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Albany, NY
BBL Construction does commercial and residential construction. I chose them because I have seen their work and I am interested in the type of construction that they do.

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BBL Construction Albany NY General Contractor - Construction Management Companies

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Our national design-build process saves time and money for project owners. Over 40 years of experience and satisfied customers. 518-452-8200.

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Albany, NY
AOW Associates Inc. does commercial and residential construction. I chose them because they are from the capital region and I am interested in the work they do.

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AOW Associates - AOW Associates provides a complete range of construction management and general contracting services in the segments of business building market.

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The people of AOW help realize that vision through consistent effort, thoroughness of approach, informed, creative solutions, and the timely delivery of a great building that will endure for generations to come.

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Troy, NY
Rifenburg Companies does  a lot of heavy-civil construction. I chose them because I don't know much about them but I am interested in the work they do.

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Our scope of services includes earthwork, site preparation, heavy highway construction, paving, utilities installation, and environmental remediation. We also prepare pre-design project budgeting and analysis.

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Johnstown, NY
CFI Construction does commercial and residential construction. I chose them because I live about 10 minutes from their office. I have also dealt with their employees. I am also interested in the work that they do.

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CFI Construction is recognized for its extensive site-work construction and its commitment to providing superb quality to its clients. CFI Construction is well established in the construction industry and has the resources and network connections to provide its clients with a successful, on time and on budget, finished p

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Clifton Park, NY
BastHatfield does both residential and commercial construction. I chose them because I live about 30 minutes away from their office and I have also  dealt with their employees before. I am interested in the work that they do.

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Baltimore, Maryland
Whiting-Turner is a commercial construction company. I chose them because they are a well known organization and am interested in the work they do.

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Since 1909, the firm has been guided by the principles of integrity, excellence and customer delight in the delivery of construction services.

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NYC
Turner Construction Company is a worldwide known company. They do commercial, and industrial construction. I chose them because they are so well known and they built the school that I previously went to for construction technology.

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Turner has a culture of innovation and promotes advances in technology, sustainability, lean practices, building information modeling, safety, community involvement, learning and development, and knowledge sharing.

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Bozeman, MT
Barnard Construction Company is a heavy-civil construction company. I chose them because I am interested in heavy-civil construction.

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That's what we do at Barnard. Whether we're raising a dam in Alaska, constructing a reservoir in Florida, tunneling under downtown San Francisco, redirecting a river while building a complex hydropower plant in northern Manitoba, or strengthening and improving the integrity of a natural gas pipeline in a Sacramento suburb, our people arrive at our projects with a determination to do the best for their communities and be the best in the industry.

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Providence Rhode Island
Gilbane Inc. does commercial and industrial construction. I chose them because they seem like a great company to work for and a family friend of mine used to be associated with Gilbane Inc.

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Gilbane Building Company | Gilbane Development Company

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Gilbane, Inc. is one of the largest privately held family-owned construction and real estate development firms in the industry. Learn more.

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P10: I chose this picture because this is what I want to become. I made the goal to become a CM a few years ago and plan to make that goal a success.

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P10: I chose this picture because this is what I want to become. I made the goal to become a CM a few years ago and plan to make that goal a success.

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P9: I chose this picture because like cranes I have always had an interest in heavy equipment. I enjoy just being around them and their abilities and work that can be done with them is incredible.

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P9: I chose this picture because like cranes I have always had an interest in heavy equipment. I enjoy just being around them and their abilities and work that can be done with them is incredible.

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P8: I chose this picture because I am also interested in heavy-civil construction, especially bridge construction.

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P8: I chose this picture because I am also interested in heavy-civil construction, especially bridge construction.

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P7: I chose this picture because I have an uncle that is a mason and lifts houses to repair or build foundations. I have always been interested in what he does and it pushed me towards the construction industry even more.

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P7: I chose this picture because I have an uncle that is a mason and lifts houses to repair or build foundations. I have always been interested in what he does and it pushed me towards the construction industry even more.

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P6: I chose this picture because I have always been interested in cranes of all types. I had a tower crane toy when I was little, and have always been fascinated. 

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P6: I chose this picture because I have always been interested in cranes of all types. I had a tower crane toy when I was little, and have always been fascinated. 

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P5: I chose this picture because when I saw the Twin Towers in person in the spring of 2001 I remember being in awe at the age of 4 and just wondering how something so massive could be built. 

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P5: I chose this picture because when I saw the Twin Towers in person in the spring of 2001 I remember being in awe at the age of 4 and just wondering how something so massive could be built. 

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P4: I chose this picture because I believe energy efficiency is very important.

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P4: I chose this picture because I believe energy efficiency is very important.

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P3: I chose this picture because this is a show I used to watch that helped spark my interest in the industry even more.

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P3: I chose this picture because this is a show I used to watch that helped spark my interest in the industry even more.

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P2: I chose this picture because I am interested in commercial construction. 

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P2: I chose this picture because I am interested in commercial construction. 

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Albany, NY
BCI Construction Inc. does work in residential, commercial, and industrial. I chose this company because I live in the capital district area and have seen many of their projects.

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BCI Construction, Inc. | General Construction | Management | Consulting - Albany, New York

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Hendrik Marius Jonkers - Self-healing concrete containing bacteria

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V9: Great Sacandaga Lake Bachelorville Bridge Construction

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V9: Great Sacandaga Lake Bachelorville Bridge Construction

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Another Great Sacandaga Lake Mud Shark Caught

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Great Sacandaga Lake Bridge Construction 2012

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Pictures are in order from May to August. Sorry for all the dust spots on some and the fogginess.. Humidity doesn't help at all!! (along with being in a car for most of them)

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Schenectady is ready for Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor.

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A10: I chose this article because it states how the construction industry is so important to the economy and the world. Without construction hundreds of thousands of people would be jobless, and the world would never develop structurally. 

