ENR comments on Design-Build report controversy
Richard Korman, at the ENR blog, highlights a recent study on design-build projects that reports favorable on-time completion results, but less favorable on-budget outcomes. The report results are contested by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) that the study’s authors didn’t properly account for scope changes in analyzing the budget figures. Click here for Richard’s comments.
Futuristic building technologies around the corner
A recent post at the Gordian Group blog recaps some very interesting and promising technologies that seem quite futuristic but may become reality sooner than we think. We have mentioned one or two of these before, such as self-healing concrete and 3D printing, but others include:
- Carbon nanotubes
- Transparent aluminum
- Robot swarm construction
- Zero-energy cooling bricks
- Building with CO2
Click here to check these out at the Gordian blog site.
Improving safety against top four causes of accidents
The Whirlwind Steel’s Blog site recently posted an important article on construction safety. According to OSHA, the four major causes of fatalities (and injuries) on a jobsite in 2014 were:
- Falls (39.9%)
- Electrocutions (8.5%)
- Struck by Objects (8.4%)
- Caught-in/between (1.2%)
The blog post goes on to summarize the common hazards encountered, provides avoidance tips, and cites the appropriate OSHA regulations so readers can obtain full details. Click here for the complete article; strongly recommended for periodic review by all construction workers, foremen, superintendents, project managers and anyone else working in the field.
3D printing, commercial construction and global procurement
The ConstructionBrief blog is an aggregator of various other construction blogs. This past week, some of the favorites we located there include:
Insitebuilders blog: “Part 34: Task 1 Dormer and Task 2 Entry Deck” – an introduction to the first of a series of books on construction techniques and building 3D models.
Hard Hat Chat blog: “Planning for Success: Three Commercial Construction Industry Tips for 2016” – provides valuable advice to contractors for achieving growth in commercial construction.
Planting Acorns blog: “A Global Perspective on Procurement” – provides tips on fabrication and shipment of construction materials from China.
