TechBrief

Contracting firms with leadership who understand technology and techs who understand the complexities of construction are built to live long — and prosper.
BY AMY DREW THOMPSON

The long-predicted robotic future of construction has begun. The industry has lagged behind others like automotive and aerospace in adopting robotic labor because, until now, most building robots could only operate efficiently in a controlled, consistent environment like a factory. The construction jobsite is neither controlled nor consistent, because the nature of the job is to transform the site continuously.
BY STEVEN H. MILLER

AGC of America and its partner Sage are getting ready to begin preparing the 2021 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook. A key component of that outlook is the information we hope to gather from members like you. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey,
 
The survey will be open throughout November and early December. Then, in conjunction with AGC's chief economist, Ken Simonson, other AGC staff and the Sage team, the association will prepare an analysis of the results which will be released in early January.
 
Thanks in advance for your support and if you have any questions or comments, please contact Brian Turmail, AGC's vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives, at brian.turmail@agc.org.

 

Part of AGC Charities' annual Operation Opening Doors project, local volunteer general contractors led by Penta Building Group renovated the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, the downtown homeless shelter. Before the remodeling, it had just one bathroom to serve 88 guests in the women and children portion of the facility.

The most recent issue of Constructor magazine is available online now, featuring AGC of America’s Culture of CARE initiative which is moving the needle on diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. Also inside, you’ll find our Future Focus 2020 supplement, which includes tech-focused stories that will help you stay relevant as well as ahead of the curve.

Faster connections. Less lag time. Ability to connect more devices simultaneously. These three benefits of a 5G wireless network have the potential to significantly affect productivity, safety and quality on a construction site, but how soon will contractors actually be able to access a 5G network?
BY SHERYL JACKSON

There’s real potential that we will be printing large concrete buildings in the future. But on this episode, Ryan Shults of Gilbane Building Company and Steven Koehler of Linbeck hope to convince you that contractors can easily benefit from Desktop 3D printing technology right now. They share how they are using 3D printing in various construction applications to help them get, plan and execute projects.

In 2018 the Project Delivery Forum changed its name to Project Innovation and Delivery Forum to broaden its scope and put emphasis on the innovations necessary to deliver projects in the 21st century. The mission of the forum is to align the execution of construction projects with the latest innovations in safety, quality and productivity, and to educate the industry on best practices in order to deliver quality projects on time and on budget.

 

Brasfield & Gorrie, a member of multiple AGC chapters, recently teamed up with robotics and drone industry leaders to develop a construction technology breakthrough. The construction firm collaborated with robotics creator Boston Dynamics and drone software provider DroneDeploy to develop and pilot a new workflow for automating 360 video-based construction documentation. 

 

“By combining robotic automation with DroneDeploy’s interior and exterior progress documentation process, we’re able to more consistently capture data about the complete project,” said Russ Gibbs, Director of VDC, Innovation and Operational Technology at Brasfield & Gorrie. “As a result, we’re able to make more informed decisions while allowing our team members to focus on tasks that require their expertise.”