDF Coalition is ramping up efforts to spread the word about adopting the file format as a standard for construction projects.The grassroots group, whose aim is to leverage digital information among design teams, constructors and every touchpoint group along the construction chain, is out with a new website to spread the word: CPCoalition.com."Though PDFs are the de facto format for digital construction documentation, national design standards haven’t yet been defined," the site explains. "This coalition aims to define standards to be implemented at project onset by the project team. Without standardization, professionals experience
Related Links: Viewpoint Returns to Estimating With Platform Upgrades McGraw Hill Sells ENR and Construction Group to Equity Investor U.S. ERP Vendor Viewpoint Reels In U.K. Collaboration Service 4Projects Private-equity firms looking for opportunities in construction-industry sectors have gone from casual dating to getting downright serious with their investments. Experts say collaboration and web-based tools are their top desires.Chris Daum, president of FMI Capital Advisors, the investment banking subsidy of consulting and research firm FMI Corp., says his group has seen an "unprecedented upturn in inquiries" during the past 18 months, asking for FMI's input to look over deals in
In this screenshot depicting business intelligence tools, a dashboard categorizes jobs based on profit ranges determined by a dashboard user with the ability to group by company, department and project manager, as well as selected profit range and project metrics.
Software firm Bentley Systems Inc. has acquired Blueridge Analytics Inc., the provider of SITEOPS, a cloud-based site development options analyzer. Subscribers upload digital terrain models and enter requirements in terms of square footage of finished floor space, parking needs, setbacks, roadway parameters and a host of other constraints, and then submit the project for analysis. The system weighs thousands of alternatives and “solves” for the most cost-efficient site design. The purchase comes four years after Bentley took an equity stake in the company. Says CEO Greg Bentley, “I’ve become convinced that site engineering should no longer be done any other
Related Links: Water Delivery System Analysis and Management Software Brings New Efficiencies to Utility Systems 2014 Black & Veatch Strategic Directions: U.S. Water Industry Report Bentley Systems Inc. has released enhanced versions of its information modeling software for water distribution systems that promise to improve visibility, forecasting and decision-making support for hydraulic modelers and system operators.The company says the SELECT Series 5 release of WaterCAD, WaterGEMS, and HAMMER V8i have improvements that extend the sharing of system performance data across the separate disciplines of water system planning, design, and operations. This should improve collaboration and decision making throughout the infrastructure
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