The continued drumbeat about cloud computing [earlier CI Post] keeps the topic at the forefront of conversations those in construction are having about how to leverage the cloud and still maintain security and functionality. One aspect of cloud computing is file storage and it’s not as simple as setting up an account with an online backup service. You have files that are constantly being modified and you need a seamless backup that takes into account the needs of users while creating multiple versions of files and making them easily available if something goes wrong.

Join me in a conversation with Andres Rodriquez, the CEO of Nasuni Corporation. Nasuni bills itself as the gateway to cloud storage. Andres offers perspectives on the security of the cloud, the bandwidth issues, why the cloud is evolving as it is and what to expect from the file storage solutions like the one his company provides.

Also, learn about the free offer from GoToMeeting. Save time and money by getting your team together on GoToMeeting. Right now, hold your meetings online for just $49 a month. Try GoToMeeting free.

In this podcast you can learn how cloud storage through an intermediary helps to simplify the task of putting your files online. For many people in construction, architecture and engineering this episode may serve as an introduction to file storage in the cloud, and it may help others visualize how the real world interacts with the virtual world of cloud computing.

A.O. Smith’s Cirrex Solar Thermal Water Heating System makes it easy for contractors to install an energy saving appliance for customers. It comes as a kit so you don’t have to mix and match components from several suppliers. The savings to the home owner are significant, not only in terms of energy bills, but also because of the incentives available. The same incentives offer to make the installer a star for holding down costs.

Get a FREE GoToMeeting Trial

Save time and money by getting your team together on GoToMeeting. Right now hold your meetings online for just $49 a month. Try GoToMeeting free.

Look Beyond Your Construction Fence for Risks

Lockton offers a free white paper that details the risks contractors face beyond their fences. Some of these things can get pretty serious and many managers don’t have a habit of assessing risks beyond the fences.

Health Care Builders Pay Heed

Fifty-eight percent of health care building managers are looking to invest in energy management initiatives, and they are more likely to do so than those in other industries. Johnson Controls’ survey unearthed the numbers. Those who build for health care can find some valuable background here.

Wireless HVAC Automation Opens New Opportunities

Now, residential heating and cooling moves toward zone control with wireless technology. Advector’s systems also offer the installer the chance to get in on the ground floor of the continuing move to wireless technology.

Bascule Span View looking north at the construction of the Bascule (drawspan) Contract. The outer loop bridge (foreground) will be operational in mid-2006. The new bridge will be 20 feet higher than the existing bridge which will reduce the bridge openings from a current 250 times a year to 65 times a year. The contractor is in the process of testing the drawspans. There are four drawspans for each bridge. (Photo Credit: PCC)

The two sides to the debate about what the economy needs- more spending or less spending- will no doubt go on until political fortunes are secured. But in the meantime, it’s instructive to reflect on the success of public works projects, both in terms of the improvements to infrastructure, and their short term benefits to the economy.

One way to divide them up is of course by their costs. Boston, San Francisco, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Connecticut, Virginia and Maryland host the top 10 most expensive projects according to this article at Construction Management Schools.

Just the bridge work on the Woodrow Wilson bridge between Maryland and Virginia totals almost a half billion dollars with more than 10 million man hours of work invested so far.

Even as far back as the 1800s, public works projects have often moved communities to new heights of innovation. According to the Census Bureau it was July 1891 that the town of Bellfontaine, Ohio became the first to use concrete for a roadway.

The residents of Bellfontaine, Ohio, had a lot to talk about this week in 1891 — an eight-foot wide section of Main Street, where horses were hitched, had just been paved with concrete by engineer George Bartholomew, who supplied his own materials. This was the first use of concrete as a road surface in North America. This experimental section not only proved to be sturdy, it still exists.

Manufacturers continue streamlining power tool designs.

In recent years, as the interest in DIY projects has increased, so too has the market for power tools. Now, women and homeowners who previously shied away from doing their own home improvements are picking up power tools in greater numbers. But while general consumers are leading the growth in the power tool market, recent advancements in higher-end power tools for contractors are also improving sales.

Lighter, More Powerful and Multi-Purpose Power Tools

Since lithium-ion batteries entered the market in 2005, power tools have become smaller, lighter and more powerful. Lithium-ion batteries pack more power into a smaller package, last longer and don’t dip in performance when their charge is almost depleted, unlike previous battery types. Manufacturers are also revisiting tool designs to create more compact and ergonomic versions. Even tool appearance is being overhauled to look more stylish and to capitalize on the increased consumer interest in electric power tools, as opposed to hand tools, air tools or welding tools.