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A10: I chose this article because it states how the construction industry is so important to the economy and the world. Without construction hundreds of thousands of people would be jobless, and the world would never develop structurally. 

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Despite some signs of recovery, there's no hiding from the fact that the global economy in 2013 is still in a dire state - entire countries defaulting on loans, once-proud states requiring bail-out packages, multinational corporations going out of business. It appears like we've still got a long way to go until we reach the boom days of yore once again.

Blame for the economic meltdown has largely been placed at the feet of the banking industry, with low regulation and high-risk investments wiping billions from the economy.

You might think, then, that the banking industry are the ones who should be able to turn this all around. But you'd be wrong.

That honour belongs to the construction industry.

Construction businesses are one of the most important kinds of business in an economy; it's no coincidence that the economic downturn has coincided with a severe downturn in the construction industry.
So why are construction businesses so important to the economy?
The obvious reason is that they are directly responsible for almost every office block, factory and commercial building in existence. Without the work of the construction industry, many of us wouldn't have a workplace to go to, not to mention the lack of housing and public buildings.

This extends to the regeneration of local areas too. The construction industry is responsible for transforming local areas with new buildings and amenities, the kind of places that can provide new jobs and generally revive a local economy.

Unfortunately, this has led to something of a catch-22 in the economy. In order to make their money (and ultimately improve the economy as a whole), construction businesses need projects. As money is low, however, this work has dried up. With businesses ceasing trading and people unable to afford a home, supply is outstripping demand.

This has the knock-on effect of affecting jobs within the construction industry itself, which in turn has a knock-on effect on the economy as a whole. The construction industry is one of the biggest in the world, with construction companies responsible for hiring a significant proportion of many nations' workforces. With demand for construction services dropping, jobs will inevitably be lost and unemployment rates will increase.

Yet a healthy construction industry could reverse this decline, improving employment levels dramatically. Part of the reason for this is the sheer demand for labour on construction projects. Another reason is the fact that your average construction-based job doesn't require too many entry-level requirements. This means that the construction industry is able to hire from a greater pool of prospective employees.

It isn't just people currently looking for work that a healthy construction industry benefits either. Construction businesses are one of the biggest employers of apprentices, providing young people with the skills they require to get a job in the future. Unfortunately, a drop in demand means that the amount of apprentices businesses can take on is dropping too.

Construction is also important to the development of local economies. Local construction businesses are the heart and soul of most local economies, providing local people with jobs and thus increasing the amount of money spent and tax paid in that particular economy. Smaller construction businesses will provide local businesses with competitive rates, meaning that any construction work won't get in the way of getting a business off the ground.

As demands dries up, so too does the amount of local construction businesses. Another factor affecting local construction businesses is the risk-free approach to contracting many organisations are taking; rather than paying less and potentially risking a bad job, many are choosing to employ bigger companies who can offer competitive rates with an apparent assurance of quality.

The main reason construction businesses are so important to a healthy economy, however, is the fact that every single industry relies on construction in some way. Financial companies need offices. Industrial companies need factories. In fact, just about every industry in the world requires some form of construction to function. Without construction, the economy would ultimately collapse.

So what is the solution to all of this? The most obvious would be that the world's governments introduce more measures to protect construction companies and provide them with more contracts and work in order to stimulate growth.
Author Bio:
Christopher Smith is a freelance writer currently working with Multiquip, a major supplier of construction equipment.

image source: fotolia

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Why are Construction Businesses so Important to the Economy?

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Despite some signs of recovery, there's no hiding from the fact that the global economy in 2013 is still in a dire state - entire countries defaulting on loans, once-proud states requiring bail-out packages, multinational corporations going out of business.

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The Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624; two years later they established the colony of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. In 1664, the English took control of the area and renamed it New York. One of the original 13 colonies, New York played a crucial political and strategic role during the American Revolution. Between 1892 and 1954, millions of immigrants arrived in New York Harbor and passed through Ellis Island on their journey to becoming U.S citizens. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of Americans can trace at least one ancestor to that port of entry. New York City, the largest city in the state, is home to the New York Stock Exchange and is a major international economic center.

Date of Statehood: July 26, 1788

Capital: Albany

Population: 19,378,102 (2010)

Size: 54,555 square miles

Nickname(s): Empire State

Motto: Excelsior ("Ever Upward")

Tree: Sugar Maple

Flower: Rose

Bird: Bluebird

Interesting Facts

New York City was the first capital of the United States after the Constitution was ratified in 1788. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the nation's first president at Federal Hall, located on Wall Street.

The popular tabloid New York Post was originally established in 1801 as a Federalist newspaper called the New York Evening Post by Alexander Hamilton, an author of the Federalist papers and the nation's first secretary of the treasury.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France in honor of the United States' enduring dedication to freedom and democracy and of the alliance held between the two countries during the American Revolution. Erected in 1886 on Bedloe's Island (later renamed Liberty Island) in New York Harbor, the statue stood as a welcoming symbol to the 14 million immigrants who entered the United States through New York until 1924.

After the towns of Woodstock and Wallkill refused permission to host what ultimately became the country's most renowned musical festival, a dairy farmer in nearby Bethel agreed to provide access to his land for "Three Days of Peace and Music." With musical acts kicking off on August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival attracted more than 400,000 attendees-most of whom were admitted for free since the organizers of the event were unprepared to control access for such a large crowd.

Adirondack Park in northeastern New York contains roughly 6 million acres of protected land. Comprised of both public and private areas, the park is larger than Yellowstone, Glacier, Everglades and Grand Canyon National Parks combined.

New York City contains roughly 660 miles of subway track connecting 468 subway stations-the lowest of which is located 180 feet below street level. In 2011, more than 1.6 billion people rode the subway.

