The construction industry is one of the biggest in existence, spending and gaining billions of dollars annually. As a result, new techniques and tools are created on a regular basis to help workers keep up with such a large enterprise. Watch this review of new building technologies. Enjoy!!
10 Innovations That Have Revolutionized Construction
It has been about two and a half million years since the Stone Ages when people inhabited caves and relied on tools made of various types of stone.
Throughout the evolution of humankind, we’ve witnessed remarkable feats in the world of building innovation – and we’d argue the highlights of the construction revolution have occurred within the past 40 years.
Let’s take a look at our impressive technology history by exploring the top 10 construction innovations of our time.
10 Construction Innovations That Changed Construction Forever
1. Mechanization
To fully grasp the radical impact of mechanization, we need to go back much further than 40 years.
A truly extraordinary innovation for our kind was the advent of hydraulic and pneumatic devices in the mid to late-19th century which led to the creation of earth-moving equipment and other apparatus that are now commonplace for our industry. These 19th-century technologies have aided in significantly reducing the time and labor required for large scale projects.
Fast forward to the early-20th century where mechanization began to be characterized by more advanced functionality and capabilities. It was around this time that we introduced cherry pickers, concrete mixers, cranes and power tools. This period also saw the emergence of the internal-combustion engine, which replaced hand shovels, wheelbarrows and working animals with the likes of forklifts, tractors, and bulldozers.
2. Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
In the height of the Middle Ages, architects, draughtsmen, master stonemasons, and builders created some of the world’s most magnificent buildings using methods of design and construction that were profound for their time.
For several centuries, these methods remained largely unchanged. In the latter part of the 20th century, however, computer-aided design (CAD) emerged, changing construction irrevocably – for the first time, clashes during the design phase were rendered visible.
Previously, issues such as separate systems, electrical conduits and high-voltage alternating current ducting for example, competing for the same physical space bedeviled architects and builders, with their two-dimensional plans and section drawings.
3. Building Information Management (BIM)
While CAD vastly transformed the role of designers, Building Information Management (BIM) has proven stunningly versatile, allowing architects, engineers, contractors, and subcontractors to collaborate on the fine details of design and construction by using the same database and computer model.
BIM involves all project stakeholders working collaboratively on a detailed 3D model that includes all the functional systems of a structure-- such as pavement or curbs, beams and girders, HVAC and electrical installations, as well as the aesthetics of walls, arches, roofs, and rails.
Because BIM is a collaborative process from beginning to end, it allows all preconstruction parties to visualize and analyze design decisions, and pinpoint interferences and other errors, before work begins on site.
For contractors, working collaboratively saves innumerable resources, as construction doesn’t begin until every party has submitted their designs, ensuring clashes are detected and rectified quickly, easily and ahead of the ground being broken on site.
As transformative as BIM is, it is only the start of what is possible! When Connected Construction principles are added to the equation, the aspiration of BIM becomes attainable. See how it all comes together in The Great Library, a docuseries following a global team as they reimagine a historic landmark using today's most innovative construction technology.
4. Prefabrication & the Industrialization of Construction
Assembling large complex components piece by piece on-site, exposed to the elements, can be difficult. The rise of off-site fabrication has hugely increased the efficiency of this process.
For example, a massive heat exchanger fabricated in a vendor’s shop will not only arrive on site ready to be plugged in, but also benefit from better management of parts and material inventories, as well as improved efficiency and productivity. Return on investment increases, while waste and inefficiency fall.
Huge savings in schedule time are gained when components like concrete insulated panels, timber frame panels, pump units, compressors and instrument panels are fabricated in-shop rather than on-site, arriving at the latter ready to be linked up.
Prefabrication and industrialized construction are being adopted by the industry moreeach year. According to a Dodge Data & Analytics SmartMarket report, 90% of contractors say they achieve improved productivity, improved quality, and increased schedule certainty compared with traditional construction methods. Another 61% of participants said they expect to employ prefabrication methods in at least 10% of their projects in the next three years, an increase from the 44% using this method currently.
5. Mobile Devices
Mobile technology has transformed the construction industry in several ways. For contractors one of the biggest is the improvement in project management. Using smartphones and tablets, all parties involved can work together using the same consolidated information sources, ensuring no one is left out of the loop, no matter where they are.
Mobile devices have also enabled real-time analytics in construction. Foremen can now keep track of performance, conditions, and costs during the day using reporting tools, rather than having to create a report at the end of it. Project managers can use mobile business intelligence to predict required corrections, allowing them to act straight away to keep things on schedule and within budget. And reporting apps mean all parties can access analytic insights, whether on site or in the office.
6. Robotic Total Stations (RTS)
The traditional way of laying out building services on a site involves a team using building drawings and a tape measure, spirit level and theodolite – a precision instrument for measuring angles – to identify attachment points for the likes of cable trays and pipework.
This method, however, doesn’t work well with more sophisticated buildings. It is time-consuming and arduous and has a huge margin for error, which can lead to serious consequences, such as clashes with other building services and prefabricated systems that don’t fit, leading to time, money and materials being wasted.
Enter Robotic Total Stations (RTS), an electronic theodolite integrated with an electronic distance measurement that can be remotely controlled from distance. Using a tablet equipped with the relevant software, the layout can be completed by a single person, with RTS ensuring greater efficiency, improved accuracy, fewer mistakes and less paperwork, as well as reduced labor costs.