“Lithium-ion has been the catalyst for this,” says Mark Herman, national product manager for the Graybar Electric Company, in an article in Electrical Contractor. “With its unique capability of keeping the power band at a very high level through the charge cycle, professionals, and especially electricians, clearly prefer cordless. There is a wide variety of professional tools powered by either 12V or 18V lithium-ion platforms to fit any number of applications. Lithium-ion is where power tools are going and demand will continue to grow.”

Convenience is a big part of why cordless power tools are so popular, and now tools with multiple uses are attracting consumers and contractors alike. This generation of tools is packing more functions into compact sizes, enabling multiple tasks to be completed with one tool instead of many. This extends to the batteries that can be used with multiple tools, and chargers that can also recharge cell phones or MP3 players.

Professional Power Tool Trends

While professionals tend to buy their tools less frequently, they’re also willing to spend more on them since they rely on them every day. The gap between DIY and professional tools is starting to widen as manufacturers seek to address the needs of the contractor. With 36-volt batteries, now even hammer drills can go cordless. Microcomputers and sensors are also integrated into certain professional-grade tools to make them “smarter”—this includes having a drill automatically stop to prevent over-tightening of a screw. This reduces errors and creates a flush alignment, providing professional results much quicker and easier.

Multipurpose power tools help contractors become more efficient; they don’t have to constantly switch tools or hunt to find the one tool they need for a particular job. Sanders can now switch instantly from random orbital sanding to rotary motion and back again. Even anti-theft features are being added to higher-priced tools, since theft is a big concern for professionals.

Due to their popularity and ease of use, power tools will continue to outpace the growth of flooring tools, sheet metal tools and plumbing tools. Manufacturers are working overtime to bring out tool options for general consumers and professionals that wouldn’t have been possible even a few years ago. The power and efficiency of the lithium-ion battery has allowed traditional designs to be revamped, resulting in better ergonomics and slimmer packaging to benefit the environment as well.

All of these trends are expected to continue as long as power tools remain indispensable to both homeowners and professional contractors.

Chuck Nibblere is a regular contributor to Ebuilders.

Use the following links to easily find other articles in this series.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

It seems like a good time to finish up the series I’ve been doing on the end of easy oil, or peak oil as it has come to be known. You can easily find the other posts on the blog by using the search tool with the term “peak oil.”

For those of you who are just tuning into this series you have to think about oil from the big picture. It is the cornerstone of far more industries and businesses than just being fuel for vehicles and home heating. Just think about plastics and the picture will start to come into focus. Then think about oil shortages and imagine whole industries with limited supplies, and the picture comes into sharp focus.

When the relentless hemorrhage of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico started, I recalled some of the figures people had bantered about to describe the amount of oil laying in America’s offshore areas. Enough to supply oil independence many said. The official estimate though is 76 billion barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration. That seems like a lot of oil, but the US consumes that much all by itself in just 10 years time. So I started wondering about the well-heeled, manly-attired woman who’s been strolling across my TV screen extolling the wonders of oil and the jobs it creates and how oil is here to stay. There’s plenty of it. Let’s get at it and use it up.

Where exactly does that kind of thinking come from? Well, I’ve come up with a sentence that describes it, and it goes like this: “We’ve been living on oil for so long we don’t know any other way to live, and so we’ve just got to keep living on oil.” And of course we all know who pays for the ads. Its the stockholders of oil companies. They could be your father, your brother, the old lady down the street, your minister and certainly many of the politicians you know. According to an American Petroleum Institute ad, oil company stock is a large part of America’s retirement fund, being invested in by pensions and as much as 75 percent of the mutual funds followed by Morningstar. And of course, judges – yes judges. It’s interesting to note the numbers of judges who have been recusing themselves from cases involving the BP debacle because they have vested interests in the company. All of this just shows how terribly, deeply America is invested in oil.

And so, what America gets is exactly what it invests in, and in this case that’s an economy based on a commodity that will run out.

Does it really matter what the timeline is for the oil running out? I mean, if the peak hits  by 2030 that will affect many people who are alive today, but what if it doesn’t get serious until 2075? Well, one beneficial thing that means is the current crop of investors, politicians and all the others with vested interest in keeping the oil economy alive, may very well be checked out. You have to wonder about the sincerity of all the talk regarding saddling the next generation with debt, as many of the same voices, heavily invested in oil, turn a blind eye to the nation’s sickening dependence on a commodity that is running out, ultimately leaving the next generations without even the means to produce their own food, or keep the heat on during a cold winter night. The sad truth is we are so invested in oil that imaging a world with limited amounts of it, or worse, one without it, is almost, well, unimaginable.