Comprised of three waterfalls on United States and Canadian territory, Niagara Falls attracts 12 million visitors each year. The American Falls, in New York, are nearly 180 feet high and 1,100 feet long. The Niagara River produces enough hydroelectric power to supply more than a quarter of all power used in the state of New York and Ontario.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown, New York.

PHOTO GALLERIES

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The Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624; two years later they established the colony of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. In 1664, the English took control of the area and renamed it New York. One of the original 13 colonies, New York played a crucial political and strategic role during the American Revolution.

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A9: I chose this article because concrete is used in pretty much all construction whether its residential,commercial or heavy-civil. Self-healing concrete is just an amazing concept to me. 

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A9: I chose this article because concrete is used in pretty much all construction whether its residential,commercial or heavy-civil. Self-healing concrete is just an amazing concept to me. 

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the 'living concrete' that can heal itself - cnn

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The 'living concrete' that can heal itself - CNN

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A8: I chose this article because 3D printing interests me and to see that one day entire houses or other buildings and structures, or even just parts can be created by a printer is amazing. 

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A8: I chose this article because 3D printing interests me and to see that one day entire houses or other buildings and structures, or even just parts can be created by a printer is amazing. 

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3D Printing Blog: Tutorials, News, Trends and Resources | Sculpteo

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Posted By Antu Nehuen on Oct 7, 2015 |

In this first episode of our How 3D Printing will Revolutionize your Industry series we will tell you what has been going on in recent years in the Architecture and Construction Industry in connection with 3D printing.

Architecture studios inside 3D printers?!

If you are reading this there is a good chance that you are already one of us, a 3D printing fan, or at least you are on your way to becoming one. And there is a good reason for that, as 3D printing technologies are revolutionizing the way we interact and translate ideas to objects, which is a key process for anyone working in either of these industries. As a matter of fact, finding a 3D printer in an architecture studio is becoming pretty normal these days but... How far are we from witnessing an architecture studio inside a 3D printer?!

Yes, you read correctly! Crazy as it may sound, 3D printers building entire houses or offices is starting to happen and is probably bound to become something fairly normal in the future. But let us back up a little bit, to understand how the relationship between architecture, construction, and 3D printing started and try to imagine where these three are going.

Looking back: how we got 3D printers in construction

Originally, architecture firms were among the first businesses to adopt 3D printing technologies to ease and simplify the creation of their architecture models. This important step between a conceptualized design and the first brick in the construction site helps architects to study the interaction of volumes and shapes, communicate design ideas, explore how a design looks from different perspectives, visualize light interactions and even the key phase of selling the design. Back in the old times and especially today with modern sophisticated designs, manual architecture modeling requires skilled craftsmanship and a tremendous amount of time, so it was natural to evolve towards a faster, more accurate and easier option.

How far can we go with 3D printed houses?

The questions that follow then are, can architects and builders do more than just small sized models with additive manufacturing technologies? How far can we go in the adoption of 3D printing to achieve better looking, faster to build and cheaper homes? According to the latest results by several projects determined to 3D print homes and buildings, we could say that the answer is "pretty far".

As one of the pioneers in this kind of technology, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis of University of Southern California has spent more than 15 years developing his Contour Crafting system. First unveiled in 2006, this system works in a similar fashion to a desktop FDM 3D printer but it uses a fast drying concrete mix instead of plastic and it is installed on the building site instead of your desktop. Then, this giant 3D printer builds up layer after layer, potentially doing also all the plumbing, wiring and painting work completely automated until, 24 hours later, an almost finished house is ready. Among important advantages like its complex shape capabilities and blazing fast speed compared with traditional building methods , such system inherits one of the best characteristics of all 3D technologies: almost no wasted material, which in conjunction with its automated nature could mean more affordable housing, at least when this technology fully matures and reaches widespread use.

Crazy 3D Printing construction projects: 3D printed base on the moon!

As if all this wasn't impressive enough, NASA has even supported a study of the feasibility of this concept to be used to build a lunar settlement taking advantage of local materials i.e. lunar soil, instead of the almost prohibitive approach of transporting prefabricated modules, especially if the long-term target is to continuously expand operations on the moon.

3D printing more affordable homes, especially in poverty stricken areas

Although the only one with extraterrestrial goals, this is just one of several projects moving forward in the same direction. The Italian team behind World's Advanced Saving Project or WASP Printers recently presented a scaled up version of their Delta 2040 printer and by "scaled up" we mean, a colossal 39-feet-high structure. Despite being a work in progress, this is a big leap forward for this clay/concrete 3D printer towards a simple goal: "create a means for affordable fabrication of homes, and provide these means to the locals in poverty stricken areas". According to a press release on WASP's website, United Nations estimates an average daily requirement of an astounding 100,000 homes over the next 15 years to cope with the world's growing population, making a fast and inexpensive way of building houses not only a great idea but a necessity.

Wasp 12m clay 3D printer

New building materials, faster construction, reduced waste

On a more advanced stage of development but not without its controversies, Chinese company Winsun has also made major headlines in the 3D printing community a few times during the last two years when they unveiled a group of ten small houses, allegedly build in one single day, as well as a 6-story building and an entire mansion. To achieve this, big segments of the structures are 3D printed on their factory using a mixture of concrete and construction waste, and a staggering 20 feet tall, 33 feet wide and 132 feet long 3D printer. Once all the components have been fabricated, they are shipped in and assembled together, just as if they were Lego bricks. According to the company this method allows them to save up to 60% of the materials usually needed with traditional building methods and requires 80% less labor, leading to more affordable housing, at least in theory.

