Connector - Summer 2020

Page 22

IN THE FIELD

By Lucy Perry

Tech Tools for the Trade Technology streamlines operations, enhances steel erection’s career appeal With an optical eye, the TyBot robot automates rebar tying for concrete flatwork spotting and tying rebar intersections. A contractor can produce more with the same crew because they no longer have to drop back and complete that task.

Technologies that have the highest adoption rates in the top 20% of companies (considered innovative leaders):

Technologies with the lowest adoption rates in same group of companies: 3D Printing: 28%

Building Information Modeling (BIM): 86%

Machine engineering and design: 28%

Basic data analytics: 83%

Artificial intelligence: 24%

Project management and information systems: 79%

Robotics: 10%

Drones: 72%

Cognitive machine-learning: 10%

Mobile platforms: 69% Source: Raconteur and Visual Capitalist See full infographic at

I

ncreasing productivity is one way steel erection contractors can battle skilled labor shortages. Integration of new technology offers the added bonus of attracting new workers who appreciate the tools that will allow them to work smarter, not harder. According to research from KPMG FutureReady Index, technologies that have the highest rate of adoption are BIM, data analytics, and project and information management. High Plains Steel Services works smarter with software programs such as BlueBeam and Steel Erection Bid Wizard, which they access Lucy Perry operates WordSkills Editorial Services in Kansas City, Mo. She has spent 25 years following the North American construction industry. She can be reached at wordskillseditor@gmail.com.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/construction-disruption.html

via touch-screen monitors. “BlueBeam and Steel Erection Bid Wizard estimate steel erection with great efficiency,” says Kris McLean, president of the Cheyenne, Wyo., company. “We utilize iPads for our field foremen for access to files, drawings, company documents and email communication tools. Further, we utilize an app for processing all company forms, receipt processing and timekeeping, making our steel erection processes nearly paperless.” However, in an AGC Constructor magazine article, Peter Maglathlin, co-founder and CFO of app developer Trade Hounds, predicts that bottom-up technology will have a bigger impact than top-down approaches. Constructech reports investing in technology to expand capacity without needing additional labor, the industry is reinventing

22 | THE STEEL ERECTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

itself to attract workers, including more women, and to evolve potential career fields. An example of this trend: the adoption of automated welding systems in fabrication shops, which can produce simple beam fabrications. While robotics systems and pre-fabrication methods are common in the factory and shop, examples visible on many jobsites include drones, wearable technologies such as the HoloLens and Smart Helmet, and exoskeletons—wearable machines with motorized joints designed to minimize body strain and injury by providing lift support, dispersing weight, and correcting posture. All of these technologies “are transforming the industry into a career path where creativity, fine motor skills, problem solving, and communications abilities are the key skills


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