The Construction Blog

The End of Blueprints

Posted By: Houston Neal December 10, 2009 at 10:29 am | 5 Comments

We’re big advocates of “going paperless.” Our desks are free of folders, pens, printers and sticky notes. There’s not a single TPS report to be found. We’re also big advocates of software. So, when a visitor to our website shared their concern about the paper waste from printing blueprints, we were intrigued. Can estimating and takeoff software end the destruction of forests (or at least save a few thousand trees)?

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Construction Software State of the Industry Report

Posted By: Don Fornes November 12, 2009 at 11:09 am | 5 Comments

This is the first in a series of “state of the industry” reports in which we will share our observations on construction software industry trends. While reporting the recessive state of the industry is not breaking news, there are some interesting trends that we can share. Not everything is gloomy, and significant technological shifts are underway.

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State by State: Is the Stimulus Bill Creating Construction Jobs?

Posted By: Chris Thorman November 2, 2009 at 1:30 pm | 8 Comments

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) had big plans for the construction industry – $131 billion big.

That stimulus money is supposed to help an industry that is still hemorrhaging jobs today. So far, the ARRA has sent money to all corners of the construction industry, from residential

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CMAA 2008 – Innovations in Construction Management Software

Posted By: Houston Neal October 21, 2008 at 12:56 pm | No Comments

It was a record-setting year at the 2008 Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) conference. Over 900 people attended the show to catch-up on the latest trends and innovations in construction management. Among the group of attendees was EADOC, Meridian Systems and Synchro, 3 construction management software vendors. We met up with these companies to get an insiders look at what makes their systems unique and separates them from other construction management software systems.

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PCBC Video Exclusive – How to Preserve Margins in a Difficult Home Building Market

Posted By: Houston Neal August 11, 2008 at 7:32 pm | 1 Comment

A major theme at this year’s PCBC show is how to remain profitable in a difficult home building market. The solution is expressed in the term “Lean Process,” an operating philosophy and practice of identifying and removing waste in product and process. We interviewed 10 leading software vendors to investigate how software supports lean construction in building projects.

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Tailwinds for Web-Based Construction Management Systems

Posted By: Don Fornes July 28, 2008 at 2:47 pm | 1 Comment

Recently, we’ve noticed a big change in construction firms’ views on the web-based, or Software as a Service (SaaS), model of using project management software. Among AEC companies evaluating new construction management systems, we’ve observed:

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