In August of 2016, it was discovered that a luxury high rise condominium complex in San Francisco, which houses several celebrities, was sinking and leaning considerably. The 58-story Millennium Tower contains home that range in value of anywhere from $1.6 million to $10 million. Since the discovery, fingers have been pointed in all directions and several lawsuits have been filed.
Read more[UPDATE] Cause of Death of 3 Construction Workers Who Died in Florida Manhole Determined
In January of this year, tragedy struck a Florida construction company when 3 construction workers died while working underground below a newly paved road. After the first worker entered the hole and collapsed after entering the confined space through a manhole, the second went in to rescue him and also collapsed, followed by the third. After a post-incident investigation, OSHA has released their findings, as well as several fines.
Read more[VIDEO] 18-Ton Wheel Loader Dances on Two Wheels
There are plenty of amazing heavy equipment operators across the country that can do things that you would never imagine possible. For instance, prepare and dress a hot dog, be a soccer goalie, and dunk a basketball. Popping a wheelie and bouncing on two wheels is equally as impressive.
While none of those skills above belong anywhere near a job site, it’s still pretty amazing to see exactly what those gigantic and powerful machines are capable of. This particular “dancing” routine in the video below was a way to draw attention to the machine at an industry trade show. Based on the crowd turn out at the event, I’d say that Foton Lovol accomplished just that. The FL958G-II Front End Wheel Loader clearly has some pretty good balance.
Enjoy the video from Foton Lovol below:
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[UPDATE] OSHA Sets Launch Date of Electronic Injury & Illness Reporting Application
In late June, OSHA pushed the enforcement of their 2016 rule which will require employers to electronically submit injury and illness reports from July 1, 2017 to December 1, 2017. At that time it was unknown when the administration would launch the platform to submit the data online, but that has now been decided.
Read moreCaterpillar Invests $2 Million in Robotic Bricklaying Company
Caterpillar is not resting on what made it successful in the past anymore and probably for good reason. The equipment manufacturing giant recently bought Yard Club, a heavy construction equipment sharing company, looking to take advantage of the recently popularized sharing economy. Earlier this month, Caterpillar invested $2 million in Fastbrick Robotics, an Australian robotic technology company.
Read moreView BIM in Augmented Reality on Your Phone with New App
Augmented and Virtual Reality has always been designated for large headsets. Even with recent developments in the construction industry, like Microsoft Hololens and the DAQRI Smart Helmet, if you want to experience AR, you have to get used to wearing something you’re not used to around a job site. As cool as both of those technologies are, it seems that the ole trusty smartphones and tablets have been overlooked. A Danish BIM company has developed a smartphone and tablet application that leaves the headsets behind.
Read more[VIDEO] Oakland Suffers Fifth Major Apartment Complex Fire in Five Years
Just last November, a massive Five-Alarm fire rocked a multi-story residential building that was almost 80% complete at the time, completely destroying the project. This month, yet another multi-story residential tower that was almost complete caught fire, making it the 5th in 5 year to suffer the same fate. At least 3 of the previous 3 fires have been ruled as arson but, up to this point, no arrests for any of the previous arsons have been made.
Read more[VIDEO] Watch a 27 Story Building That Was Never Used Be Demolished in China
Buildings are demolished all the time in order to make way for new construction. The buildings that are demolished have usually lived out their useful life and are no longer functional. Recently a demolition video resurfaced, which shows a 27 story building in China being imploded. The strange thing is that, since it was finished in 1999, the building had never even been used.
Read moreOSHA Puts New Beryllium Exposure Reduction Rule on Hold for Construction Industry
In January of 2017, OSHA released a final rule which greatly reduced the allowable exposure to beryllium, a mineral that can cause deadly lung disease. While not as commonly encountered in the construction industry as other substances that cause terrible lung diseases, like crystalline silica and asbestos, beryllium is linked to a disease called chronic beryllium disease, which kills around 100 people each year. It’s commonly found in coal slag, which is used for sandblasting. According to the New York Times, OSHA estimates that 11,500 construction workers would be affected by OSHA’s reduced exposure limit.
Read more[Timelapse] Construction Crews Relocate a 98 Foot Tall Sequoia Tree
There are a lot of people that would be pretty unhappy with whoever tears down a 98 foot tall, 105 year old tree to make room for a building expansion. In order for most projects to work financially, however, many trees are uprooted and replaced with smaller trees. That’s not what happened with what is believed to be the state of Idaho’s largest sequoia tree, however.
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On Tuesday morning, February 23, the Syracuse Fire Department responded to a call about a collapsed crane on a construction site near the university. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.