Construction management processes

Houston Independent School District (HISD) has selected Prolog software to standardize its construction management processes. HISD is working directly with Project 3 Technologies, a Meridian Systems Value Added Reseller (VAR), to implement Prolog Manager across the school district’s current US$1.045 billion capital improvement program. (Willie Burroughs, general manager, HISD.)

U.S. Lumber 3,623% RoI

Nucleus Research analysts examined the deployment of IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence at U.S. Lumber and found a 3,623% return on investment (ROI) with payback in only eleven days. U.S. Lumber is a $325 million distributor of specialty and wholesale building materials. The company has approximately 6,000 customers and eight distribution facilities.

GPS services for landscaper

Sprint and ValleyCrest Landscape Companies have signed an agreement for Sprint to add GPS services to ValleyCrest’s communications toolkit at select branch locations. The location-based services (LBS) will help ValleyCrest better track employee job location and company assets for these field branches. The tool also helps the landscape and lawn maintenance giant handle payroll and route job assignments. With headquarters in Calabasas, Calif., ValleyCrest Landscape Companies is the nation’s largest integrated landscape services company with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion. It employs more than 10,000 people, operates more than 100 locations nationwide and is included on Forbes’ list of America’s largest private companies. (Gary King, manager of Telecom, ValleyCrest.)

Workforce initiatives and management

Luck Stone Corporation, the largest family owned and operated aggregates company in the United States, has deployed the Softscape Apex platform to help execute its workforce initiatives and manage the entire employee lifecycle from hire to retire. From performance, compensation, and learning management, to recruiting, hiring, and core HR management, Luck Stone is leveraging Softscape’s talent-based system of record to achieve a true and complete picture of its workforce and effectively execute business strategies.

From its beginnings as Sunnyside Granite Company in 1923 to the multi-division corporation of today, Luck Stone has become an industry leader through sound planning, innovative thinking, and hard work. The company has grown over the years but has never lost sight of its founder’s commitment to honesty, integrity, quality, and people. The values-based company’s mission is to provide innovative products and services that enhance the lives of its customers, associates, and community. “At Luck Stone, our focus on meeting our customers’ needs and ensuring quality service and an exceptional buying experience differentiates us from our competitors,” said Michelle Trudeau, Compensation and Benefits Manager at Luck Stone. www.softscape.com www.luckstone.com

Oregon architectural and engineering services

Black & Veatch was selected by the state of Oregon to provide architectural and engineering services for the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network (OWIN) project that is designed to enhance public safety. The OWIN project consolidates the Department of Oregon State Police, Department of Corrections, Department of Forestry and Department of Transportation radio systems into an up-to-date wireless public safety network. The system will replace outdated and aging infrastructure while complying with new Federal Communications Commission regulations requiring users of wideband radio to convert to narrowband technology before Jan. 1, 2013. (OWIN Director, Lindsay Ball.)

Electronic plan submission, review and tracking for City

The City of Santa Clarita, located in Los Angeles County, has selected Avolve Software’s ProjectDox electronic plan submission, review and tracking. ProjectDox ePlan solution allows jurisdictions like Santa Clarita to offer web-based file submission and review to citizens, architects and developers who work with Building, Planning and Public Works departments reviewing site, building and engineering plans. Key benefits include reducing paper, printing costs, storage costs, deforestation, drive time, gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions – while improving customer service and enabling greater efficiency between multiple departments. www.avolvesoftware.com

Caterpillar dealer improves business

Wagner Equipment Co., a U.S.-based Caterpillar equipment dealer, has licensed the Lawson for Equipment Service Management and Rental Suite. Wagner will deploy the Lawson system to help bring new capabilities, functionality and improved efficiencies into its business. This industry-specific solution from Lawson helps heavy equipment dealers better manage sales, service, maintenance and equipment rental operations within their business. Wagner Equipment Co., a privately held Caterpillar dealer since 1976, sells and rents quality Caterpillar machines and engines. These machines and engines are used in heavy construction, building construction, mining, waste handling, paving, municipal and governmental applications, forestry, power generation and more. (Bruce Wagner, COO for Wagner Equipment Co.)