Challenges for construction companies

Unfortunately for innovation, there is the possibility that the strong resemblance between this system and the one developed by Contour Crafting might not be just a mere coincidence. After several unsuccessful tries to reach a Winsun representative by Brian Krassenstein ( 3dprint.com author) to learn more about their technology and reported achievements he ended up discovering what could be yet another story of actual innovation being . Even if such allegations were not true, there are still plenty of questions to be asked to all existing developers of building printing technologies. Currently, none of these systems can handle major elements of the construction process of a regular building, such as electrical services, plumbing, doors, windows, joinery, and finishes. All of which would still take a significant amount of time and manual labor to be installed into the 3D printed shell in conventional ways, thus reducing the overall savings in time and cost while using a significantly more sophisticated system. Also, studies on structural stability against earthquakes and winds are yet to be done before anyone can safely live in a 3D printed house. poorly copied abroad

The good news is that none of these challenges is insurmountable and sooner or later we will probably see 3D printed habitable structures and architecture. Also, there are some structures that may require fewer capabilities that we can achieve with our current technology. A great example of this is what the Dutch company MX3D is doing with their direct 3D metal printer. According to their website, they cleverly took advantage of a commercially available industrial robot, equipped it with an advanced welding machine and coded its brains to create remarkably amazing metal structures with no support material whatsoever, just building them in mid-air.

www.mx3d.com

Feats like the bridge they are about to build in Amsterdam are nothing short of impressive but simultaneously simpler than printing entire functional buildings. It actually wouldn't be a big surprise that the future technologies that allow us to print bigger, safer and faster end up being an integration of all the developments that are taking place today. Either way, most definitely is going to get interesting.

Lastly, if waiting for the future is not your thing, you are also free to follow Andrey Rudenko's steps and build your own building 3D printer at home, to start forging the future of construction today in your backyard .

Although we still can't offer you a real-size 3D printed house, for sure we can print your architectural model both in as well as for a hyperrealistic look of your project. Learn all you can do for your architecture project in our multicolor material Architecture and Construction page !

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Construction Industry in connection with 3D printing

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Posted By Antu Nehuen on Oct 7, 2015 | If you are reading this there is a good chance that you are already one of us, a 3D printing fan, or at least you are on your way to becoming one.

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V5: Assembling the World's Tallest Bridge

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V5: Assembling the World's Tallest Bridge

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The Millau Viaduct was built over one of the deepest, widest, and windiest canyons in the world. The two ginormous bridge deck pieces were slid together and assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle. #ImpossibleEngineering Wednesdays 9/8 on Science http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/impossible-engineering/ 5 Incredible Facts About the Orion Spacecraft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCtWNYpx0Ak Subscribe to Science Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribeScience Check out SCI2 for infinitely awesome science videos.

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Watch a 57-Story Building Go Up in 19 Days | WSJ

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V3: Construction Management Career Video

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V3: Construction Management Career Video

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There's more to construction than swinging a hammer or digging a ditch. Watch this video to learn more about the exciting careers available in construction management.

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P1: I chose this picture because FMCC is where I transferred from and where i decided to start taking Construction Technology which led me here.

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P1: I chose this picture because FMCC is where I transferred from and where i decided to start taking Construction Technology which led me here.

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A7: The reason I chose this article is because when I was in eleventh grade I had to do a career project. I chose construction manger. At the time I had no idea of what they did or anything like that. When I completed the project is when I decided that's what I wanted to do. 

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A7: The reason I chose this article is because when I was in eleventh grade I had to do a career project. I chose construction manger. At the time I had no idea of what they did or anything like that. When I completed the project is when I decided that's what I wanted to do. 

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Construction Managers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Construction managers plan, coordinate, budget, and supervise construction projects from start to finish.

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A6: I chose this article because I have always been fascinated with heavy equipment and their capabilities. Playing with my toys in the sandbox when i was little sparked my interest with heavy equipment and the construction industry. To see self driven machinery I feel is good because its safer and can be more efficient but at the same time its taking away the job of an operator. 

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A6: I chose this article because I have always been fascinated with heavy equipment and their capabilities. Playing with my toys in the sandbox when i was little sparked my interest with heavy equipment and the construction industry. To see self driven machinery I feel is good because its safer and can be more efficient but at the same time its taking away the job of an operator. 

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Imagine walking onto a construction site to find a fleet of bulldozers, graders, and excavators doing site prep without any operators behind the controls. Upon closer inspection, you notice some of the equipment is cab-less with no manual controls. The operators might be standing at a safe distance operating the machine remotely. Maybe the equipment is operating itself while someone monitors the work from the jobsite trailer or even back at the office 50 miles away. Autonomous and semi-autonomous construction equipment are the future and we'll see it lead to safer jobsites with the work being done more efficiently and accurately than today.

Self-driving, or autonomous, cars have gotten a ton of attention over the past couple of years with nearly every automaker along with companies like Google and Uber working to bring driverless cars to the market by the year 2020. The same technology being used to deliver us self-driving cars is bringing us self-operating or remote controlled construction equipment.

So how does it work? A 3D map of the existing site is created using laser scanners, total stations, mobile mapping and aerial imaging using UAVs, or drones. Civil engineers then create site development plans which are then converted to 3D models. The autonomous machines are then deployed on site and sensors, cameras and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) such as GPS are used to pinpoint the equipment's location on the site. The software uses real-time data transmitted from the heavy equipment along with the 3D map of the existing site and the 3D model from the site plans to instruct the equipment on where to go and how much earth to excavate, position the dozer blades for grading, etc.

The whole time the equipment is operating it is sending back data on the work being completed so the software is continuously updating the 3D map to reflect the constantly changing environment in regards to the terrain and site conditions. The equipment is also transmitting telematics data, basically real-time diagnostics data from the various components on the equipment, such as speed, fuel consumption, engine temperature, etc. This real-time monitoring allows for an operator to ensure that the work is being done accurately and that the equipment is operating as efficiently as possible.

