Category: Columns
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The Elephant in the Circus
All of us construction professionals are elbow fighting to get tickets to the biggest and most spectacular show ever been staged that has been touring around the construction industry world. THE DIGITAL TWIN CIRCUS Who knew that I would have unintentionally bought myself a front-row seat to this promising jaw-dropping sensational show precisely three years…
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Why Subcontractors Need to Own Their Construction Data
Are subcontractors at a data disadvantage? As new construction projects get underway, a routine practice is for general contractors to ask their subs to use software such as Procore or PlanGrid. The GC’s goal is to ramp up efficiency by making sure all parties stay on the same page with billing, RFIs, submittals, logs, photos,…
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Does Construction Tech Have a Jargon Problem?
Neuroscientists tell us that, strictly speaking, the popular conception of “left brain” versus “right brain” is off base. I’m sure that’s true, but the notion may still have some utility. Medical News Today sums up that popular conception this way: Left-brained people are said to be more: analytical logical detail- and fact-oriented numerical likely to think…
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Do you speak my language? – Programming for the AEC Industry
At VIATechnik, we are constantly exploring and analyzing different programming languages to identify which tools align best with project goals. Here’s what we’ve learned. As digital technologies become more pervasive in the design and construction space, the industry is no longer an exclusive domain to architects, engineers, and contractors. Many processes related to building design and construction increasingly depend…
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House of Digital Twins – AEC Business
As a vocal and passionate advocate for the adoption of Digital Twins for our built assets, I keep finding myself standing in, what feels like, the middle of a house of cards, observing its always rocky structure in constant danger of collapse. A wobbly system threatened by the tremors stressed by one of the most…
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My Top 5 Innovations for Greater Efficiency, Sustainability & Quality
As a construction professional and British citizen, I genuinely could not have been any prouder and humbled to have opened UK Construction Week Virtual last week. 2020 is the year of disruptions, and we are all looking for this “New Normal”, and while this newfound regularity may have opened new opportunities, as we are now…
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Taking the Mystery Out of BIM Data Mining
Information mining as a way to affect the productivity curve in construction. Success in the AEC industry comes down to productivity. Unfortunately, as we all know from many famous studies, productivity has not changed much in the AEC industry. However, there is a deep well of potential for BIM to help show us how problems…
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Are we ready for “Big Brother” on construction sites?
As we are all embracing the new digital transformation that this current pandemic is bringing in our daily life. Will this be enough to finally drive the much-needed digital transformation in the construction industry? I certainly do feel unsettled without my international lifestyle, hopping from one industry event to another. I am very sympathetic to…
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Do We Need Blockchain in Construction?
Blockchain technology claimed to have the potential to disrupt many aspects of how companies do business. And like other emerging technologies, I have been exploring its uses, benefits and assessing its potential opportunities in the construction industry. If like me, you have been wondering what it is and if its applications are limited to financial…
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The Unthinkable Has Happened. How Should Contractors Respond?
Any construction veteran expects the economy to contract and expand. However, the global pandemic presents contractors with a challenge unlike any in recent memory. Dr. John Killingsworth How should they respond in an environment of such uncertainty? For some perspective, I chatted with Dr. John Killingsworth, a construction management professor at Colorado State University who…