Construction Field Mobility Blog

Construction Firms Come to YouTube: Videos for Construction

Josh Kanner — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:40:32 +0000

Since 2006, we've been creating and videos showing our construction field software in action with customers and then posting them to YouTube. And it's obvious that we’re not alone. According to a survey, 100 million video clips are viewed daily on YouTube, with an additional 65,000 new videos uploaded every 24 hours. At that rate, that means that over 142 million videos have been uploaded in the last six years!

For us, the key has been to capture the customer’s experience and putting that front and center. At the beginning, we started simple. Customers were excited to use our software and tablets in the field. We figured, “heck, let’s just record them when they talk and are using our products” like in this original video. Then we started layering in some special effects. One of my favorite older video features an architect AND a contractor, modeled after the then-popular “Hi I’m a mac, and Hi I’m a PC” advertisements. More recently, we've dramatically improved video quality, layered in music in some cases and spliced together footage from multi-location interviews, like this video at Hunt Library.

Fast forward to 2012. We have lots of our own YouTube videos and some feature product demos. As well, our customers are doing videos themselves without us getting involved at all. Given all of this fantastic construction video content, we decided to consolidate it into one area and are happy to announce the launch of the Vela Video Blog. Key features include a simple navigation bar at the left side to jump to videos of certain categories. For example, check out the first customer videos from MCL construction and Skanska USA Building in North Carolina.

In the last 6 years, the cost to record, produce and publish these videos has fallen dramatically but the high value remains. If a picture tells a 1,000 words, a movie, well, a movie is like being there yourself. So, Vela users, make some videos. Show us how you are using the software and we’ll post it to the blog for everyone to see. Promote your firm. Promote your usage. YouTube makes it easy – shouldn’t your firm be a part of it?

My next blog post will give some helpful hints on how to make your first video.

iPad Superusers Event for Construction - AGC IT Committee

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:24:59 +0000

Here’s a great event on iPads in construction that I’d encourage both contractors and owners in the New England area to attend. AGC member and non-members are welcome!

On Thursday, March 8, 2012 from 8:30AM – 10:00AM at the AGC Conference Center in Wellesley, MA, the AGC IT Committee of the AGC of Massachusetts, The Association of Commercial & Institutional Builders, is sponsoring a discussion on iPads in construction, with construction industry leaders and IT professionals. The event is apply named “iPad Superusers.”

The iPad Superusers event will focus on the best apps or applications for the iPad in construction and in field management, such as quality (QA/QC), safety, documents to the field, commissioning (Cx), handover, and Field BIM – delivering BIM to the field for field superintendents, field engineers, and other field personnel, without having to be a trained BIM-expert or a seasoned VDC (Virtual Design and Construction) engineer.

The goal is to better understand how apps, coupled with mobile technologies such as iPads in the field, on the jobsite, and at the point of construction, unlock new forms of value and create ROI for builders, contractors, construction managers, and owners alike -- enabling collaboration, driving productivity, increasing profitability, reducing risk, and facilitating handover.

Chuck Vaciliou from Erland Construction will moderate the discussion for the AGC IT Committee. Additionally, Paul Maclelland from Vela Systems will demonstrate field management software, including the Vela Mobile: iPad app, delivering BIM to the field for field management programs.

iPad Superusers event details:

When: Thursday, March 8, 2012

Time: 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Where: AGC Conference Center, Wellesley
888 Worcester Street Suite 40
Wellesley, MA 02482

Moderator: Chuck Vaciliou, Erland Construction

Sponsor: AGC IT Committee of the AGC of Massachusetts

Guest Presenter: Paul Maclelland, Vela Systems

Cost: FREE to AGC members, $50 for non-members

You can register online here >

Avoid Generic & Nondescript Articles with "Umbrella" Construction Language

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:45:51 +0000

Authoring Construction Quality, Safety & Commissioning Issues Part 7

Here’s my seventh blog post on best practices in authoring construction quality, safety, and commissioning issues and items of work to complete or correct, out in the field and at the point-of-construction, as part of a field management program for construction.

Today, let’s continue to discuss good writing styles for issues and items of work to complete or correct, and for unsafe conditions, at-risk behaviors, and jobsite safety hazards. Again, let’s take a page from The Project Resource Manual, CSI Manual of Practice of “inappropriate terms” of language usage, and review nondescript articles, words, and expressions:

Avoid generic and nondescript articles, words, and expressions. Relate one issue or one item to one unit of work or one task, 1 to 1. Refer to a specific and unique instance in each issue or item description, as opposed to the whole of the project. Focus the possible extent of the issue or item description.