Some worry that this technology will lead to the extinction of the heavy equipment operators in the construction industry. In reality, the opposite is probably true. Skilled equipment operators will still be in high demand as more autonomous and semi-autonomous equipment starts popping up on jobsites. Experienced operators will be needed to monitor the work being done and to step in take the controls, either remotely or manually, for more advanced tasks or if something goes wrong. We might even get to a point where skilled operators are used to teach the machines how to operate on their own.

In addition to skilled operators remaining a hot commodity, autonomous and semi-autonomous equipment will allow owners to employ workers with little to no experience. The reason being that the learning curve to adequately operate equipment can be greatly reduced. Owners not wanting to invest the time and resources to train an inexperienced candidate on standard equipment will probably be more open to autonomous equipment since they could have a new employee up and running in a fraction of the time. This would open up the labor pool to address the growing worker shortage the construction industry is currently facing.

Here's a look at what some of the heavy equipment manufacturers are working on to bring autonomous and semi-autonomous machines to the construction site:

Komatsu introduced their Intelligent Machine Control (IMC) back in 2013 with their D61i-23 dozer with fully automatic blade control. The blade is automatically controlled according to 3D CAD construction data with the coordinates computed from design drawings. Last year they launched their SmartConstruction program last year which paired their IMC equipment with drones from San Francisco-based Skycatch. The drones are used to created 3D maps of the terrain which are used in conjunction with the 3D models of the finished site plans to allow the equipment to operate unmanned to perform the site work.

Caterpillar has seen great success with their CAT Command technology equipped on their mining equipment. Current capabilities include remote control and semi-autonomous operation of their dozing and underground loading equipment as well as complete autonomous operation of their haul trucks. Caterpillar is currently working to bring this technology to their line of construction equipment.

Last year Case CE combined their SiteWatch telematics and SiteControl machine control solutions technology together as SiteSolutions in order to improve and advance their current offerings. Case has been in partnership with Leica Geosystems since 2014 in order to better integrate machine control systems into their equipment.

Volvo CE is working with a number of universities to create autonomous construction equipment that will improve energy efficiency tenfold, be emission free and result in zero accidents. The goal is to have equipment that is aware of its surroundings and able to adapt to changing conditions. Volvo also tracks human behavior with their Humans in the Loop (HITL) simulators to create machines that are aware of operator's workloads and can provide assistance with autonomous function and support systems.

We'll also see autonomous vehicles making their way onto work zones for road construction projects. Royal Truck & Equipment is piloting a program with the Florida DOT that will remove drivers from behind the wheel of crash trucks used in work zones. The trucks use autonomous technology created by Micro Systems, Inc. which allows the unmanned crash truck to follow a lead vehicle that transmits GPS data, referred to as "eCrumbs" back to the crash truck instructing it when to turn, brake and what speed to travel.

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Entering The Age Of Self-Driving Construction Equipment | ConstructConnect.com

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Imagine walking onto a construction site to find a fleet of bulldozers, graders, and excavators doing site prep without any operators behind the controls. Upon closer inspection, you notice some of the equipment is cab-less with no manual controls. The operators might be standing at a safe distance operating the machine remotely.

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A5: I chose this article because I enjoy the building of skyscrapers. I think the technology is incredible. One World Trade Center is also a national monument and very significant.

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A5: I chose this article because I enjoy the building of skyscrapers. I think the technology is incredible. One World Trade Center is also a national monument and very significant.

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The 104-story building, a joint venture between The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and The Durst Organization, is designed to be the safest commercial structure in the world and the premier c ommercial business address in New York.

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A4: I chose this article because it is brief but also a good history lesson. I find it important to know the origins of the skyscraper.

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From a 10-story building that marked the beginning of the skyscraper age to the Empire State Building to China's 2749-foot monstrosity, towers just keep getting taller.

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A3: I chose this video because its read from the aspect of a business owner needing a CM to help their business grow. I like it because it shows how CM's help the owner relax and get their project done on time and within budget. We make the owners life easier so they don't have to cooridinate their project.

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Top 5 Ways a Construction Manager Makes Your Life Easier

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In the world of business, those companies which are not growing are not advancing. For any business, growth brings the potential for more customers, greater innovation, and larger profits.

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V1: I chose this video because it is a personal video of a family friend of mine using his drone at the site of his brothers ICF home. I chose the video for three reasons; one because I know them, two because I am interested in drone use on a construction site, and three because I find ICF home construction interesting and I believe energy efficiency is very important.

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Blocks House Project Construction Building Machine

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ICF Home -- Quadlock System -- Concrete Pour

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A2: Technology is everywhere in todays society. I feel that technology in the construction industry is behind but is coming quick. I enjoy technology and find the new technology coming into the industry very helpful and interesting.

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The building site of the future is going to look very different to the one we are all used to today.

Instead of men in high-visibility jackets and hard hats, there are going to be drones buzzing overhead, robotic bulldozers and 3D printers churning out new structures.

That at least is the hope of those making technological solutions.

But first they have to convince the traditionally risk-averse construction industry that such change is necessary.

US start-up Skycatch is using drones on some high-profile building projects - although it cannot name them because of commercial sensitivity.

The drones give a bird's-eye view of a site and provide progress reports, speed up the logistics of construction by monitoring deliveries and offer real-time updates on any changes that may need to be made to the plans.

Japanese construction machinery giant Komatsu has gone one step further - using the Skycatch drones to provide the eyes for automated bulldozers. The drones send 3D models of a building site to a computer which then feeds the information to unmanned machinery to plot their course.

Skycatch's chief executive Christian Sanz thinks such combinations of technology could kickstart a robotic building site.

"The more visible data that you have on a site, the more you'll see machines and robots moving things around rather than humans."

One of the potential solutions to the housing crisis could be 3D printing, which is already making an impact on the construction industry - cutting both the time and cost of building houses.

