ENR asks an array of vendors serving the industry how they assure customers their data is secure and their services will not become a vector for the next cyberattack.
Rising cybercrime has executives on edge as the industry increasingly relies on electronic project data. Risk experts chafe at lack of data on cyber attacks, saying ignorance hampers defense. Federal regulators agree and new rules are expected. What should company leaders do?
Courtesy of Acute3D Photo Magic Image frames captured from multiple vantage points are automatically analyzed for common points to generate 3D models. Related Links: ACUTE3D SPAR Point analysts' review Reality capture has been a foundation of design and construction since the age of chains and transits. Now, the technology is rapidly improving in sophistication, automation and integration.In one of the latest examples, Bentley Systems Inc., Exton, Pa., on Feb. 6 acquired a four-year-old French company, Acute3D, whose Smart3DCapture software already has an international clientèle for the automated transformation of batches of digital photos into 3D models up to city scale.Bentley
Related Links: Rob McKinney -- Construction App Guru blog on SkySite Rob McKinney -- Construction App Guru blog on SkySite Rob McKinney -- Construction App Guru blog on SkySite An old ship in the reprographics business is taking a new tack. The drive to create a construction-document management system to give every participant accessible, up-to-date versions of every required document, with revisions pushed instantly, audit trails and superseded versions archived for review, is moving to the cloud.ARC Document Solutions, launched in 1989 as American Reprographics Co., introduced SkySite, a cloud-based "enterprise-level" construction-document management system, on Jan. 29. The firm went
Related Links: Obama executive order on flood-risk standard White House fact sheet on flood-risk standard Corps of Engineers study of North Atlantic coast flood risks The Obama administration has issued tougher risk-management standards for federal agencies to use in determining where federally funded buildings, highways and other infrastructure projects in floodplains should be situated.The new requirements, contained in an executive order that President Obama signed on Jan. 30, drew praise from state floodplain officials and environmental advocates, but also sparked criticism from a construction group and some lawmakers— including eight Republican U.S. Senators, who question the standard's legality.John Podesta, counselor
Related Links: 2014 Construction Technology Report Texas A & M Dept of Construction Science Construction Financial Management Association The construction industry's embrace of technology and data security is, at best, casual, suggests the results of a technology-practices survey with more than 1,000 responses released in January.Technology consultant JBKnowledge Inc.'s third annual "Construction Technology" survey had 300 more participants than the year before and was up from about 450 the first time out. This year's survey was also a cooperative project, with the Construction Financial Management Association and Texas A&M University's Dept. of Construction Science. The report can be downloaded at
Related Links: Download USIBD as-built documentation standards Laser Scanning for Building Documentation: Illuminating, But Not Necessarily Enlightening The U. S. Institute for Building Documentation has published the first standards for specifying contracts for as-built building-measurement capture. The documents are designed to complement previously developed standards specifying 3D building-information-model level of development but are not limited to any measurement-capture technology."In the building documentation industry, there is really nothing that people doing the work could rely on and quote to their clients," says Bryan A. Merritt, a principal associate with engineering consulting firm Erdman Anthony, Rochester, N.Y. "It gives owners and clients
Related Links: Robots on the Jobsite Construction Industry Drones Fly in Rules Vacuum Collaboration Technology for Construction Sees Rapid Improvements Construction Managers Embrace 4D BIM for Safety Information technology for construction delivered on its promise to improve processes in design and construction in 2014, but only incrementally and sporadically, with no industry breakthroughs to report. ENR focused during the year on several trending technologies with promise, including improvements in robotics, mobile devices, cloud services, software for collaboration, the proliferating use of drones in construction, 3D printing and ways to leverage the capabilities 4D building information modeling.All show great potential, and
Related Links: Pong Radiation Case Pong Radiation Case Pong Radiation Case Danalock ENR’s final gadget-review list for 2014 presents three smartphone additions that claim to extend user capabilities. One protects communication data, one amplifies range, a third locks dead bolts.See slideshow for full reviews.
Related Links: Ember Explorer program In a rambling Q&A session for media at Autodesk University in Las Vegas, on Dec. 3, Autodesk CEO Carl Bass and CTO Jeff Kowalski expanded on themes of their respective keynotes and fielded questions about the company’s strategy for developing products to serve the customers of the future.Central to that strategy is their belief that technology is on the verge of radically changing the way people design and make things. With respect to designing products, they say the massive amounts of parallel computing power in the cloud that can be directed to product design means