Refrain from using umbrella language to cover all possible instances of the issue or item across the project with one issue. This umbrella or “coverall” approach significantly impacts the team’s ability to effectively and efficiently manage, track, task, operationally report and analytically report on project and stakeholder performance.

Again, be specific, and avoid the following generic and nondescript articles with umbrella language:

All
And other(s)
And so forth
And so on
And the like
And the rest
Any
Each
Each and every one
Each of
Each one
Etc., Etcetera
Every
Every one, Every one of

More to come next week…

Avoid Overly Formal Construction Adverbs: Use Simple and Direct Language

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:17:02 +0000

Authoring Construction Quality, Safety & Commissioning Issues Part 6

Here’s my sixth blog on best practices in authoring construction quality, safety, and commissioning issues and items of work to complete or correct, out in the field and at the point-of-construction, as part of a field management program for construction.

Today, let’s continue to discuss good writing styles for issues and items of work to complete or correct, and for unsafe conditions, at-risk behaviors, and jobsite safety hazards. Again, let’s take a page from the CSI Manual of Practice of “inappropriate terms” of language usage, and review adverbs today.

Typically, adverbs serve the purpose of answering questions such as:

How?
In what way?
When?
Where?
To what extent?

Accordingly, some adverbs are important for issues and items of work to complete or correct, and for unsafe conditions, at-risk behaviors, and jobsite safety hazards.

Adverbs help field teams to effectively communicate greater detail about the issues and items on to contractors, trade contractors, owners, architects, engineers, sub-consultants, and other project stakeholders and participants.

Adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses are a group of words not containing a subject and verb, acting as an adverb. Additionally, adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses are also important, from time to time.

However, some “fancy” adverbs, conjunctions, and pronouns, arguably archaic and overly formal, only cause confusion and muddle the meaning of the quality, safety, and commissioning issues and items.

Save your poetic Shakespeare and save your proper Middle English, as it has no place on the jobsite, and use simple and direct language.

Avoid the following adverbs:

Hereinafter
Hereinbefore
Hereinbelow
Herewith
Wherefrom
Wherein
Whereinsoever
Whereso
Wheresoever
Whereto

Again, use simple and direct language. For example, use “with this,” “together with this,” “enclosed,” or “attached,” instead of “herewith.” As a second example, use “in which” or “where,” instead of “wherein.” As a third example, use “to which,” instead of “whereto.”

More to come next week…

Avoid Ambiguous Phrases With Missing Objects

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:13:27 +0000

Authoring Construction Quality, Safety & Commissioning Issues Part 5: Avoid Ambiguous Phrases With Missing Objects

Here’s my fifth blog post on best practices in authoring construction quality, safety and commissioning issues and items of work to complete or correct, out in the field and at the point-of-construction.

These best practices help to ensure effective communication of quality and commissioning conformances and non-conformances, and of safety conditions and at-risk behaviors, in two key ways:

In operational reporting or transactional reporting on to contractors, trade contractors, specialty contractors, subcontractors, vendors, building product manufacturers (BPMs), and other project stakeholders and participants;

And, for analytical reporting both on one project and across many projects.

Today, let’s continue to discuss good writing styles for issues and items of work to complete or correct, and take a page from the CSI Manual of Practice of “inappropriate terms” of language usage.

Again, avoid ambiguous phrases with missing objects. As phrases with missing objects are vague, the language has the potential risk first to deny the readers of explicit instruction, second to offer the readers overly generous latitude in interpretation, and third to undermine the intention of the author, sometimes inadvertently and unknowingly.

Team members may not know what the phrase means without referring back to a wide array of source documents, such as contracting requirements, specifications, contract drawings, and resource drawings, for example – which only burdens the process, slows the turnaround time, and creates new sources for potential conflict, as opposed to collaboration.

Phrases with missing objects lack clear, concise, correct and complete direction, and generally serve as an easy way to skirt around understanding and communicating the requirements of the specifications, both for the author and for the reader.

If the phrase starts with the preposition “as,” it’s a red flag – it’s a signal not to use the phrase as a substitute for proper language. Help your project team, be specific, and explain the what, where, when, why and how, as opposed to using generic fillers and meaningless catchalls with missing objects.

For example, avoid using the following phrases:

As accepted
As agreed
As allocated
As allowed
As applicable
As appropriate
As approved
As authorized
As directed
As indicated
As necessary
As needed
As noted
As permitted
As required
As reviewed
As revised
As specified
As submitted

More to come next week…

iPad2 Case for Construction Jobsite: Griffin Technology Survivor Case

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:24:37 +0000

We spotted the Griffin Technology Survivor Military-Duty case for the Apple® iPad® 2, and commented on its excellent fitness for field management programs on the construction jobsite, out in the field and at the point-of-construction. Here are some of the key reasons why:

The durable case is designed to protect your iPad 2 from the inclement environmental conditions year-round and the sometimes extreme conditions common to the construction jobsite: dirt, sand, rain, shock, vibration and a host of other environmental factors.