The UN estimates that by 2030 approximately three billion people will require housing and has mooted 3D printing as one possible solution.

A team in the School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University has been working on the technology since 2007, first developing a 3D concrete printer within a frame and more recently adapting it to work with a robotic arm.

Using a robotic arm means that the team can print up to 10 times faster and create a huge variety of forms, including curved, hollow and geometrically complex shapes.

The group's YouTube video of the system in action has garnered over half a million views, something lead researcher Prof Simon Austin finds astonishing.

"I am still trying to get my head around the fact that a video about concrete - a material normally seen as boring - has had so many views," he said.

It indicates, he hopes, a shift in thinking - not only from the public but also from the construction industry, which is traditionally "risk-averse".

"I think that companies who become early adopters of 3D printing will learn a huge amount about automation and robotics and how they can be exploited on a site," he said.

The team decided to work with concrete as their main material because as Prof Austin says: "There are very good reasons why the built world is made mainly out of steel and concrete - including durability, mechanical performance and aesthetic properties."
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Two years ago the research moved into a new phase and the team is now building an industry prototype, working with partners - construction firm Skanska, architects Foster and Partners, materials supplier Tarmac and Scandinavian robotics firm ABB.

The prototype is being tested at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, which to date has only worked with hi-tech industries - this represents its first collaboration with the construction industry.

Skanska's director of innovation Rob Francis has high hopes for the technology.

He said: "3D concrete printing, when combined with a type of mobile prefabrication centre, has the potential to reduce the time needed to create complex elements of buildings from weeks to hours. We expect to achieve a level of quality and efficiency which has never been seen before in construction."

Prof Austin sees the future of 3D printing in construction as a way of printing key components of buildings rather than whole structures created in China.

"I'm not convinced 3D-printed concrete would appeal to the high-end of the housing market and in the developing world labour is cheap and they have developed ways of building homes with local materials that have worked for hundreds of years.

"So the idea of bringing a gantry and printing machine to a site to print whole houses is a bit far-fetched," he said. "On the other hand, printing building components where a variety of geometry is sought is an attractive approach that will soon be realised."

Nature-inspired designs

It isn't just concrete that is getting a hi-tech makeover.

Design studio Emerging Objects has come up with 3D-printed porous bricks called Cool Bricks that can be filled with water to bring down temperatures.

Each 3D-printed cool brick, has a three-dimensional ceramic lattice-like structure that can hold water in its pores, like a sponge. When air flows through the porous brick it absorbs evaporated water vapour, becoming cooler in the process.

According to the designers, if all the walls of a home were built with porous, water-logged cool bricks, the air flow through them could bring down the home's internal temperature.

Increasingly designers and architects are looking to nature for inspiration and at the Institute for Computational Design, David Correa is convinced that buildings will only be truly smart when they are built with smart materials - many of which can be found in the natural world.

"Things that have lots of mechanics, or software that gets outdated or sensors that go wrong mean that maintenance of smart buildings is an ongoing battle," he told the BBC.

"Pine cones on the other hand have been working for millions of years so imagine a roof surface that can open when it is sunny and close when it rains."

The team designed just such a structure and is now working on creating new materials that can respond to a variety of environmental conditions.

Building with air

For Allison Dring, head of start-up Elegant Embellishments, it is important that the materials we build with give something back to the environment.

She has designed a smog-eating facade that is coated with a special paint made from titanium dioxide, a pollution-fighting technology that is activated by daylight. It absorbs the fumes generated from traffic and converts them first into nitric acid and then into calcium nitrate, which is harmless.

One of its facades has been put on the side of a hospital in Mexico City.

"It has reduced pollution of about 1,000 cars per day," said Ms Dring.

The firm is in talks with other building owners but, said Ms Dring, it can often be a hard sell to persuade them of the need for such a facade.

"Building owners have to think about investing beyond their building to the wider urban context," she said.

Elegant Embellishments is now working on a new material, made from agricultural bio-waste, that it claims will be carbon negative.

"If you burn the material without oxygen it becomes a pure form of carbon. You are building from air and just by building you can reduce CO2," she added.

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The building site of the future is going to look very different to the one we are all used to today. Instead of men in high-visibility jackets and hard hats, there are going to be drones buzzing overhead, robotic bulldozers and 3D printers churning out new structures.

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A1:Drones fascinate me. There are endless possibilities in the construction industry that drones could be used for. I have a family friend that started his own drone business and has done projects with the canal system, residential construction and also search and rescue.

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By Blake Anderson

Are you a construction engineer or are you perhaps rebuilding your home? Or just remodeling your home for a fresh look? From scoping out the big picture above to drastically improving safety and efficiency in your business, drones are a great way to make sure that your construction project is the best it can be.

For as long as humans have been on the planet, the construction industry has existed in one form or another. Though it may have been primitive, there were many different projects being erected, from temples and ancient structures, right on up to luxury homes with 4-car garages.

These days you will see many more of the latter going up, as well as mid sized homes and condominium lofts.

With rising population in huge cities, many building projects must go up, as they did in Sao Paulo and Hong Kong decades ago. When these projects were started, many human lives were put at risk, because at the time, scaffolding and cranes were some of the only options used to complete the job of erecting these awe-inspiring structures.

It boggles the mind to try and think about what those landscapes must have looked like with all of these towering structures in the making.

Planning

In all these projects, one thing is common, LOTS of legwork, stamina and missed details. Construction projects are complicated, time-consuming & resource-intensive projects.

But, once you are done with the project, they are so worth it, right? So why not get imaginative and employ technology to make this once in a lifetime project (or if you're a builder/construction engineer - your everyday life) much better?

This is exactly what many have done, and from scouting the site to the finishing touches, drones are absolutely a very big part of the picture.