So, in one way, it does matter when the oil runs out because if it was known for absolute certainty that supplies would be highly squeezed by 2030, our energy policies would be far different today. The well-heeled woman wouldn’t be strolling across my TV screen, and we’d be well immersed in coming to grips with our energy hoggishness, and far more deeply involved in developing alternative energy sources. And I’m talking about things far more enlightened than using corn for fuel.

Construction is a massive user of petroleum. And construction, (and I’m including architecture and engineering here as well), is in a prime position to become a leader in weaning the country from oil.

Here’s how it starts. It starts with architects, contractors, design build teams, and owners asking themselves some tough questions like:

• Is it possible to build on this site using mostly the raw materials that are here?
• Am I building simply for the money? Are there more important things that could be informing my decisions?
• How can we involve local artisans, craftsmen and others who have access to locally available materials that will do the jobs and create the products that we need so we don’t have to bring things in from far away?
• What is already available on the site that can be repurposed for our purpose?
• Is it possible that a thatched roof will add insulation value, be easily repairable and allow us to NOT have to use petroleum products for the roofing?
• Is it possible that going backward, is really going foreword?
• How can we make this abandoned building into one that is being used again?
• Could this site grow enough bamboo, or hemp, or straw, or flax to provide the bulk of the materials for the structure I envision?

And perhaps the one question that should be asked more than any other:

• Should I even build on this site?

Forty years ago, out in the deserts of Arizona, Paolo Soleri must have asked many of these questions as he set about to inspire the building of compact cities. Called Arcology, the concept avoids sprawl, uses just two percent of the land most cities use for the same size population, and takes advantage of natural earth processes for heating and cooling. This kind of thoughtful building is not nurtured in breakneck development driven primarily by the need to produce profits. No. It is for builders, architects and engineers who see their work as art, and who are willing to see the madness of the current economic model for what it is. A mad rush to nowhere.

The new economy has to transcend oil and if construction can do it, then so can everyone else. All it would take would be some wise construction leaders to pick up the banner, focus attention and be inspiring.

Sadly though, if the nation as a whole cannot get over its fragmented protection of self interest, then the oil economy will go on, until it’s too uncomfortable to continue. By then though, it will probably be too late.

Harmon Inc. glaziers prepare to install another pane on a high rise project. (Courtesy Harmon Inc.)

You never really know how things are going to connect in the world of relationships. That’s probably why social networking is finding its place in the day-to-day operations of AEC firms.

In one of his posts at the Upworld blog Collier Ward recounts how connections in the virtual world bled through to the real world and created a web of connections that advanced at least a few efforts of those who got connected. Since then, at least one other connection has set in motion an opportunity for two other people to advance their strategies. Who knows, that’s the only one I know of, but there could already be many more opportunities falling into place for many more people.

Last week I wrote here about a survey that recently came out showing the types of information construction buyers use when they are considering a purchase. One popular source of referrals is of course those people who sell other related items to them.

In this case Harmon Inc., a glass and glazing service contractor went looking for something to tame the paper tiger they were holding by the tail. Low and behold the people who do their CAD reselling for them suggested they try Bluebeam, and according to recent reports there has been no turning back. That was a real world event, but here I am telling you about it in the virtual world.

The line between the virtual world and the real world is blurring to the point where actions in either are having an impact on the other. While I don’t think this iteration of social networking on the Web is anywhere nearing the end of its evolution, I do think the connections that are happening today in the virtual world are going to inform and impact our real world lives more heavily and more radically then perhaps any other previous form of social communication. The question for the wise construction business owner is, “What’s the best way for me to blend my real world and my virtual world?”

You have freedom when you’re easy in your harness.  – Robert Frost

My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.  – Adlai Stevenson

Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081.  First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs.  Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify.  And don’t regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression.  – Gerard K. O’Neill, 2081

We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. – Edward R. Murrow

The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe. – H.L. Mencken

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. – Thomas Jefferson

We are free, truly free, when we don’t need to rent our arms to anybody in order to be able to lift a piece of bread to our mouths.  – Ricardo Flores Magon

The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed, but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. – John F. Kennedy

The trouble with free election is, you never know who is going to win. – Leonid Brezhnev

There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.  – Charles Kingsley

Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive. – Henry Steele Commager

They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security. – Benjamin Franklin

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. – Sinclair Lewis

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too. – Somerset Maugham

I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. – James Baldwin

So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men. – Voltaire

The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border? – Pablo Casals

When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us. – William O. Douglas

BuyerZone releases results of poll showing the preferences of construction buyers.

If you make decisions about what to buy for your construction company then you might be interested in knowing how your peers feel about the way sellers approach them. You also might be surprised to learn how other construction buyers find their vendors. Besides telling you if you follow similar patterns as the others, this could also come in handy by offering some new ideas, or, showing you just how far out-of-the-ordinary you might be.