With a frame constructed from a shatter-resistant polycarbonate material, clad in shock-absorbing silicone, the Griffin Survivor Case for the iPad2 includes a built-in screen protector to seal your Multi-Touch display from the wear and tear of the construction jobsite environment. Hinged plugs seal the dock connector, camera lens, headphone port, hold switch and volume controls. The included stand clips on. Then, it folds open first for landscape viewing of documents, drawings and Building Information Models (BIM) in the field, and second for managing quality, safety and commissioning programs in the field. And the all-black case will hide the dirt and dust, and the grit and grime, common to the construction jobsite and the construction job trailer.

The iPad 2 rugged case has been tested and certified to meet or exceed US Department of Defense Standard 810, also known as MIL-STD-810 – for environmental design and test limits. If it meets or exceeds MIL-STD-810, it’s fit for the construction jobsite, where the work gets done and managed.

The United States Military Standard referred to as MIL-STD-810, "Department of Defense Test Method Standard for Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests" emphasizes tailoring an equipment's environmental design and test limits to the conditions that it will experience throughout its service life, and establishing chamber test methods that replicate the effects of environments on the equipment rather than imitating the environments themselves. The MIL-STD-810 test series are approved for use by all departments and agencies of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). Here’s more information on MIL-STD-810: www.dtc.army.mil/pdf/810.pdf

Additionally, the Griffin Survivor Case for the iPad 2 has also been independently tested and verified to meet or exceed environmental testing standards for blown rain, blown dust and grit, vibration, shock, temperature and humidity.

Griffin exclaims that it is the most protective case in the Griffin product line to date, and we understand why! The Griffin Survivor Case for the iPad 2 is designed and engineered for use on the construction jobsite, out in the field and at the point-of-construction.

Product Features

Compatible with Apple iPad 2 to provide durability on the construction jobsite.
Polycarbonate frame protects your iPad 2 from damage if dropped and resists shattering in the field.
Silicone cladding absorbs shock and reduces vibration for stability, when managing construction field programs, performing quality, safety and commissioning checklists, documenting issues and items of work to complete and correct, marking up documents and drawings, and interacting with Field BIM.
Integral display shield helps deflect wind and rain, when at the point-of-construction.
Military standard tested and certified protects against sand, dust, wind, rain, vibration, drop and other elements, common to the construction jobsite.

Technical Specifications

Independently tested and certified to meet conditions outlined in US Department of Defense MIL-STD-810.
Integral Display shield deflects wind and rain (Test: up to 200 mm/hr for 1 hour).
Rigid internal frame protects against shocks and drops (Test: drop on flat concrete surface from 6'/1.8 m).
Sealed ports block blown sand and dust (Test: up to 18 m/sec for 1 hour).
Silicone cladding blocks vibration (Test: 18 hrs at 20 to 2000 Hz).
Includes multi-position workstand.

Apple, the Apple logo and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPod is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Avoid Construction Abbreviations and Acronyms: Authoring Issues

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:43:31 +0000

Authoring Construction Quality, Safety & Commissioning Issues Part 4: Avoid construction abbreviations and acronyms!

SD for smoke detector or SD for supply duct?

This is my fourth blog post on best practices in authoring construction quality, safety and commissioning issues and items of work to complete or correct, out in the field and at the point-of-construction. These best practices help ensure effective communication first in operational or transactional reporting on to trade contractors, specialty contractors, subcontractors and other project stakeholders and participants, and second for analytical reporting across projects.

Today, let’s continue to discuss good writing styles for issues and items of work to complete or correct.

Contractors, architects and engineers love using abbreviations and acronyms. It’s been ingrained in our business practices and cultural behaviors for decades, like paper and clipboard.

“SD 90” AFF O/C DR-110.”

(Insert your own construction abbreviations and acronyms here!)

Abbreviations and acronyms - It’s our own unique dialect, construction-ese. If you understand it, you’re part of the exclusive club. However, using construction abbreviations and acronyms generally creates problems, otherwise preventable.

Avoid construction abbreviations and acronyms!

In construction, one of the key reasons that abbreviations and acronyms originated was due to physical space limitations of construction drawings and details, when making notes and callouts on sheets. However, the same physical space limitations in construction drawings don’t exist when writing construction quality, safety and commissioning issues. The same technical constraints don’t apply, but the practice of using abbreviations and acronyms persists, in many cases to the detriment of stakeholders.