You already have lots of software employed, are using sophisticated measuring tools, good quality construction materials and so on. Have you ever thought: what if I could get a bird's eye view to my project, without employing a full blown flying machine, jet pack or a helicopter? It sure would help if you do so.

Or, what if every time there is a problem at the site, you do not have to run there and are able to literally employ eyes and ears on the job site?

You can do all of the above and more with a drone. In fact, most of the advanced construction projects are transformed with drones. It is only a matter of time that drones become mainstream technology for your construction projects. Why not spearhead this revolution?

Now with options to read geothermal levels, longer battery life, and incredibly high-resolution cameras, camera drones are more sought-after in the construction arena than ever.

Many project managers are surprised at the ease of use and learning curve once they get started, and many seek to outsource the drone flying to someone else: either way, the boosted productivity is noticeable instantly. Read through these quick pointers to get started on how to use a drone in construction projects.

It is no secret that helicopters were the main source of overhead viewing during the earlier days of film making and construction: they were pretty risky to use, and resulted in quite a few tragedies along the way.

The footage that visionaries got from them was epic, but as soon as DJI introduced the Phantom product line and many other manufacturers followed suit, surveyors and construction workers realized they could have an eye above them at a fraction of the cost.

Uses For Drones in Construction Projects

Drone For Surveying

You can use drones to quickly survey your job site and build maps. Instead of using human resources, heavy machinery & expensive surveying tools, that produce complex data, you can get the job done in half the time & money, with greater accuracy.

A project manager in Georgia lamented about the use of drones and how they help was pretty groundbreaking in terms of progress and the bottom line. Since it is very common for construction workers to move around from company to company, a project manager can be asked to monitor 30% more jobs during transition times.

With the use of drones, he was able to eliminate all of the extra time needed by getting information quicker, and delivered in a much more concise format.

Drones in construction have made surveying much easier by playing a huge role in making data collection simple. You as the owner or manager can focus your energy on putting to use the data that is collected, rather than spending painstaking hours figuring out how to acquire it.

These small crafts are easily piloted by remote, and can transmit quickly the data they are gleaning to a live feed and SD data storage instantaneously.

This makes the task of creating very accurate maps and providing valuable data to numerous companies much easier. Information that you acquire can be uploaded right away to a server, where it can be accessed by individuals all over the globe who you allow authorization.

Drones can reach high-risk areas and tightly-squeezed in locations that are quite a bit harder to reach with a human crew.

Project managers can also opt to use 3D laser scanners that fly over the designated region and give the surveyor quality images of what the terrain appears like.

This data is then used in a process called GIS mapping, which creates a digital map through a mix of statistical analysis and cartography. These maps have a very high definition and allow for the viewing of very specific information about an area that's easy for the manager to access.

As many national entities will soon offer delivery via drone, proprietors who are in the business of getting their goods quickly to customers will stand up and take notice of regulations that may change drastically in the days to come.

Analyzing the Data

Models such as high-resolution 3d types use browser-based technology so users can simply share by sending a link, and the client can then log in, view the data, and export it to any local entities if they need.

For work on structures such as dikes and dirt containment, this is one way to very easily visualize the progress of the very important duties.

DSMs, or "digital surface models", show the dark blue areas that need the most focus on them, like areas where the dike sometimes needs to drain.

3D models can also allow clients to get an orbital view of the entire site, where they can see important variations in the dirt patterns that show where varying levels of progress is working well, or running into issues.

Brassfield and Gorrie is a firm that began using drones for inspection several years ago, and they now have a 24-person team fully dedicated to improving the process with the use of building information modeling.

They are equipped with DJI Inspire series drones, and reported that they were a great help during a 61-acre hospital construction site job in Florida.

They were able to successfully use Drone Deploy to compare the model of the existing site with the design file, and the final product was a very useful heat map that showed the external contractor's progress in amazing detail.

Green areas were used to show elevation matches in the design plans, and blue areas where that elevation was too low.

Using these models allowed the team to have access to earthwork on the site much more quickly than they ever could have using manpower on the ground, and the experienced field engineer claimed that it would have required over 1,000 survey shots to accurately complete the daunting task.

Those shots would also have not accurately shown spoil patches, trenches, and the detailed contours of the different areas on the job.

Showing Clients the Progress

When clients stay away from the job site and cannot afford to come to the site again & again & your current pictures are just not doing justice, drones can be an inventive way to show clients the progress of building, renovation, or inspection.

If clients are not able to come view the job site regularly, drones are very helpful in providing a visual standpoint that they wouldn't have seen from the ground.

It is not just the task of showing the client what is happening if they can't be there, it can also help with projects that haven't even begun yet.

Drones do a great job of giving designers and architects an idea of what putting an adjacent structure up will look like, and how the aesthetics will change a very large project in a community in regards to open space on the ground and upwards.

Monitoring Job Sites

When you have to frequently shuttle between multiple job sites, or have taken up simultaneous renovation & facelift for multiple properties; putting up a drone to monitor the progress, work, safety standards and much more can save you a lot of energy, time & money.

When your workers are on a job site, the main objective that any project manager could wish for is keeping them productive. It is understandable that energy levels will ebb and flow, but you can also detect if any equipment shows up missing, or if other areas may need more workers designated to them for special accommodations.

If safety standards are one of the elements you are trying to monitor, one important aspect to keep in mind is that you will be flying a bit low to the ground.

As soon as a pilot has experimented with this for awhile it is fine, but this is a part of the operation where you could be buzzing a bit lower than for general birds eye photography. Saving time from traveling between job sites is also a great benefit, as a worker at the adjacent site can fly a drone up and transmit you the photos or video.

Inspecting Structures

Instead of employing heavy software, lots of people and relying on complex readings, you can employ a drone to get a first-hand view of how solid your structures are, how aesthetically pleasing they are coming up, and where they are moving out of the plan, all in a hurry.

