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There are lots of great apps and software for everything from troubleshooting tech issues, digital measurements, fabrication, project execution and project management. Be sure to read all the way down to “Video & Cool Stuff” for news on 3-D printed homes, a video on ancient estimators and how drones benefit a jobsite.

Apps

Online Tool Improves Customer Service Support Using Video Guidance

With the Genie^® Tech Sight application, the Genie Technical Services and Support team can troubleshoot technical issues in the field using online video guidance for real-time visual assistance. The app enables Genie to engage in “live” interactions with field service technicians using video-enabled mobile devices, including Android or Apple smartphones and tablets.

Download Bosch MeasureOn App For Digital Project Overview

Users can download Bosch’s free MeasureOn app to any iOS or Android device for a digital overview of all project details – including floor plans, measurements, photos and notes. The app works via Bluetooth with the Bosch BLAZE™ GLM 50 C and Bosch GLM 100 C laser measures to create entire floor plans, store project images with measurement overlays and notes, improve measurement precision and speed, enhance the organization and reliability of project documents and reduce information transfer mistakes.

Products

Kinestral Technologies to Produce Halio Smart-tinting Glass 

Kinestral Technologies, Inc., has partnered with G-Tech Optoelectronics Corporation (GTOC), a subsidiary of the Foxconn Technology Group, to begin mass production of Halio, a smart-tinting glass. Halio transitions from clear to dark in less than three minutes, darkens uniformly and starts in a clear state then tints from transparent to 99.7 percent dark.

DeWalt FlexVolt Battery Runs Longer, Cooler

Dewalt’s dual-voltage 20V/60V MAX* FLEXVOLT® 9.0Ah Battery for use with 20V MA*, 60V MA* and 120V MAX (2 x 60V MAX) DEWALT tools features up to six times more battery capacity than the DEWALT 20V MAX 1.5Ah battery. The silicone encapsulated module helps keep dust and debris out.

Software & In the Cloud

Trimble Announces Tekla 2017 Software for the Construction Industry

Trimble has three new versions of its software for structural engineering, fabrication and construction teams: Tekla Structures 2017, Tekla Structural Designer 2017 and Tekla Tedds 2017. Tekla Structures 2017 introduces the next generation reinforcement method for more flexibility to create and modify reinforcements for different types of concrete geometries and improves information exchange between detailing and production for precast concrete fabrication. For steel detailing, users can create anything from simple bent gussets to folded profiles, spiral stringer plates, transitional duct sections, complex folded panels and more. Tekla Structural Designer 2017 helps users determine the best structural solution focused on A&D workflow productivity for steel and concrete code compliant structural design, automating the number of piles required and providing new wind load processes. Tekla Tedds 2017 automates repetitive and error prone structural and civil calculations. The software now includes new steel column and base plate design for Eurocodes and U.S. codes and can be integrated with Microsoft Word.

Oracle Unveils Latest Innovations in Oracle Prime Projects Cloud Service

Oracle Prime Projects capabilities, Oracle Lean Scheduling Solution and Oracle Capital Improvement Program Solution, add innovative project execution and capital planning features to Oracle Construction and Engineering’s suite of cloud solutions. Oracle Lean Scheduling integrates both critical path method (CPM) and Lean scheduling methods into a single, integrated engineering and construction production system. Oracle Capital Improvement Program leverages cloud architecture to help eliminate data silos and facilitate collaborative tasks across departments. The cloud suite is mobile ready, offers built-in analytics and features robust workflows and social tools to enable rich, real-time collaboration on mission-critical activities.

Telogis Technology Enables John Deere Construction Customers to Connect and Optimize Jobsites and Work

John Deere Construction equipment's built-in connectivity, combined with the Telogis Mobile Resource Management software platform, enables users to access a proprietary data set to help eliminate manual data entry and generate deeper operational insights. Customers can push data out to their workforce, enabling more effective driver coaching and job completion and connect back into JDLink™ telematics to order parts and service, receive equipment maintenance records or contact local John Deere Construction dealers. With the software platform's comprehensive feature set, users can see Hours of Service and Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports, jobsite utilization alerts and reporting that features engine hours, equipment utilization, fuel consumption and details on diagnostic codes.

Acquisitions & Partnerships

eSUB Announces Technology Partnership With STACK Construction Technologies

eSUB Construction Software (eSUB) and STACK Construction Technologies have partnered on integrated estimating, project management and document control. The partnership will connect eSUB's industry-leading platform with STACK's takeoff and estimating software to streamline the project delivery process for commercial subcontractors beginning in 2018. With this integration, project managers, field foreman and workers can complete work in eSUB by collaborating on projects and using current cloud-hosted documents, including submittals, Daily Reports, RFIs, contracts, schedules and drawings. eSUB allows everyone on the project team—from executives to field workers—to access and collaborate on the same project data from any location.

Video & Cool Stuff

3-D Printed Homes a Reality

An engineer at the University of Southern California has developed a 3-D printer that constructed a prototype 2,500 sq. ft. home in 20 hours using a layered fabrication technology.

Ancient Estimators Video Looks at Role of Estimators and Construction Managers Through Time

OnCenter Software’s online series on Ancient Estimators focuses on the oft-forgotten key roles estimators and construction managers played in the building trades from the dawn of civilization. The first in the series, “Bricks and Tablets,” is a fascinating look at how plans evolved from a simple circle to astonishingly accurate clay tablet floor plans used by builders in Mesopotamia. The invention of bricks enabled builders to plan and estimate labor and materials needed before beginning construction. The second video in the series, coming this Spring, focuses on the Egyptians.

TrueLook Reveals How Drones Benefit Construction Jobsites

TrueLook lists four reasons to use drones on a jobsite:

1. HD bird’s eye view. Drones provide a high-definition, bird’s eye view of the jobsite, which can reveal a lot about progress on a project.
2. Team communication. Aerial photography looks more impressive than ground shots. Sharing aerial photography with investors, owners and others is a great way to show off a project and renew excitement.
3. Marketing. Aerial photography captures the scope of the entire project to make a great impression. Developers and contractors can use drones in their marketing, sharing project progress photos with prospective tenants.
4. No jobsite too big. Drones can extend the documentation of construction activities to every square foot of the jobsite. One drone can document every angle of a project, whereas live construction cameras offer one field-of-view.