LinkedIn remains the most popular social media site for architecture and engineering firms, according to a recent survey by Knowledge Architecture. Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill Water Social Networking Site Matches Water Providers With End Users Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK Construction companies are becoming active users of social media, but much of the chatter is hidden from

Photo courtesy of USACE As the Mississippi River swelled to dangerous levels last spring, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared to open floodways by blowing levees. Nervous populations downstream craved information about the actions and consequences. By launching a Facebook page, the Corps found it could quickly deliver critical information on the unfolding situation to the people who needed it most. The response was enormous. Photo courtesy of USACE Last spring, faced with the need to disseminate quickly updates and information to an affected constituency about the probable need to blow a levee to relieve flood pressures, the Corps

Photo courtesy of VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub Photo Credit: Owen Murphy/Louisiana DOTD Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill In Social Media, Some Conversations Are Best Kept Private Water Social Networking Site Matches Water Providers With End Users Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK One of the positive outcomes that firms report in using social media is building rapport with clients. Often, it evolves from teaming with them to help make information about

ENR Art Dept. Social Media: A Special Report Related Links: Hashtag This: Social Media Risks and Rewards in Construction VHB/Eng-Wong, Taub and PB: Building Client Relationships with Social Media Corps Finds Facebook Excels for Flood Emergency Communications Writing the Social Media Policy Handbook at Burns & McDonnell, HOK Social Media Reshape Job Hunting and Recruitment at Smith Group, CH2M Hill In Social Media, Some Conversations Are Best Kept Private Developers of a new website are hoping to use the power of social networking to launch what they call a “grassroots water revolution.” Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill created the site WaterMatch

PHOTO BY TOM SAWYER / ENR PROPERLY ENGINEERED The U.S. Embassy in Haiti survived the devastating 2010 earthquake with minimal damage to its building systems. Seismic Design Group Inc. claims its new software will help users meet code requirements for non-structural seismic bracing for piping and other building utilities typically found in ceiling plenums and mechanical rooms. The SCoPe: Seismic Calculation Program is intended to help trade contractors choose the proper anchoring and suspension systems for a given seismic zone. The software is designed for use by the construction engineers of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection system contractors.The program

Courtesy ClearEdge 3D Courtesy ClearEdge 3D Automating 3D model creation from laser point cloud data has been a dream for anyone who has modeled millions of points into 3D objects. One company now has released improved software that automatically recognizes flat surfaces, edges and cylindrical objects from point cloud data.EdgeWise Plant 2.0 from ClearEdge 3D Inc., Warrenton, Va., lessens the need to manually trace objects such as pipes, walls and joints. It uses algorithms to identify surfaces among millions of points of data collected by light detecting and ranging devices (LiDAR), such as laser scanners. It discards irrelevant data and

Many construction companies are adopting tablets on jobsites and raving about saving time and money in the process. Gartner Inc. predicts that the iPad will retain more than half the tablet market until 2015. But what about tech support in the field when the stuff breaks down? Who is helping to train users on the software that runs on the devices so that time saved with the technology doesn't turn into time spent to support it?These are some of the themes behind the tablet's rapid rise, according to recent interviews with major construction firms during a conference sponsored by field

What will be your primary computing devices over the next three to five years?The status quo is to outfit the organization with the next generation of desktops or laptops and the latest version of Microsoft Windows or perhaps a Windows Mobile OS. Every year, a larger percentage of user computing devices depreciate and are replaced with one of a few selected system configurations, depending on the organization's financial and support model. Finance divisions will always debate with senior management about the depreciation term, which can force IT support to shorten the duration between upgrades for devices in use across an

PHOTO COURTESY OF INTELLIGENT TRENCH As head of public-realm city planning, Martin Whittles manages 20,000 street openings a year for Westminster, U.K. To reduce the number of openings, the London-area municipality is investing in a web-based system that allows utilities to work together to build a digital map that pinpoints specific belowground assets.“One of our biggest problems is congestion of public works and unnecessary damage to the streets by repeatedly opening the same patch of ground,” says Whittles. “At least 20% of the openings the utilities are making are exploratory.”To avoid this redundant work, Whittles is adopting Intelligent Trench for

Related Links: Tablets Take Off in Construction Q&A: State of the Slate Technology adoption in the construction industry is growing, especially with field management software and tablet computers that are helping firms control costs and manage risk on job sites.But for some firms, technology pain points can turn into sunk costs with no demonstrable return on investment, construction executives agreed during a conference sponsored by field management software firm Vela Systems. How to manage ROI in what can be a thicket of adoption complexity such as user training, tech support, and data security?“You have to communicate your overall plan and