It has taken a bit of time, but you have finally moved from CAD to BIM and you are thinking, “Right, I’ve got this now.”Think again.Due to the uncanny timing and convergence of market conditions, technology innovation, social wants and government needs, a Smart Cities market is emerging on a global scale that dwarfs any previous notion of the value given to data about the built environment. AEC firms are the authors of an enormous amount of that increasingly valuable data, and there is a lot of money to be made by those who recognize its market potential.Sometimes described as
Related Links: ENR's Top Specialty Contractors ENR Development News In an economy where acquiring work can sometimes feel like an effort in futility, many specialty contractors find themselves searching for another business stream until new construction recovers. Employees at Seattle-based McKinstry Co. LLC think they have found a way to weather the storm.The design-build mechanical contractor sums up its services in its motto, "For the Life of Your Building." The company not only designs and builds complex mechanical and electrical systems, it is also available to operate and monitor the finished facility—typically, mechanically intensive data centers and research laboratories. Its
Image courtesy of Mortenson/Power Mortenson/Power used laser scans to check the accuracy of BIM models on the $1-billion Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Related Links: http://enr.construction.com/technology/bim/2012/0430-annual-conference-hums-with-accelerating-uptake.asp Laser Scanning Hits Tipping Point http://enr.construction.com/technology/bim/2010/0609-virtualdesign-1.asp A Hospital Owner's Digital Mandate Most remodeling contractors still generate building information models for an existing structure from original construction drawings, and the inevitable deviations end up as field surprises that result in costly change orders and delays. Emerging 3D laser scanners streamline the workflow by taking the unknowns out of the equation."Laser scanning is the truth serum that fits into BIM," says Ken
Courtesy of Gehry Technologies The tool translates 3D files from different vendors' software. Courtesy of Gehry Technologies Data can be accessed from all devices with web access, including tablets. Related Links: Gehry Technologies Gehry Technologies is offering a free preview of its new cloud-based 3D file-management and project collaboration platform. Until Sept. 30, anyone can try out the service, which GT calls the first web-based viewer developed specifically for use by the building team.Called GTeam, the tool is designed for "concurrent work across all CAD tools, so different team members can work on different files of the same project at
Related Links: The Tomorrow Project from Intel FutureTech CIOs: Are You Paving Over a Cow Path? As computing chips become ubiquitous and smaller, imagination may be the only limiting factor in how they can be used, says Brian David Johnson, Intel's futurist, and that could have significant implications for the future of construction. Johnson talked about the future of work to more than 300 construction professionals attending ENR's FutureTech conference in San Francisco on July 10. JOHNSONBecause Intel needs to envision how its chips will be used, it is of "vital business importance" for the company to imagine how people
Photo by Tom Sawyer Smart Pick: Sonim's XP3340 is durable and will call if you fall. Photo courtesy of URS Corp. Instant Message: Just speaking into a NoteVault-equipped phone routes time-stamped observations and attached photos into a report e-mailed for approval. Jobsite communication tools are appearing as fast as device makers and app builders can churn them out—just keeping up could be a full-time job.But contractors don't need another full-time job. They just need to share critical project information quickly in the simplest, most reliable way.For years, Nextel's push-to-talk phones were the standard in construction, with PTT's instant voice contact
Bluebeam Software has officially launched its new Revu iPad app in the iTunes App store .The tool enables users to access, navigate and annotate PDF files on the go. With Revu iPad, company officials say, comments and annotations display clearly and accurately so nothing is missed, reducing the ping pong effect of ambiguous communications.The company says Revu iPad officially expands Bluebeam’s platform solution, Revu for Windows, for use in other industries. “Bluebeam Revu iPad removes current barriers to productivity, and enables technical and mobile professionals to work without limits,” said Richard Lee, President and CEO at Bluebeam Software, in statement.
ENR's FutureTech San Francisco event attracted over 300 construction technology professionals who attended and participated in a day's worth of demonstrations of the latest and future uses of technology in the industry.During one panel discussion moderated by Isaac Sacolick, CIO of McGraw-Hill Construction, called 'IT From the CIOs Perspective,' CIOs debated some of their main issues in delivering the next wave of information technology services. They also offered tips on how to balance their firms' demands to innovate new systems with the cost to develop and support those innovations.One of the main points: If a firm is building unique applications
Image courtesy of Warranty Hotel Danish company's new cloud-based warranty management site, which has apps for data acquisition, is available on a white-label basis for integration with other asset data-management systems. A new consumer-oriented Android app that lets users upload and manage an unlimited amount of warranty information on products for a onetime, 99-cent fee has crossover potential for construction, which could use it just as easily to track the same information for equipment, tools and materials.The app is associated with warrantyhotel.com, a website that gives users a free cloud-based account. Using the account, they can upload and track warranty
This summary of the results of projects implementing virtual design and construction, building information modeling, integrated project delivery and a range of other applications of new technology and process, which were presented at the CIFE Summer Progam,Stanford, University, on June 20-21, was prepared by presenter Gregory Luth at ENR's request. Additional information on the presentations may be obtained by contacting CIFE. The Presentations:NCC, a large, vertically integrated, Swedish contractor and developer presented project P303, a vision of the future of housing that responds to the need for improved energy efficiency, higher quality, and lower cost housing in a market where costs