Perhaps you’d be surprised to find out that while 75 percent of construction buyers use word-of-mouth as the primary way to find vendors for the products and services they need, almost as many, 71 percent, heavily rely on general Internet searches. You don’t need to wonder if you are behind the times by not using social media to find vendors because most of your peers aren’t using it either. And, if you find yourself trusting the reviews of total strangers on the Internet when you are making your final buying decisions, then you are not alone. More people trust those reviews than the recommendations from colleagues.

One thing more than half of construction buyers have in common is they want to see the price on the Website. Not only that, they want all the information to be there, including specifications, MSDS and the complete product listing. You can find out all the peculiar details about how construction buyers choose products and vendors by downloading a free white paper from BuyerZone.

For those of you who are actively looking to sell to construction buyers this is most definitely an eye-opening report. Perhaps very telling was the list of things construction buyers view as their most challenging issues. Below, you can take a survey with responses covering the typical answers found in the BuyerZone survey.

New Orleans (August 30, 2005) – U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Shawn Beaty of Long Island, N.Y., looks for survivors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as he flies in an HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter over New Orleans.Image via Wikipedia

The cost to insurance companies when people loose their buildings to natural disasters is perhaps one reason the insurance industry has embarked on an enthusiastic effort to quantify and qualify the worthiness of materials and construction practices used in buildings.

For example, the payouts from hurricane Katrina will total about $60 billion when the calculators stop tallying. That number will even eclipse the payouts from 9/11, the biggest insurance payout in the country’s history up to that time. So, it seems the insurance industry wants to identify the culprits that are running up the tabs. Its sights are set on building materials and the people who install them and it will soon have a brand new, disaster-creating facility that is expected to uncover why buildings fall apart in hurricanes, severe thunderstorms and wind-driven wildfires. According to an article in Engineering News Record:

The Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS), a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance industry group whose member companies are sick of paying for losses to buildings that fail in heavy weather are finishing up the construction of a $40-million building materials and assemblies test facility nearing completion in Chester County, S.C.

The insurance industry expects the results of its research at the new facility will lead to a massive reduction in how much it spends every year for roofing materials needed to replace storm-damaged roofs. The reduction in expense will pay for the test facility. You can read all about the engineering marvels associated with the facility at the link above. The fan tower that can withstand 8,000 pounds of thrust and the fire pit that will produce a rain of molten embers are the kinds of features that might even have Hollywood camping out on its doorstep.

But what builders and materials manufacturers should really take note of is the interest here in finding out who, or what are the weak links in building when it comes to natural disasters. As one of the the principle engineers on the job says:

“We need to get rid of all the smoke screens that come up after these events,” said Timothy A. Reinhold, describing how the material manufacturers and installers invariably start blaming each other’s work whenever building systems fail.

Image via Wikipedia

I was thinking about “ideas” today and how they seem to arrive on a slipstream of vapor, float across our consciousness and then leave through our ears, since those are the closest exits to our brains. They are often processed in quick order, freeing our minds up for the next task or the next random thought that seems interesting.

It doesn’t seem that most ideas are acted upon. In fact, it seems that most ideas get pushed through a standardized filter and are quickly discarded when they:

1. Don’t solve an immediate problem;
2. Can’t possibly make us rich or famous;
3. Require too much work; and/or
4. Are something nobody else can see the value of.

In construction companies, ideas offer the chance to look exceedingly brilliant, or amazingly stupid. So many people just let the ideas flow right out their ears because the risk is just too great.

Over at The Heart of Innovation the writer offers the idea that innovation is often radically helped out by accident. Penicillin, vulcanized rubber and Post-It notes all came about quite by accident. But then, someone recognized the value in the accidents and had ideas about uses for them. They followed through.

Lisa Barone at the Business Insider laments the follow-the-leader syndrome in today’s business culture where everybody is trying to build something on everyone else’s original ideas. She says:

You’re noting what’s working from your competitor and you’re finding ways to integrate the same thing into your business. The problem is you’re not bettering what they’re doing. You’re just adding it on like an also-ran. That’s not innovation. That’s reactive catch up. It’s not how you stand out, it’s not how you steal market, it’s not how you create a point of difference for your company.

Barone goes on to offer an eight-step program for developing an innovative culture in your business and many of them are surprisingly simple, like getting rid of the hierarchy and focusing on the big picture. You can see them all at the link above.

When I look at the world through my own distorted and filter-ridden lenses, ideas appear to be the things that bring freshness to the view. They are kind of like how the air feels right after the storm has passed – all fresh and cool. Maybe we need to start capturing a few of them before they slip out our ears.