New Utility Locator Rope Could Make Accidentally Cutting Utilities a Thing of the Past

October 26, 2015 Shane Hedmond

Even after calling the utility companies and waiting for them to come out and mark the ground, it’s still way too easy to hit unknown utility lines and it happens all the time. Call811.com explains that calling 811 (this is for the American folks) before you dig, reduces your chance of hitting a utility line to less than 1%. That may seem like a very small percentage, and it is, but with hundreds of billions of dollars in construction spending each year, that 1% is actually spread across thousands of projects. This also does not include poorly drawn as-built plans that result in major maintenance and renovation problems down the road due to mismarked and misplaced utilities.

[VIDEO] Demolition Nightmare: Hundreds of Rats Found Living Under Concrete in Brazil

October 23, 2015 Shane Hedmond

Just in time for Halloween, here’s a video of a bunch of dirty rats living below a concrete slab in Brazil that a group of lucky contractors had the pleasure of uncovering. As the crew broke up piece after piece of concrete, more and more rats scurried out in a hurry, much like that scene in the movie Ratatouille, when hundreds of rats fell out of the ceiling. At least those were animated.

[VIDEO] 6 Scottish High Rises Imploded Simultaneously. Well, almost.

October 22, 2015 Shane Hedmond

Six high rises residential housing building in Glasgow, Scotland were demolished recently with several thousand pounds of explosives, but, just like a championship boxer, a couple of them refused to go down.

First 3D Printed Bridge in Amsterdam Has Officially Begun Construction

October 21, 2015 Shane Hedmond

Back in June, we wrote about a 3D bridge printing project in Amsterdam that was in development, the first of its kind. Now, the construction of that bridge has officially begun, though there is one major change to the construction of it.

Massive 580 Ton Chinese Girder Erection Machine Drops Girders Into Place From Above

October 20, 2015 Shane Hedmond

A bridge needs to be built, so time to bust out the cranes, right? Not so fast, a Chinese company has built a machine that has a creative way of setting girders into place.

Major Scaffolding Collapse in Houston Injures 6

October 19, 2015 Shane Hedmond

A major scaffolding collapse injured six construction workers Friday afternoon and the moment it happened was caught by a tourist and recorded on a cell phone camera.

Jabra Releases “Toughest Headset Ever” Designed Specifically for Construction Tradesmen

October 16, 2015 Shane Hedmond

Wind, dirt, drops, and technology typically don’t mix very well, which presents a real challenge to tradesmen who work in tough conditions. Many workers try to go as hands free as possible, as gloves get in the way when they try to press tiny buttons on a touch screen that doesn’t respond very well to fabric.

Dubai's New Mega Attraction is a 690 Foot Tall Ferris Wheel

October 15, 2015 William Lucus

Dubai is no stranger to world records, in fact it appears that Dubai wants to be the destination for all of the world's structural records. The title of world's tallest is never an easy title to own. Competing building projects are always watching and attempting to go higher. Just like the Burj Khalifa the official height of that building was kept as secret as the Coca-Cola recipe until it was nearly complete. And, if you do become the world's tallest then it is only a matter of time before the next project comes along and out does you. For example, see what's happening now in the arena for tallest wood building. As Dubai has done in the past with the Burj Khalifa, they did not look to build a new high rise that was just a few feet taller than the last one, they looked to build the tallest possible building at the time. That put the Burj about 320 meters taller than any other skyscraper, and their newest attraction, The Dubai Eye, will be no different.

US Presidential Candidates Ranked by How Much They Support Construction Industry

October 14, 2015 Shane Hedmond

With a little over a year before the 2016 vote for America’s next President, I’m sure many of you are already sick of the ads and the constant politicking as we are. Nevertheless, there are very important issues that need to be addressed that can and will affect the construction industry and a recent study has ranked the current presidential candidates past performance with regards to those issues that affect our industry.

Video: Construction Worker Gets Catapulted Off of Boom Lift, Learns Valuable Lesson About Wearing a Harness

October 13, 2015 Shane Hedmond

Lifts may seem relatively safe, because they move fairly slow, but, believe it or not, there are actually very good reasons that OSHA safety procedures exist, especially wearing a harness on a lift.