Starting Off:
Last Friday, the ConTechTrio aired episode 33 of the podcast in which James Benham (@jamesmbenham), Rob McKinney (@conappguru) and Josh Bone (@bim2thebone) discussed the latest construction tech news. Headliners last week included the Game of Thrones’ Winterfell castle being 3D printed, highlights from Apple’s 2016 iPhone Event, a SmartCap that tracks worker fatigue, augmented reality power tools and much more! Special guest Larry Sullivan, CEO of COINS (@COINSGlobal) also joined to discuss construction accounting, technology and giving back.
Geek Out Product Of The Week:
Dewalt FlexVolt – The world’s first battery that automatically changes voltage when you change tools.
Weekly ConTechTrio Twitter Poll:
Last Week’s Poll: Do you have a good system for monitoring your workers’ time & productivity on the jobsite?
Results: 92% No and 8% Yes
This Week’s Poll: Does your company allow accounting data to be stored in the cloud? Visit the ConTechTrio Twitter page to answer “Yes” or “No.”
Construction Tech News:
Kahua & BSD Announce Integration
This integration streamlines the submittals process and enhances the coordination between the architect and the contractor on construction projects.
Russian Company 3D Prints Game of Thrones’ Winterfell
The Russian construction company, Yekaterinburg Cement Factory, used a gigantic industrial-sized cement 3D printer to create the ever-famous Stark kingdom.
Thousands of South Asian Construction Workers Laid Off
South Asian construction workers are being laid off by local contractors in Saudi Arabia, without pay discrepancies resolved, due to the country’s falling oil-based economy and paused or deferred projects.
AR Power Tool Allows You to Create Anything You Desire
Shaper Origina assesses your digital blueprint, allowing you to precisely cut down a material into your desired creation. The tool’s computer vision guides the cuts while displaying them in augmented reality.
Baidu Allowed to Test its Autonomous Cars in California
Baidu, the largest Chinese search engine company, recently received the “ok” to test its self-driving cars in the streets of California.’
Highlights from Apple’s 2016 iPhone Event
Two major product releases were highlighted at Apple’s Annual iPhone Event, which included the Apple Watch-Series 2 and the iPhone 7.
SmartCap Tracks Employee Fatigue
The SmarCap monitors the workers fatigue throughout the day and their ability to resist sleep.
Bosch Reveals Double Battery Pack for E-Bikes
With e-biking growing within the industry, Bosch released its DualBattery System, which implements double the capacity into Bosch’s pedelec drives.
Deere Implements SmartGrade Tech Into Dozers
Deere announced it’s integrating SmartGrade control technology into its 750K and 850K crawler dozers. The technology allows the operator of the dozer to easily adjust the system when moving the machine from one soil type to another.
AGC’s WebEd Series Featuring Drones
AGC is offering a 5 part WebEd series on drones, featuring construction contractors already flying drones, and both legal and other experts. Members and non-members can purchase the full series or individual episodes.
Linking Construction Industry Data Via the Cloud = Unlimited Opportunities
It’s projected SaaS, cloud-based BIM, the internet of things, 5D, and big data will replace 80% of the client-server or desktop silo technology used today. Are you jumping on this trend?
Mercedes Creates Delivery Bots
Mercedes-Benz has created a van that will store eight of its ground-based delivery drones, which will complete the last leg of the vehicle delivery journey to avoid city centre traffic.
SmartBricks Continuing to Make Headlines
Researchers at The University of Newcastle are developing “digestive” bricks that will incorporate microbial fuel cells, which are able to clean water, generate electricity and create new detergents as a by-product of microbial metabolism.
Job Openings Rise While Pace of Hiring Goes Unchanged
Job openings in construction climbed to 5.9 million in July (a new record) while the number of people actually getting hired was unchanged at 5.2 million. This gap may be due to worker’s lacking specific skills for the available positions.
Larry Sullivan, CEO of COINS Global Discusses Construction Accounting, Technology and Giving Back
In the second half of the podcast, Larry Sullivan, CEO at COINS Global, joined the ConTechTrio to discuss construction accounting, technology and giving back. Larry grew up and went to college in the United Kingdom, however got his experience in construction computer software while working in the United States. Larry went on to create his own enterprise software solutions, ultimately founding COINS, the now leading construction software for businesses in the UK. COINS offers integrated solutions and services from design and BIM, through all aspects of managing the supply chain and build process, to maintaining the building post completion. On the podcast, Larry discussed the issues construction companies are struggling with in managing financial information and global economic issues as they relate to construction. The ConTechTrio and Larry wrapped up the interview with COINS’ amazing philanthropy efforts and their upcoming Construction Industry Grand Challenge.
Tune into the ConTechTrio podcast again this Friday for Episode 34, featuring Wouter Truffino from Holland PropTech! Until then, you can catch up on past episodes of our construction technology podcast and even check out some bonus episodes via the links below!
Listen
Listen to the ConTechTrio Podcast on Spreaker, SoundCloud , YouTube, iTunes
Follow On Twitter
JBKnowledge: @JBKnowledge
ConTechTrio: @ConTechTrio
James Benham: @jamesmbenham
Rob McKinney: @conappguru
Josh Bone: @bim2thebone
