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

Image courtesy of UC Berkeley PEER Center Shake up BridgePBEE improves study of soil, structure interaction during simulated earthquake. Related Links: Download BridgePBEE BridgePBEE examples Bridge analysis software to model the interaction of soil, foundation and structure in simulated earthquakes weighs a host of variables to achieve results. Making such a complex process user-friendly is a challenge.BridgePBEE, a graphical pre- and post-processor performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) analysis tool, aspires to do just that. The beta version is available for free download from the University of California, Berkeley's Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center.The PC-based tool lets engineers conduct PBEE analysis

Photo top, courtesy of Rampart Hydro Services. Graphic, bottom, courtesy of U.C. Berkeley Peer Center Data-driven Rampart Hydro Services long used FileMaker's databaseprogram to keep job information. Now it has used a new version to build an app. Related Links: FileMaker Product Line FileMaker techniques blog One hot IT market these days is developing business apps. But some contractors are using an old tool to build their own.Rampart Hydro Services, a hydro demolition firm in Coraopolis, Pa., has long used Apple's FileMaker product to manage project data. Recently, James Pierson, IT and facilities manager, began using a new version, FileMaker

Related Links: A summary of the CIFE presentations Over the last 10 years, BIM/IPD/VDC technologies have matured. Design and construction teams have mastered the tools and  the industry has progressed beyond the tentative exploratory stages. There are clear advantages in exploiting the technologies. The imperative now is to develop strategies for managing the technologies and deploying the tools.The point was made abundantly clear at the annual CIFE Summer Program, June 20-21, when presenter after presenter delivered reports on real projects that demonstrated breakthrough performance improvements in areas that included project quality, schedule, cost, energy and design-construction processes. CIFE Executive Director

Related Links: ENR FutureTech Conference Agenda FutureTech for Jobsites? CIOs Need to See ROI First Jim Balding, CEO and founder of the architecture and design- technology research firm The ANT Group, has three passions: buildings, technology and improving communication. Balding will be among the presenters who will highlight game-changing technology at ENR's FutureTech conference in San Francisco on July 10. He recently chatted with ENR about key trends.  Balding What's an emerging tech trend that will disrupt how the AEC industry works? One of the trends that's starting to emerge is digital fabrication. It [enables me] to model something, highly

Related Links: Vela Systems FAQ on Acquisition In the wake of Autodesk's acquisition of mobile software tools provider Vela Systems, the companies are taking steps to reassure customers about Autodesk's support of Vela's products. The deal brings Vela, a field-management software player with BIM-in-the-cloud expertise, into Autodesk's orbit of CAD and BIM tools for every sector of the construction industry.As the companies merge sales teams and develop marketing strategy at Autodesk's Waltham, Mass., headquarters, customers should see no changes "in terms of what they can expect from their Vela relationship," said Jim Lynch, vice president of Autodesk's Building and Strategic

Related Links: DeWalt Mobile Pro at the iTunes App Store A new mobile app launched on May 2 by the toolmaker DeWalt lets contractors and tradespeople perform hundreds of calculations in the field, with instant feedback to show how the calculation was performed.The free DeWalt Mobile Pro app for the iPhone, iPod or iPad has five basic calculations as well as the option of adding "packs" for hundreds of trade-specific calculations and reference materials at various costs.The basic app includes a construction calculator for solving complex jobsite math, such as estimating the quantity of brick-mortar ties, the sand and cement

Image Courtesy of Trimble Second-stage tests will use Trimble's Ti GNSS Choke Ring Antennas to improve multipath mitigation for even greater precision. Related Links: Commercial Warning Buoy Launched Shipboard researchers from the University of Hawaii whose instruments unintentionally recorded the passing of a tsunami propose that commercial ships be equipped with similar devices to create an ad-hoc tsunami detection network at a fraction of the cost of deep sea buoys.The scientists were returning from Guam, where they had been measuring sea elevation in February 2010, when their precision GPS picked up a long-wavelength, open-water tsunami generated by an 8.8 magnitude

Photo by Shutterstock/ENR Related Links: Six eDiscovery Vendors Reviewed by Gartner Research Tips For Data Retention Best Practices (Gartner Research) Map of State Laws Regarding Rules of e-Discovery Move To Limit the Cost of E-Discovery in Lawsuits Gains Support More Information Tech News from ENR All it takes is one e-mail among a few million under today's rules of e-discovery. Maybe one was an offhand joke about delays or an angry post to the construction manager telling him to buzz off about the crew's safety procedures (before somebody got hurt). Maybe the firm's outdated retention policy has created too many

Developers of the first open consensus standard for the exchange of building information models hope to wipe out "lonely BIM" by greasing the wheels of collaboration among all parties involved in the creation and exchange of all different types of building information models.