Software to operate digital signs

AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah (AAA NCNU) has selected Netkey software to operate digital signs in the club’s branch offices, headquarters and operations centers. The second-largest regional member club of the national AAA organization, AAA NCNU serves more than 4.2 million members via about 100 local branch offices and several operations centers. The club offers members a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial products and services. As part of a strategy to enhance the member experience, present a consistent brand image and deliver targeted marketing and promotional information, AAA NCNU has replaced a primarily DVD-driven display system with digital signage powered by Netkey software. The deployment will also include a multi-screen video wall in the club’s Walnut Creek, Calif. headquarters which can also be used for TV commercial launches and special promotions. (Virginia Vovchuk, director of brand strategy and design for AAA NCNU.) www.netkey.com

Construction permits

Avolve Software Corporation, developers of ProjectDox ePlan and collaboration software and a leading provider of ePlan solutions for cities, counties and states nationwide, announced today that West Palm Beach, Florida, ranked as a technology-advanced city in a 2008 Digital Cities Survey, will deploy its product as part of a continuing effort to embrace e-government and reduce the amount of paper, travel and other time and cost inefficiencies specifically associated with obtaining construction permits. www.avolvesoftware.com.

Boeing and GE: condition-based maintenance

Boeing and GE Aviation have jointly developed a method to implement condition-based maintenance systems on aircraft. It is called the Open System Architecture for Condition-Based Maintenance (OSA-CBM). This will become an industry standard with the signing of an agreement by the two companies to grant rights for its use to the Machinery Information Management Open Systems Alliance (MIMOSA) organization. Project managers implementing condition-based maintenance systems must integrate a wide variety of software and hardware components, each one developed to monitor a single supplier’s system such as an engine, hydraulic or braking system. OSA-CBM simplifies this process by specifying a standard architecture and framework to implement condition-based maintenance systems. This standard defines the binary form to implement the open systems architecture for condition-based maintenance.

The aim of condition-based maintenance (CBM) is to maintain the correct equipment at the right time. CBM is based on using real-time data to prioritize and optimize maintenance resources. Observing the state of the system is known as condition monitoring. Such a system will determine the equipment's health, and act only when maintenance is actually necessary.

“The Boeing and GE implementation provides a 10-fold increase in real time performance of the Open System Architecture for Condition Based Maintenance (OSA-CBM) standard, making it practical for embedded health monitoring of aircraft systems,” said John Armendarez, president of Avionics for GE Aviation.

“GE and Boeing have jointly designed and implemented these key system-enabling technologies under shared funding,” said Peter Lawrence, Boeing Research & Technology director of Support Services. “This architecture allows aircraft and major-aircraft-system manufacturers to economically design and deliver health management capability within their fleets. The OSA-CBM framework provides a standard for systems to share health information, and the new binary implementation delivers this efficiently.”

Financial and project management

Performance Contracting Group (PCG), one of the largest specialty contractors in the United States, has chosen to integrate their financial and project management functions with CMiC software. Based in Lenexa, Kansas, PCG’s largest subsidiary, Performance Contracting Inc, is the #1 Wall and Ceiling Contractor in the U.S and the company, as a whole, has about 3,000 ongoing projects at a time. For the last 20 years, PCG has been using a combination of homegrown, internally developed software packages and heavily customized 3rd party accounting software to meet their business needs. Though the systems served the company well, the lack of integration and multiple vendor databases became an issue. (Mick Matthews, senior vice president of Performance Contracting Group.)

One-to-Watch: Easy Price Pro is estimating software for the building industry. The main pricing system was started in 1990 by a builder who couldn't find an easy way of producing estimates. Now more than 3,000 copies of the software are in use. http://www.easypricepro.com

Construction contractor invests in software upgrade

T.A. Loving Company is upgrading to eCMS 3.7. The company has further enhanced its current technology solutions with the purchase of Computer Guidance’s Order Processing, Equipment Maintenance and Project Collaborator applications. T.A. Loving Company is consistently ranked one of the nation's top 400 contractors, providing complete construction and pre-construction services for the general building, utility and bridge/heavy trades. (Al Grisette, Chief Financial Officer, T.A. Loving Company.)

Building the US housing market

The number of US homebuyers who agreed to purchase a previously occupied home in April was the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that property sales are coming back to life. The National Association of Realtors said that its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April had risen by 6.7 per cent to 90.3, far exceeding analysts' forecasts. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, when pending sales had risen by 9.2 per cent.

This will be good news for many, including “One-to-Watch,” Easy Price Pro, developer and marketer of estimating software for the building industry. http://www.easypricepro.com.

