Images Courtesy of Trimble Manhattan Software's programs allow facilities managers and building owners to manage portfolios of buildings and other real-estate assets. Expanding its applications for spatial modeling past the construction phase of the building lifecycle, Trimble, Sunnyvale, Calif., announced August 19 that it will acquire London-based Manhattan Software, a maker of facilities-management and real-estate-management software. Trimble says will take a 100% stake of Manhattan Software and integrate it into its Trimble Buildings Group. The acquisition price was not disclosed.Manhattan Software's offerings include its Integrated Workplace Management System, which allows for planning and management of real estate portfolios, and CenterStone
Every day and week apparently innovative products and concepts cross our screens. Most of them sink without a trace and some of them deservedly become successes. Others draw research and startup funding better spent elsewhere.But how can you spot ‘innovations’ which are best avoided when you don’t have depth in a particular field? The following are a series of questions you can ask quickly and easily with the help of Google. Each question represents a potential red flag. The more red flags, the more likely the innovation is actually a dud or worse. Technology Red FlagsDo they claim to exceed an
iImages courtesy of INVIEWlabs Unifi's subscription-based cloud service uses cloud technology and improved algorithms to make BIM files more searchable with multiple metrics. Related Links: UNIFI Free Trial A cloud-based building-information-modeling management service is leveraging advanced search and metadata tagging functionality to super-charge how teams manage project assets.The subscription service by start-up Unifi currently handles only Autodesk Revit files on its platform, with support for Trimble Sketchup files expected later this year. The company says the platform works like this: By dragging your entire library folder structure into Unifi, the application automatically tags each piece of content with metadata and
Courtesy MOHR The readout from MOHR Test and Measurement LLC's instrumentation system for spent-fuel pools. Courtesy Westinghouse The layout of Westinghouse's instrumentation system for spent-fuel pools. After the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-plant accident, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an order for nuclear facilities to install reliable, extended-range instrumentation for spent-fuel-pool levels that meets new disaster standards. Last July, the first device was installed, says the device's designer.Two companies recently announced the successful release of a measurement system that meets the new NRC standards, but Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, Monroeville, Pa., installed the first device in a live
+ Image Source: Compiled by Domo, a Software-as-Service Provider Esther D'Amico is a senior editor at ENR and editor of ENR New York where she covers news and issues affecting the industry in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.As the data-center market continues to grow at what experts say is an above-average rate, two trends are emerging that likely will keep AEC contractors that specialize in this sector busy.At one end of the spectrum, some large non-tech enterprises are selling their data centers and opting for outsourcing, as opposed to building, operating and owning the physical facilities. At the other
As mobile technology floods jobsites across the world, contractors are swamped with choices among proprietary applications for their fleets of smartphones and tablets.
Image Courtesy Environmental Defense Fund and Google Maps Methane leaks from natural-gas lines, such as these shown on a map of New York City's Staten Island (right), add to greenhouse gases. A cooperative effort between the Environmental Defense Fund and Google Earth Outreach aims to help utilities find them. Related Links: Environmental Defense Fund natural gas leak project EPA overview on greenhouse gases Rapid and accurate detection of methane leaks is being offered to natural-gas utility companies following a successful pilot project led by the Environmental Defense Fund, in partnership with Google Earth Outreach.The program uses Google Street View cars
Attempting to bring electric water heaters into the current era, civil engineer-turned-inventor Jerry Callahan says he has created a novel water heater that eliminates traditional modes of failure while increasing energy efficiency—and it has Wi-Fi.Instead of using traditional heating elements, Callahan’s tankless heater, called the Model 1 by Heatworks, uses an ohmic heating process in which electric current is passed through water between 19 graphite electrodes.Until the invention of this device, the ohmic method could not be used to attain the precise water-temperature control needed for domestic or commercial hot-water systems. Callahan claims the Model 1’s microprocessor achieves control by
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