Commercial building management relies on inspection for wear and tear, and the most effective ways to do this are at least once a year.

When a structure begins to deteriorate, it is one of the quickest ways to watch its value do the same. Traditional ways that buildings are inspected can involve precarious climbing up onto the roof, and other parts of the structure using scaffolding or a harness.

The element of time-saving is one that drones really make a difference with here, and use of drones in construction industry have helped by leaps and bounds. Images captured during the inspection are very easy to use in modeling, and the rates to hire a drone pilot are less than what you can expect to pay to insure the person who would have had to manually scour the building or site.

Construction drones are also used during inspection to give actual investors a better look at what they hold a stake in if someone very important to the operation is in a different city or state, images of current property that will soon be repaired can be streamed live. This up-close approach really helps with making investors and clients feel as if they are a part of the process, even when they may be miles away.

Pilots for drones used in construction working under the Federal Aviation Administration Section 333 Exemption are absolutely required to have insurance. One of the dangers of hiring subcontractors is that sometimes they will even send out someone else to the job site if they get busy, and you want the operator on site who is properly bonded.

Another thing to ask for from those who will be helping you with inspection footage is for videos of past jobs they have completed. It is generally a good idea for construction drones surveyors and operators to at the very least have a 1080p on up to a 4K video camera, which allows you to properly examine damage to structures in greater detail.

A several hundred foot tall TV tower on the edge of a job site was one object that was tackled to be visualized by a team using drones. For an area that covered 78 acres, the flight time was around one hour and 15 minutes, and they captured 997 images.

The survey helped deliver an ortho mosaic map, elevation map, and 3d model on a cloud to the client, who was more than impressed with the accuracy and depth presented. It would have taken a team of two surveyors an entire week by using traditional methods, and it only took the drone operators with a Phantom 3 an hour and 15 minutes to cover the area in depth.

Better Safety Records

With your eyes & ears in the sky, all the time, you will be in a much better position to locate that unstable pillar, precariously balanced laborer and not deep enough excavations. If, you keep up the drone - survey, gradually you will build an excellent safety system and your reputation.

Drones in construction can do a great job of hovering over a location that is too dangerous for a worker to get to, and can save lives by monitoring workplace conditions in areas that are very hard to reach. In manufacturing plants, drones can help with reconnaissance, sending images of what kind of conditions can be expected before a worker is dispatched.

Plant reliability and maintenance is one area of safety code that can benefit in many ways with the use of drones in construction industry. It is possible to send images back to onlooking engineering and maintenance teams, and identify issues right away that may lead to a malfunction or breakdown in the future.

Accidents and injuries are the main items that managers are looking to prevent by using construction drones to improve safety. Since robotic use is already at an all-time high in plants, there may be even more activities in the future that are deemed risky pulled off successfully with their use. Drilling and welding can take place on the open seas, in dangerous caves, and other locations that pose serious threats to safety.

When managers are concerned with safety issues, the old way of doing things was to walk around the plant and take a look. It seems sensible, because a human pair of eyes and ears on the floor will be able to quickly recognize any problems with safety.

But with the use of a drone and monitoring device, safety managers can see what is happening in real time, and which areas can use drastic improvement.

Firms that use prefabrication or modular construction have benefited greatly from using drones in construction to increase productivity and minimize the risk of mistakes that could be very costly in the long run.

When you can use drone imaging to show erection sequences, crane locations, and perimeter security like fencing, you can view them repeatedly to pinpoint where projects begin to get congested, and even predict where hazards could pop up.

The use of 3d visualization can drastically aid those who are looking to check the reach of a crane with construction drones. You can continuously go over data that will help predict the risks in case a load falls, or to access areas that the long and low reach of a crane may collide with.

Making very informed decisions without having the risk of being onsite during a weather issue or period of social unrest could be very beneficial as well.

According to a closely-watched Usability assessment by Georgia Tech, being able to skirt around a job site quickly with the use of a drone can improve the efficiency of a manager in charge of safety by up to 50 percent.

At close glance, this is not surprising: analyzing areas of risk and safety issues are much easier in real-time, and the days of an old-fashioned clipboard for data have long been over in many plants.

Keeping the Project On-track, On-Budget

By identifying the parts of the project that are going off-track, having the ability to prevent any causalities, rigorously monitoring your job sites; you will be much better prepared to remove any additions to project time and cost.

As many project managers know, real-time control is some of the most difficult to keep a handle on. The more information you have at your fingertips, the more control you have over your project ultimately. If something goes wrong on the site, you will lose drastically less money if you can correct the problem very quickly.

Making crucial decisions about when a project is going to close is essential to the stoppage of cash flow that can literally bleed during this juncture of building.

Using drones allows you to have more real-time detailed control over the project, so you can keep track of the progress visually, and achieve closure at perhaps a quicker time then previously estimated.

Looking back to see what went well on a project and what did not is one of the most important ways to figure out what can be done in the future for profitability, and will help the manager figure out how to execute other projects more efficiently.

Looking for drones construction applications can always shape the next step in your business massively, and help you as the boss keep your eyes out for other ways to generate revenue, and other ways to make things operate at a higher standard.

We are now absolutely in a time period where nearly everyone in major metropolitan areas has caught on to just how useful drones can be. As regulations change in the near future and construction site managers get on board with new uses and applications, seeing drones buzz around the new construction site in your city will be just as commonplace as the sight of hard hats themselves!

Looking for other great articles on dronethusiast, check out our cheap drones reviews!

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6 Great Uses for Contruction Drones - Dronethusiast

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By Blake Anderson Are you a construction engineer or are you perhaps rebuilding your home? Or just remodeling your home for a fresh look? From scoping out the big picture above to drastically improving safety and efficiency in your business, drones are a great way to make sure that your construction project is the best it can be.