$6.8 billion worth of wireless communications

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, also known simply as the Stimulus Bill) will provide funding for a massive $6.8 billion worth of wireless communications upgrades and new deployments over 2009-2010. The Act offers a significant one-off opportunity for wireless equipment vendors, an opportunity examined in a study from ABI Research.

“The ARRA represents a windfall for wireless service providers as well as for satellite service providers,” comments ABI Research vice president Stan Schatt. “It will have an enormous impact on Wi-Fi and wireless broadband vendors. It will also immediately benefit a number of specific vertical industries including healthcare, education, homeland security, the environment, and the nation’s electricity infrastructure.”

In healthcare, the scope for adding wireless to the technology mix encompasses Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices and sensors, communications systems linking health networks, telepresence, wireless LAN equipment, and Wi-Fi-enabled video surveillance systems.

In education, already a leading adopter of Wi-Fi solutions, equipment vendors are developing templated solutions in such areas as WLANs for “learning anywhere,” voice-over-Wi-Fi, and WLAN equipment and software to track students’ progress for “No Child Left Behind” record keeping.

The Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection are potential goldmines for wireless vendors because of the many agencies within them that will use ARRA funds for tactical communications equipment, infrastructure equipment, and security equipment. Even critical infrastructure construction projects such as bridges and tunnels often require wireless video surveillance systems.

In fact, notes Schatt, “Many of the spending opportunities lie ‘under the surface’. A civil engineering project which seems mainly about concrete and steel may actually benefit from a lot of wireless technology. And because vendors can’t apply for funds themselves, they are – and should be – doing everything in their power to help their customers do so.”

ABI Research’s “The 2009 Federal Stimulus Bill” (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1004117) examines the ARRA funds most appropriate for wireless solutions on a federal department-by-department basis. It discusses the types of partnerships necessary to fill product gaps as well as the opportunities to take advantage of ARRA “green” funding. 

Construction management processes

Ada County Highway District (ACHD) of Boise, Idaho has selected Prolog software to standardize it’s construction management processes. ACHD is working directly with P7 Integration, a Meridian Systems Value Added Reseller (VAR), to implement Prolog Manager and Prolog WebSite across the organization. As a public agency, ACHD adopted Prolog to manage complex capital projects more effectively and improve construction project accountability. Working from a five-year work plan, Prolog will manage ACHD projects from conceptualization, scope, funding allocation, design, right-of-way acquisition, construction, bidding, contract awards, construction, and closeout. (Steve Dean, ACHD’s Capital Projects Manager.)

One millionth 3D CAD license

OGIO International has bought the one millionth license of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp's 3D CAD software. OGIO International bought the license for aluminum design engineer Sean Peterson, who is working on OGIO’s new line of motocross racing accessories. Peterson will use SolidWorks software to design products such as ramps, stands, and hardware for motocross bikes. OGIO is famous for designing creative and edgy athletic bags with innovative features like the zipper-less ball pocket on its golf bags. The company’s designers use SolidWorks software to model injection-molded plastic pieces such as carrying handles, wheels, and golf bag frames.

One-to-Watch: CADSmart software enables users to easily and automatically asses the skills of existing and prospective members of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) team: ensuring the right people are hired and training is given where it is needed. http://www.cadsmart.net.

Autodesk under GSA

DLT Solutions, Inc., a VAR, has increased the procurement options available to state and local governments for the purchase of Autodesk software in 18 states. Building on its already state contracts that includes GSA Schedule (GS-35F-4543G), Texas - DIR 513 and 491, and COSTARS, DLT can ease the procurement of Autodesk’s portfolio of 2D and 3D design and engineering software with contract vehicles in additional states including Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and more. To help state and local agencies understand how IT and digital design solutions can help the fast-tracking of “shovel-ready” projects, DLT has created a Recovery Act Web portal that provides insight into how the economic stimulus affects each government agency and tools that can help them administer and implement the provisions of the Act.

One-to-Watch: CADSmart software enables users to easily and automatically asses the skills of existing and prospective members of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) team: ensuring the right people are hired and training is given where it is needed. http://www.cadsmart.net.

Construction sentiment

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index of sentiment rose to 14 in April from 9 in March, emerging from single digits for the first time in six months. It was the largest one-month gain since May 2003.

One-to-Watch: Easy Price Pro is estimating software for the building industry. The main pricing system was started in 1990 by a builder who couldn't find an easy way of producing estimates. Now more than 3,000 copies of the software are in use. http://www.easypricepro.com