Starting Off:
Last Friday, the ConTechTrio aired episode 80 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 LifeSaver Mobile App, Procore’s new integration with Triax, Dronomy’s SiteAware partnership with PlanGrid, R-Fab Kits providing soldiers with 3D printed materials for the field, and much more! Special guest, Brian Smith, Product Manager of Emerging Technologies at Multivista, also joined to discuss the evolution of construction project photo management.
Shameless Plug:
Only one week left to join the construction industry’s favorite weekly podcast hosts, the ConTechTrio, on August 22nd in Chicago for the second stop of the 2017 ConTech Roadshows! An attendee from the Philadelphia Roadshow said “The entire day was extremely interesting and informative. There was tons of new information and deep dives into topics I thought I was well versed in. It was well worth the time investment.” So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for the Chicago Roadshow today, or learn more about the other ones coming to a city near you!
Tech You Should Try:
The LifeSaver Mobile App is a FREE app that auto-detects when a user is driving and blocks users from using their phone while they are behind the wheel. Watch last week’s Tech Tuesday video with Rob McKinney to witness the LifeSaver Mobile App in action.
Weekly ConTechTrio Twitter Poll:
Last Week’s Poll: How do you prefer to take notes? The poll resulted in 53% “App,” 42% “Paper,“ 5% “Voice Recorder“ and 0% “Who Takes Notes Anymore?“
This Week’s Poll: “In your opinion what is the most important aspect to photo/video management in construction?“ Visit the ConTechTrio Twitter page and choose from the following options: “Remotely View/Manage Sites in Real Time,” “Reduce Project Risk,” “Save Time & Money“ or “I Don’t Know.“
Construction Tech News:
Industry Education, Insights & Trends
[Webinar] How Technology Increases Construction Productivity in the Era of Labor Shortages
On Wednesday September 13th at 1:30pm CST, PlanGrid is hosting a webinar in partnership with leading construction technology companies including, SmartBid, eSub, DeWALT, EarthCam, Rhumbix, and Skycatch. Sign up for this webinar today to learn the latest industry statistics on labor shortage, productivity trends, how to implement technology effectively, lean construction principles, and much more!
Construction Technology & Software Rundown
Marla McIntyre, Editor for Construction Executive, provides a recap article discussing last week’s top construction technology and software trends. Topics included: Gorilla Safety’s fully automated Electronic Logging Device (ELD), Lean4Team visual management software, Credential Verification Service (CVS) site security systems and much more!
Last Friday on August 11th was 811 Day in Georgia. 811 Day serves as a reminder to coworkers, customers and communities to contact Georgia 811 before you dig on a job site. Read this article to learn five steps for safe digging practices, as well as, how to avoid damaging underground utility lines.
Georgia Tech Receives Largest-Ever Rebate Check from Georgia Power
Last week, Georgia Power awarded the Georgia Institute for Technology (Georgia Tech) with the largest rebate check ever issued through Georgia Power. The $500 thousand-dollar rebate check was given to mark the completion of Georgia Tech’s energy-efficiency upgrades on facilities throughout their campus.
Tech-Powered General Contractor Pro.com Raises $10M for U.S. Expansion
Former Digg CEO and Amazon Manager, Matt Williams, started Pro.com four years ago to focus on contractors and home improvement. Now, Pro.com has raised $10 million dollars in hopes to bring their tech-powered general contracting model to as many cities as possible. Read this article to learn more about this expansion.
Partnerships & Acquisitions
Daimler Backs Radical Eighteen Rotor Autonomous Air Taxi
Daimler, a German automobile firm has invested $29 million dollars in an Volocopter, an aviation start-up company. Volocopter is in the process of developing a fully autonomous flying air taxi. This electric vehicle will have a maximum speed of 62 miles and will be able to transport up to two passengers at a time.
Dronomy’s SiteAware Integrates With PlanGrid
Dronomy, a software company, announced their integration with PlanGrid, a construction productivity software. This integration will provide better job site intelligence by allowing general contractors, project owners, real estate developers and subcontractors the option to add current views of their project status into their construction management workflow.
Procore is Integrating Wearables-Maker Triax’s Worker Tracking Tech
Procore, a construction technology company, is joining forces with Triax Technologies, a construction wearables maker, to improve digital capture and management of job site worker data. Read this article from Construction Dive to learn more about the goal of this integration between Procore and Triax.
Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering Group is in agreement to obtain the outstanding shares of an Englewood, Colorado based consulting and program management firm called CHM2 Hill Companies. Read this article to learn more about this acquisition and the outstanding finances involved.
Augmented & Virtual Reality
Worldwide AR/VR Market Will Grow From $11B Today to $215B by 2021
This article discusses the rapid growth of augmented and virtual reality, provides statistical research predicting annual and future growth of the AR/VR market, as well as, explains how gaming with ARKit’s in iOS 11 will greatly add to the growth of AR/VR technology.
R-FAB Kits Let Soldiers 3D Print Replacement Parts
Rapid Fabrication (R-FAB) are providing soldiers with kits that are equipped with gear and software for the construction of any tools and parts in high intensity situations. Read this article to learn more about what R-FAB kits provide to the Army.
Emerging Technology
[Video] World’s First Sideways – Moving Elevator
Construction Junkie discusses in this article the new multi-directional elevator created by ThyssenKrupp. Read this article and watch the video below to see the most recent milestone accomplished in creating MULTI, the first rope free elevator.
Bluebeam: A Digital Gateway Drug
Jeff Sample (the Ironman of IT) discusses in this article how Bluebeam is “creating an ecosystem of products based on tackling the stepping stones to digital adoption.” This interesting article is a must read, even if you don’t use Bluebeam.
[INTERVIEW] Brian Smith, Product Manager of Emerging Technologies at Multivista, Discusses the Evolution of Photo Workflows in Construction
In the second half of the podcast, Brian Smith, Product Manager of Emerging Technologies at Multivista, joined the ConTechTrio to discuss the evolution of photo workflows in construction. Brian was born and raised in Arlington, Texas and later graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from Washington Engineering Institute. After college, Brian followed his passion and worked on the design side at various construction companies before joining Multivista and Leica Geosystems a few months ago.
In the interview, Brian briefly provides an overview of Multivista and Leica Geosystems and discusses how he gets the opportunity to tie the Multivista and Leica’s software and hardware together. Brian and the ConTechTrio discussed Multivista’s primary clients, announced Multivista’s new partnership with Matterport, as well as, explained how Leica’s Pegasus backpack is used to collect data on the job site.
Tune into the ConTechTrio podcast this Friday for Episode 81, featuring Tony Nicolaidis, from DeWALT discussing job site Wi-Fi from the 2017 DeWALT Experience in Nashville.
Listen to the Podcast: Spreaker, YouTube, iTunes
Follow On Twitter: @JBKnowledge, @ConTechTrio
