Business innovation isn’t rocket science—it’s really just a creative new way of thinking about how to accomplish a goal. But truly innovative home builders are nearly as rare as people who have walked on the moon. Read more.
Standard vertical elevators have had it too good, for too long. After the first cable dependent elevator was unveiled in 1857, not much has changed in the elevator industry. They’re still using cable systems and still only going up and down. But not anymore. ThyssenKrupp has officially made a multi-directional elevator a reality. Read more.
A new report from the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy & Governance has examined large transit infrastructure projects to provide key metrics for how to monitor, track, and measure their success. Read more.
Scott Murray says he wants to be a Red Seal carpenter one day and Team Construction is helping him build his dream. Murray is one of 80 young Islanders being introduced to careers in the construction industry over the next three years. The project, led by the Construction Association of P.E.I., is receiving more than $1 million in federal and provincial funding. Read more.
The construction industry has found itself at a crossroads. While the industry has been resistant to change, the built world around it has not been — and the need for additional housing, offices, schools, hospitals and more in shorter timeframes is only growing. Read more.
With today’s construction activity at 2007 levels and with 100,000 fewer skilled workers industry-wide, more construction teams on and off the job site are turning to technology for productivity solutions. Telematics is one solution that is gaining steam in the industry, with major companies like Komatsu, Caterpillar and John Deere making investments in such technology. Read more.
If you live near London, you’ve probably heard of the Crossrail initiative. Already several years in the works, this massive expansion of the London underground is rapidly making history: as the first full underground line to be constructed in 3 decades, Crossrail (to be renamed the Elizabeth line) is Europe’s largest construction project. The 100km-plus rail line is set to pass through a grand total of 40 stations, stretching from Abbey Wood and Shenfield all the way to central London via 42 km of new tunnels. Read more.
Researchers at the NASA Ames Research Center in California have discovered they can make surprisingly strong bricks using a small amount of biological binding agent and simulated lunar soil. Read more.
BuildForce Canada recently announced some big changes. Executive director Rosemary Sparks is retiring effective Aug. 31 and Bill Ferreira will be taking over the reins beginning Aug. 8. Read more.