In today’s competitive construction economy, improving on-site management of project equipment, supplies and process is now critical. With help from Fluor Corp., Clemson University has developed the first online graduate degree program in capital project supply- chain management for construction professionals. The Clemson, S.C.-based program borrows heavily from proven industrial engineering approaches. Photo: Courtesy of Clemson University Supply-chain management in industrial settings and in construction “are quite similar,” says William Ferrell, Clemson’s industrial engineering department head. Photo: Courtesy of Fluor Better management of materials and equipment can save money. Related Links: Borderless Learning Mole Resurfaces As a Teaching Tool Separate

On Oct. 5, Autodesk reported 255,000 downloads of its AutoCAD WS Mobile app for the iOS operating system in the first five days of availability as a free app from Apple’s iTunes store. The app lets Apple iPhone, iTouch and iPad device users view, edit and share AutoCAD and DWG files through web browsers and mobile devices. More than 100,000 files were uploaded to sharing servers in the first days. “It’s an amazing response,” says Amar Hanspal, senior vice president of Autodesk platform solutions and emerging business. “We can’t add servers fast enough.” He says the application is engineered to

Infrastructure software experts say the Stuxnet worm that has disrupted many of Iran’s nuclear powerplants—and is designed to target industrial controls—escalates the data-systems protection battle. The malware is said to be the first “rootkit”-level virus coded to attack powerplants and industrial controls. “This provides a blueprint for how control systems can be exploited,” says Mark Weatherford, chief security officer for the North American Electric Reliability Corp. The NERC consortium has urged members to upgrade user policies and run system scans since researchers discovered the worm last summer. The malware is designed to target programmable logic controllers (PLCs), says Liam Omercu,

Autodesk is back for another bite of Apple. The San Raphael, Calif.-based design-software developer announced on Aug. 31 that, for the first time since 1995, the current version of AutoCAD will be available for Macintosh computers running the Apple operating system as well as for AutoCAD WS, a mobile app that lets users share AutoCAD designs in the field using Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iTouches. Illustration: Richard Demler Autodesk spokesman Noah Cole says the release gives anyone with an iOS device or a modern web browser the ability to view, edit and collaborate on an AutoCAD DWG file. “We imagine

In late July, researchers began crowd-sourced experiments with an Internet-based tool to translate photographs taken from many angles, of any object, into digital 3D models. Photo Courtesy Of Autodesk Cloud-processed model office building includes and references the vantage point of each photo contributing to the model The beauty in the idea of CAD software vendor Autodesk Labs’ Photo Scene Editor for Project Photofly, is its simplicity. The Photo Scene Editor can accept and process dozens and dozens of uploaded photos and return a model in minutes. The tool harnesses cloud computing to stitch images into a 3D matrix, using algorithms

Most scanners lack portability and versatility. A new 10-in.-long “Magic Wand,” which runs on a pair of AA batteries, stores images to a 4-GB micro-USB chip, has 24-bit color and downloads through a USB 2.0 port and cable, opens up a lot of possibilities for users. Photo by James Blum Magic Wand scanner grabs true-color, real-sized images and has a 4-GB micro-USB chip. With its 1:1 target-to-scan ratio and its ability to scan at 300 x 300 dpi in low resolution, or 600 x 600 dpi in high resolution, it becomes a potential tool for capturing jpg images to match

A new interface between a suite of design products used to create many of the world’s process and power facilities and an explosion-consequence prediction tool shortens the time needed to run safety analyses of plant designs from weeks or months to days or hours. Photo Courtesy Of Intergraph Corp. New interface between explosionanalysis and design software may boost safety. “The interface between Intergraph’s rules-based 3D design solution and GexCon’s FLACS explosion analysis software can help designers increase productivity and enhance safety before plant construction begins,” says Tom Fiske, a senior analyst with ARC Advisory Group, an industry analyst firm. GexCon,

Seeing the chain of project communications breaking down, with subcontractors e-mailing questions to architects and responses going to everyone in blizzards of chatter, Chris Ross, an electrical contractor in Sacramento,Calif., decided to restore order. Photos By Tom Sawyer Mobile Plan Room, an iPad app that works in tandem with the BuilditLive site, provides access to the documents folder so that plans can be opened and viewed while users are out in the field. Related Links: Online Construction: Mobile Plan Room demo He created the project collaboration portal www.BuilditLive.com, which launched in late June with one major twist. “We are not

Geospatial mapping and object- recognition algorithms being developed by researchers in Virginia may soon cut the cost of managing assets like signs and guardrails along highways. Photo: Don Talend, Write Results Inc. The IP-S2 is mounted on a van to survey sign and guardrail conditions at highway speeds. Photo:Eva Kille Sawyer Jesus de la Garza, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Center for Highway Asset Management Programs (CHAMPS), Blacksburg, Va., expects to start phase two of his research this fall using a TopCon IP-S2 geographic information system—a combination of a Global Positioning System and a

A new pocket wizard developed for energy-aware homeowners may also help contractors give quick-and-easy answers to questions about an electric device’s economic and environmental impact in these energy-conscious days. Photo: Tom Sawyer Small, portable and convertible. The Conserve Insight, a $30 gadget from Belkin to be released this summer, is an in-line outlet adapter that translates electrical consumption into various measurements, including watts, dollars and pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. The adapter has a digital read-out on a six-foot cable, allowing users flexibility when trying to determine energy usage of devices plugged into hard-to-reach outlets. The small screen and simple