The construction industry is one of the biggest in existence, spending and gaining billions of dollars annually. As a result, new techniques and tools are created on a regular basis to help workers keep up with such a large enterprise. Watch this review of new building technologies. Enjoy!!
10 Innovations That Have Revolutionized Construction
It has been about two and a half million years since the Stone Ages when people inhabited caves and relied on tools made of various types of stone.
Throughout the evolution of humankind, we’ve witnessed remarkable feats in the world of building innovation – and we’d argue the highlights of the construction revolution have occurred within the past 40 years.
Let’s take a look at our impressive technology history by exploring the top 10 construction innovations of our time.
10 Construction Innovations That Changed Construction Forever
1. Mechanization
To fully grasp the radical impact of mechanization, we need to go back much further than 40 years.
A truly extraordinary innovation for our kind was the advent of hydraulic and pneumatic devices in the mid to late-19th century which led to the creation of earth-moving equipment and other apparatus that are now commonplace for our industry. These 19th-century technologies have aided in significantly reducing the time and labor required for large scale projects.
Fast forward to the early-20th century where mechanization began to be characterized by more advanced functionality and capabilities. It was around this time that we introduced cherry pickers, concrete mixers, cranes and power tools. This period also saw the emergence of the internal-combustion engine, which replaced hand shovels, wheelbarrows and working animals with the likes of forklifts, tractors, and bulldozers.
2. Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
In the height of the Middle Ages, architects, draughtsmen, master stonemasons, and builders created some of the world’s most magnificent buildings using methods of design and construction that were profound for their time.
For several centuries, these methods remained largely unchanged. In the latter part of the 20th century, however, computer-aided design (CAD) emerged, changing construction irrevocably – for the first time, clashes during the design phase were rendered visible.
Previously, issues such as separate systems, electrical conduits and high-voltage alternating current ducting for example, competing for the same physical space bedeviled architects and builders, with their two-dimensional plans and section drawings.
3. Building Information Management (BIM)
While CAD vastly transformed the role of designers, Building Information Management (BIM) has proven stunningly versatile, allowing architects, engineers, contractors, and subcontractors to collaborate on the fine details of design and construction by using the same database and computer model.
BIM involves all project stakeholders working collaboratively on a detailed 3D model that includes all the functional systems of a structure-- such as pavement or curbs, beams and girders, HVAC and electrical installations, as well as the aesthetics of walls, arches, roofs, and rails.
Because BIM is a collaborative process from beginning to end, it allows all preconstruction parties to visualize and analyze design decisions, and pinpoint interferences and other errors, before work begins on site.
For contractors, working collaboratively saves innumerable resources, as construction doesn’t begin until every party has submitted their designs, ensuring clashes are detected and rectified quickly, easily and ahead of the ground being broken on site.
As transformative as BIM is, it is only the start of what is possible! When Connected Construction principles are added to the equation, the aspiration of BIM becomes attainable. See how it all comes together in The Great Library, a docuseries following a global team as they reimagine a historic landmark using today's most innovative construction technology.
4. Prefabrication & the Industrialization of Construction
Assembling large complex components piece by piece on-site, exposed to the elements, can be difficult. The rise of off-site fabrication has hugely increased the efficiency of this process.
For example, a massive heat exchanger fabricated in a vendor’s shop will not only arrive on site ready to be plugged in, but also benefit from better management of parts and material inventories, as well as improved efficiency and productivity. Return on investment increases, while waste and inefficiency fall.
Huge savings in schedule time are gained when components like concrete insulated panels, timber frame panels, pump units, compressors and instrument panels are fabricated in-shop rather than on-site, arriving at the latter ready to be linked up.
Prefabrication and industrialized construction are being adopted by the industry moreeach year. According to a Dodge Data & Analytics SmartMarket report, 90% of contractors say they achieve improved productivity, improved quality, and increased schedule certainty compared with traditional construction methods. Another 61% of participants said they expect to employ prefabrication methods in at least 10% of their projects in the next three years, an increase from the 44% using this method currently.
5. Mobile Devices
Mobile technology has transformed the construction industry in several ways. For contractors one of the biggest is the improvement in project management. Using smartphones and tablets, all parties involved can work together using the same consolidated information sources, ensuring no one is left out of the loop, no matter where they are.
Mobile devices have also enabled real-time analytics in construction. Foremen can now keep track of performance, conditions, and costs during the day using reporting tools, rather than having to create a report at the end of it. Project managers can use mobile business intelligence to predict required corrections, allowing them to act straight away to keep things on schedule and within budget. And reporting apps mean all parties can access analytic insights, whether on site or in the office.
6. Robotic Total Stations (RTS)
The traditional way of laying out building services on a site involves a team using building drawings and a tape measure, spirit level and theodolite – a precision instrument for measuring angles – to identify attachment points for the likes of cable trays and pipework.
This method, however, doesn’t work well with more sophisticated buildings. It is time-consuming and arduous and has a huge margin for error, which can lead to serious consequences, such as clashes with other building services and prefabricated systems that don’t fit, leading to time, money and materials being wasted.
Enter Robotic Total Stations (RTS), an electronic theodolite integrated with an electronic distance measurement that can be remotely controlled from distance. Using a tablet equipped with the relevant software, the layout can be completed by a single person, with RTS ensuring greater efficiency, improved accuracy, fewer mistakes and less paperwork, as well as reduced labor costs.
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