Pictures, notes and video are captured in a social network-type of news-feed format that can push alerts to select workers. Related Links: Textura IPO Turns Up the Heat on Construction Tech Startups FieldLens The most important elements of social networking sites are their ability to share media, post comments and store all that data and more as a permanent web record. The same can be said for web tools that manage a construction site. The new web application FieldLens aims to become the Facebook of project management services."I tried using Facebook on a project two years ago," says Todd Wynne,
Related Links: Fluid Contract Manager's YouTube Channel Collaboration Apps Top ENR Survey Results A web-based construction-management platform optimized for an iPhone's screen size and mobile ergonomics is coming out on Nov. 1."It was born out of complete and utter frustration," says Don Speedie, president of Sparks, Nev.-based Fluid Contract Manager, about what provoked him to create his iPhone-inspired design. When he came up with the idea, Speedie was working as a construction manager, a position he occupied for more than 14 years."I built it from the ground up with the iPhone in mind," says Speedie.The design's fluidity was such a
PHOTO courtesy of white clouds Autodesk's redesign of Hyperloop requires specialized equipment to weave transit tubes out of carbon-fiber composite materials while maintaining the tubes' original 7-ft, 4-in. diameter. PHOTO courtesy of white clouds The proposed new design for Hyperloop's transit tubes weaves them out of one ring of carbon fiber and then pinches it into a figure 8, forming two independent tubes. Related Links: Video of Autodesk's Design Oak Ridge National Labs A design software leader is rethinking the construction methods and materials for Hyperloop Alpha, the high-speed mass-transit proposal that shoots passenger-filled capsules suspended on air cushions through
Courtesy EPRI With its 110-volt vacuum engine, the crawler bot maintains enough suction to carry 40 lb up vertical structures. Courtesy EPRI The crawler bot automatically follows a preprogrammed route up and down structures but has support ropes in case it loses suction. Related Links: International Climbing Machines (Upon which the robot is based). Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative A new concrete inspection robot successfully scaled the walls of a dam this summer, testing the dam's structural integrity.Many of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors are reaching the middle age of their design life, while, according to reports by the American
Related Links: Turner International Steers Clear of Risky Work Turner Rewards Innovation with Cash Project Delivery Spat Puts Hospital Job on Critical List Unprecedented Pact Hangs Over Stadium Job in Seattle Turner Construction's homepage Matt Emma, 26, worked his way through college as a website developer for nightclubs. Three years after graduating from college, he never dreamed his skills would help Turner Construction Co. meet its schedule for the nearly $1-billion overhaul of Madison Square Garden in New York City.In 2011, with time running down on the arena's scheduled opening for the 2013 sports season, Emma's manager at Turner asked
Related Links: Turner Construction Prioritizes Youth and Diversity Turner International Steers Clear of Risky Work Winners of Turner Construction Co.'s first innovation-awards program took home $75,000 in prize money last year, including $10,000 each for the three best entries.EmmaOne top winner, Matthew Emma, 26, developed a program to help the $1-billion Madison Square Garden renovation in New York go paperless.Called Turner eManager, Emma's software uses WordPress, an open-source blogging platform, to make change orders digital. All tickets are submitted through blog posts.The revise-and-resubmit procedure is done through the comment section on individual posts. All subcontractors are using it, says Emma.
Related Links: NOAA's Digital Coast Site Seasketch Tool Site Superstorm Sandy destroyed the shorelines and seabeds of the East Coast to such an extent that federal agencies plan to remap the coastline.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are using emergency supplemental funds to survey the coast to collect high-resolution topographic and hydrographic data. The LiDAR surveying will be recording water depths and any submerged debris that may have altered shorelines from South Carolina to Maine.The $50-million project will begin work this fall. Some contracts already have been awarded, with more
Elon Musk, well known as the founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX, is now also well known for his recent Hyperloop Alpha Proposal outlining what he calls a “fifth mode of transportation.” But is this fifth mode of transportation feasible from an engineering and construction view, and how can engineers improve upon it?The hyperloop is like a muted, trackless version of a vactrain—a system to propel a vehicle along a maglev track inside a vacuum tube. Proponents claim the hyperloop could reach speeds of thousands of kilometers per hour. Similar vactrain and maglev ideas have been circulated and researched
