Have you noticed how fast some new construction projects get completed these days? Within months or even weeks, a plot of empty or defunct real estate can be completely transformed into a vibrant shopping village, office building or residential complex. Advancing technologies make it all possible. We can thank the construction industry for developing many technological innovations that improve life and work as we know it today.
The Mother of Invention
Engineering breakthroughs often come as a result of experiencing difficulties in tough physical conditions, and construction sites consistently create these situations. Companies that provide workers with superior tools and better working conditions have a competitive advantage on the job site, and in business.
Working with outmoded tools, equipment and materials is not an option in the highly competitive and safety conscious construction business. Companies that support the industry are always looking at ways to improve, and they consistently turn to new technologies for solutions. Construction projects naturally drive innovations that tame physics, improve safety and help manage complex communication needs.
Managing Complex Collaborations
Some of the most effective project management methodologies and software have been designed to serve the collaboration needs of Engineering and General Contractor firms. Numerous contractors and subcontractors, including multiple team members within each separate entity, must remain coordinated and kept “on the same page” throughout months and sometimes years while working together on a common project.
Construction is a massive business sector touching everyone’s life. This fact greatly incentivizes companies that support the industry to continually improve services and products. Construction technology innovations have been quite impressive in recent years in both the physical and computer science worlds.
JBknowledge, Inc. and Procore are two leading software development firms that are continually working to improve every aspect of construction management from business development through project management and completion. These companies and others have developed processes and programs that have applications extending into other complex business environments including healthcare, insurance, financial and legal services.
As project management programs prove to be successful in managing large construction projects, they are often modified and applied to other industries. For example, JBknowledge, developed a highly efficient certificate tracking and compliance management program for the insurance industry called SmartCompliance, which stemmed from their foundational work in developing other programs to manage construction tasks.
Engineering News-Record (ENR) recognizes the construction industry’s contributions to advanced technologies at their annual Future Tech conference. ENR reports exclusively on news, data, statistics, analysis and commentary to help guide construction industry decision-makers. At Future Tech, “business and IT leaders in architecture, engineering and construction examine the business and design issues driving technology.”
Safety Innovations
Many of the best workplace safety practices have come out of the construction industry and are now applied throughout industrial, manufacturing and even entertainment & amusement settings. For example, much of the safety netting technology used in the amusement park industry was originally developed for use on construction sites for fall protection and debris containment. Safety netting systems that were devised for use in construction have been improved and modified specifically to meet the rigorous ASTM standards for amusement park safety netting.
As a company that supports safety innovation, Pucuda Leading Edge is always looking to improve netting technology as we become more involved on construction projects around the world. Our 300 Series Nylon Personal Safety Nets have been developed from a high tenacity nylon material formulated for maximum strength and durability.
Inspired from years of experience on construction projects, we’ve engineered an exclusive net design that utilizes double strand construction for optimum fall protection and safety performance. This unique design offers a light-weight safety netting solution that’s as easy to install as it is strong. Furthering the utility of this innovation, our 300 Series nets can be combined with a debris liner to provide both personnel and debris protection in one system.
There are so many other technological innovations stemming from the need to make construction sites cleaner, safer and more productive. We’ll be writing more about this and citing other examples in future posts, so please stay tuned to our blog.
When it comes to netting systems, we invite readers to share their challenges with us to see if together we can come up with yet another innovative solution. Please feel free to call us at 800-241-7330 to speak with a netting specialist or contact us online to inquire online.
