Model-driven project delivery on jobsites could be taking a big leap forward with a license deal between project information management (PIM) provider Newforma and M-SIX's 3D software platform, called VEO.

Photo by Tom Sawyer New York City building permits are sprouting up with QR codes that instantly unlock vast amounts of project information. Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri thought of it, and so far, New York City may be the only city doing it, experts say, although they believe the idea will spread to other cities soon. Related Links: On the Road to Digitization Speeding Construction Recovery With Streamlined Code Review Building permits posted on New York City construction sites are sporting an intelligent look these days as older permits give way to new ones bearing QR codes—those stamp-like squares of

Courtesy Trimble Trimble's Digirod can measure grade from a rotating laser without ever touching the ground. From the "groma" with its right angles and plumb bobs used 3,000 years ago to modern-day grade rods, surveyors have been using some type of rod in their work. A new grading device claims to eliminate the need for grade rods when checking grades with a rotating laser. It compounds a laser distance meter, laser receiver, tilt sensor and digital readout to get grade readings without touching the ground at tilt angles of up to 30 degrees.Trimble Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., calls its grading instrument,

Image courtesy of Sundt Construction 3_D model section view of a plan for a trench to bury a sewer line 45 ft below grade. VDC analyzed scenario calls for a two step process to excavate a trench wide enough to hold the spoil from a second trench dug in the center to minimize hauling while maintaining safe slopes and achieving the depth required. Related Links: Read Cylwik and Dwyer's full paper: Virtual Design and Construction in Horizontal Infrastructure Projects Construction processes in vertical buildings are often repeatable—and repeated. That helps make that kind of construction a good fit for building

Related Links: Engineering News-Record Information Technology Resource Commander Integrating time, production and equipment data with accounting has long meant deciphering handwritten notes or re-keying information on spreadsheets and forms to data-entry screens. Contractors now are cleaning up that workflow with mobile data-collection systems.One enabler is ACS Connect, Brandon, Fla.,a construction software developer and consultant. Data from ACS's time-, production- and equipment-tracking product, Resource Commander, can feed into many back-office systems. The product has a growing list of users and is about to get a boost from Viewpoint Construction Software, Portland, Ore., which is preparing to release an iOS- and Android-compatible

In an experiment to sort out the differences between manufacturers' claims of individual component performance and the real-life delivery of installed photovoltaic collector arrays, one California electrical contractor has built a test facility on top of its headquarters.

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

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

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