Using abbreviations and acronyms, and other shorthand nomenclature where possible, typically causes preventable misunderstandings and inadvertent misuse. Again, refrain from using construction abbreviations and acronyms wherever possible.

Here are the top ten reasons to avoid using abbreviations when authoring construction quality, safety and commissioning issues:

Project stakeholders upstream, such as managers and executives responsible for many projects across an organization, geographic region or business unit, may be unfamiliar with the meaning.
Auto-correct and spell-check features in software applications, inadvertently and unknowingly to the user from time to time, wreak havoc on abbreviations and acronyms.
Project participants downstream, such as trade contractors and specialty contractors, may be unfamiliar with the meaning.
Abbreviations promote the use of improper slang and jargon, e.g. DRYWALL for plaster and gypsum board. As a best practice, always try to use proper construction industry terminology. For example, the correct terms are plaster and gypsum board not drywall, when referencing building products per MasterFormat® 09 20 00.
Junior personnel and new personnel to the project may be unfamiliar with the meaning of the construction abbreviations and acronyms.
One abbreviation may share very different meanings, e.g. SD for smoke detector and SD for supply duct. Case in point and many other examples exist.
Non-native English speaking personnel may be unfamiliar with the meaning.
Abbreviations generally vary with disciplines and trades. One abbreviation means one thing to one subcontractor and another thing to another subcontractor, and potentially a third thing to a third subcontractor. This condition creates confusion when an issue or item requires input and work from more than one trade, which is commonplace at system and assembly intersections and interfaces.
Abbreviations need to be coordinated and aligned with other contract documents, drawings and specifications, which adds an extra degree of responsibility on the issue authors.
Abbreviations cannot be indexed, searched and filtered effectively for analytical reporting and scoring during the project and after handover for performance review and analysis.

Happy holidays to all, and more to come…

2012 Meet Schedule

Wednesday January 4th

Reading @ Stoneham 4:30pm

*Bus Departure Time: TBA

Tuesday January 10th

Melrose @ Reading (Gym Street) 7:30pm

Friday January 13th

Reading @ Woburn 4:30pm

*Bus Departure Time: TBA

Wednesday January 18th

Winchester @ Reading (Gym Street) 7:30pm

Friday January 20th

Burlington @ Reading (Gym Street) 7:30pm

Wednesday January 25th

Arlington @ Reading (Gym Street) 7:30pm

Friday January 27th

Wakefield @ Reading (Gym Street) 7:30pm

League Meet TBA

More Good Construction Quality Issue Writing Tips

Adam Omansky A.M.ASCE — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:50:07 +0000

Authoring Construction Quality Issues Part 3: Use the Imperative Tense

Here’s my third blog post on best practices in authoring construction quality issues and items of work to complete or correct, out in the field and at the point-of-construction, to help ensure effective communication first in operational or transactional reporting on to trade contractors, specialty contractors, subcontractors and other project stakeholders and participants, and second for analytical reporting across projects.

Today, let’s continue to discuss good writing styles for issues and items of work to complete or correct.

Use the imperative tense or imperative “mood,” the grammatical term, to expresses commands or requests. The verb that defines the action is the first word in the sentence.

As six basic examples, when installing the external raceway assembly of an air handler, air handling unit or AHU, quality issues and items of work to complete or correct may include the following.

GOOD EXAMPLES with the imperative tense:

Remove protective foam cover from connectors.
Attach stacked raceway harness connectors.
Match connector colors on the high voltage side and connector numbers on the low voltage side.
Verify conduit size.
Attach covers.
Secure conduit.

BAD EXAMPLES without the imperative tense:

Trade craft to remove the foam cover that protects the connectors.
The connectors for the stacked raceway harness must be attached as per the spec.
The electrical colors do not match up. Refer to the specs, submittals and diagrams as required.
The conduit size doesn’t look right based on the current drawings and approved submittals.
What’s up with that? (Actual issue description by a Vela Field Management user!)
Conduit is not tight and additional fixing should be provided per means and methods.

First, in the good examples, note that each issue or items starts with the imperative tense verb: remove, attach, match, verify, secure, etc.

Remove protective foam cover from connectors.
Attach stacked raceway harness connectors.
Match connector colors on the high voltage side and connector numbers on the low voltage side.
Verify conduit size.
Attach covers.
Secure conduit.

Second, in the good examples, note that the object, generally, immediately follows the verb: protective foam cover, stacked raceway harness connectors, connector colors, conduit size, covers, conduit, etc.

Remove protective foam cover from connectors.
Attach stacked raceway harness connectors.
Match connector colors on the high voltage side and connector numbers on the low voltage side.
Verify conduit size.
Attach covers.
Secure conduit.

In some cases, the object is short, only one word, e.g. covers or conduit. In other cases, the object and its respective modifiers consist of several words, e.g. protective foam cover or stacked raceway harness connectors, to best describe the component, element or other feature of work.

Third, note that the imperative tense excludes the subject. The pronoun you, generally the trade contractor, specialty contractor, subcontractor, work crew or trade craft responsible for performing the work in the field, is the "understood subject" in imperative sentences, e.g. “You attach covers.” Or “You secure conduit.”

Some may characterize the imperative tense to be impolite as the sentence is initially framed from its first word as a compulsory command or obligatory instruction, or in the least a strong recommendation. However, effectively communicating issues and items of work is about professional efficiency and not about personal gentility.

The imperative tense is clear and concise, not roundabout. The imperative tense gets to the main point, without “beating around the bush.”

On one hand, proper field management of work lists, construction defects, and quality non-conformances are about directness in business process, not uncertainty or ambiguity. On the other hand, courtesy and consideration always help to speed up turnaround time and amicable resolution.

Cut to chase when authoring construction quality issues and items of work to complete or correct – use the imperative tense!

Tune in to Construction Conferences on Twitter

Josh Kanner — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:38:54 +0000

Get bite sized, good information on mobility in construction, direct to your desk or mobile device!

Fall is undoubtedly the conference season for technology in construction. There are so many construction events but for me, it’s impossible to go to all of them. So, I ended up discovering and I’m now actively participating in social media to stay on top of it all. Specifically, the content on Twitter for construction trends, news, companies and events is not only convenient, but a useful tool that’s helping me stay current with all events in real time without being there in person.

Now, if you are a long-time twitter user, you may think this blog post is stating the obvious. If so, hopefully you’ll find useful some of the Twitter accounts and hashtags (#) I’ve suggested below. For those of you who don’t use Twitter much or at all, then this may be a good reason to start.

Why join Twitter? Well, what I like about it is there are nice, bite-sized pieces of good, real-time information that come from people, companies or news organizations that are at conferences. You can get some of the key points, without actually being there in person. For example, following #ENRTech, the FutureTech event happening in San Francisco this week, you’ll find @oscia_wilson tweet: #Skanska showing 800% ROI on their tech investments, 101% ROI to project #ENRTECH. Or James Vandezande @jvandezande tweet a photo of a speaker during a live presentation with "The future is fiction, participation is what shapes our world," which gives you a great feel for the event.

Following #AU2011 for Autodesk University, you’ll come across: “75% of workers in AEC not behind a desk. Customers want #BIM on a mobile device on the site” tweeted from @FM_Systems and @RobinCapper. In the same stream, Jeff Yoders @jyoders19 notes “Construction is 10% of WORLD GDP and roughly 30% of that is waste. Amazing only my friends at #AU2011 get this and the politicians don't.”

Where should you start? Once you have signed up for a Twitter account, just put in the hashtag symbol and the name of the conference in the search box in Twitter. For example, put in #ENRTECH and you will get a list of observations from the event. Or #Ecobuild, #mobiBIM (for the COMIT BIM and mobility conference), etc.

If you want to take a shortcut, just follow me and my tweets @jkanner1, my colleague @pbillante or Vela @velasystems to at least see who and what we follow. These will mostly be construction industry folks focused on technology, who will often include tweets about the conferences they attend. Or you can go directly to any conference website and chances are, they’ll have a twitter account and Twitter hashtag to follow.

Doing this has helped me stay on top of what’s important to me and what’s going on in the construction event world. Beyond conferences, you can also use hashtags to follow topics of interest to you. For example, check out #construction…

The Best Picture of an iPad on a Construction Jobsite

Peter Billante — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:11:18 +0000

…is going to be on the Vela Systems Facebook Wall page soon!

We’re asking all of our users and anyone else using an iPad on a construction jobsite to post their best picture to our wall. Each month (for the next three months) we will choose two winners who will each get a brand new Otterbox® Reflex Series case for their iPad.

So be creative and post a stunning photo that will make you the star of the Vela Facebook page. Maybe you have the dirtiest iPad? The best background shot? The best “action” shot of a QA/QC inspection with heavy equipment? Or the best (worst) protective case?

A few entries have already been posted to our wall from some of the folks at Skanska and Shiel Sexton and we're really looking forward to seeing what other great photos are coming.

It’s that time now…head over to our Facebook page and “Like” us for more contest details and other Vela news!

And, a special thanks to the OtterBox team, for kindly donating the cases as the rewards!