photo courtesy of Riskcast Solutions
[Guest post] With every brick, girder and slab your workers put into place, your firm is unwittingly generating data. Forward-thinking construction firms have realized that harnessing that data can yield an incredibly powerful tool for increasing productivity, raising profits, improving the accuracy of your bids, spotting trouble before it occurs and more.
Read moreThe gigantic marathon of a construction trade show, the World of Concrete, has sadly come and gone already, but the winners of the annual contest for the show’s Most Innovative Products has just been announced!
Read moreOver the years, crane manufacturer, Liebherr, has produced some pretty epic videos. From their amazing footage on top of Europe’s new tallest building, to their 58 cranes working on the world’s largest airport, to one of their cranes lifting 3 other cranes at the same time, the company knows cranes and knows how to show them off.
Liebherr’s most recent video highlights one of their 30 LC tower cranes being lifted, hauled, and placed on the small island of Santa Clara by a helicopter. Santa Clara Island sites off of the coast of Spain and features steep sides reaching up to 157 feet high, clearly not an ideal place to haul in a bunch of crane parts by boat.
The Liebherr 30 LC Tower Crane reaches a maximum height of about 98 feet and a maximum lifting capacity of 5500 pounds, or 2200 pounds at its maximum radius of 98 feet. According to Liebherr, the crane’s parts had to be carefully planned to meet the helicopter’s lifting capacity.
Check out the video below to see the helicopter in action!
A snippet from Safasite’s guide “How to Comply with OSHA Safety Training Standards”
As all construction professionals should know, OSHA requires formalized training on various construction tasks on an annual or periodic basis. It can be difficult to locate and document all of the requirements, but the team at Safesite has just released a handy guide on their website to make it a whole lot easier.
Safesite’s article titled “How to Comply with OSHA Safety Training Standards” covers all of the OSHA training requirements, not just the construction standards, but it’s organized so you can jump to the most pertinent topics.
In addition to listing the specific regulation standards that OSHA requires training on, the guide also covers proper documentation and instruction requirements, training tips, and OSHA’s Outreach Training Program.
Keep in mind that these training requirements are on the Federal level, so your state may have even more strict training requirements. For example, California requires additional training above and beyond Federal and Maryland has tougher standards for heavy equipment training, according to the guide.
In total, there are 19 construction tasks that require initial training and annual refresher training, with 2 of those coming from the OSHA 1910 general industry standards (Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records – 1910.1020 and Portable Fire Extinguishers – 1910.57). One of the 19 standards, Operation of Powered Platforms – 1926.66 requires bi-annual training for those that use them.
An additional 28 construction tasks are required to be completed in initial training and periodic or as-needed follow-up training. 4 of those 28 come from the OSHA 1910 general industry standards, including Aerial Lifts – 1910.67, Portable Fire Extinguishers – 1910.157, Servicing of Multi-Piece and Single-Piece Rim Wheels – 1910.177, and Toxic and Hazardous Substances – 1910 Subpart Z. Another regulation outside of the construction standards is the General Duty Clause, which covers New Employee Orientation.
For the full list and even more helpful information about safety training requirements, check out the full guide here: safesitehq.com/osha-safety-training
A couple of weeks ago, we followed the very amusing story of the Leaning Tower of Dallas. For those unfamiliar, it all started as an innocent attempt at a building implosion, but ended up becoming an internet meme, a tourism landmark, and the subject of a petition to turn it into a monument. Well, the big joke is over, as what remained of the tower has finally fallen.
Read moreAs a host of different construction management software companies jockey for position in the race to the top of the industry, it can still be a bit of a challenge to find the right software for your company. To potentially help narrow your search field, B2B customer reference platform FeaturedCustomers has released a report on the top CM software currently available.
Read morevia Levitate Technologies, Fraco, and Ekso Bionics
There’s no doubt that working on a construction site is hard work. Between lifting and carrying heavy materials, to using tools in overhead and other awkward positions, the barrier of entry to this industry can be a daunting task. By many accounts, this barrier is greatly contributing to the labor shortage.
Read moreTracking labor, material, and equipment data in real-time is a key to making quick and meaningful decisions on your construction project. Waiting until the end of the month or the pay period for this data to come in can put you at risk for delays or costly overruns. Raken, a field management app, just released an update to their Production Tracking product, which now allows users to track equipment use in real time.
Read more[updated 3/3/20] Back in September, Skanska announced that they had partnered with PPE manufacturers to create better fitting safety vests and safety gloves for women on the job site. This week, technology giant Autodesk and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) announced a partnership to supply custom-fitted safety harnesses for women.
Read moreBy now, you’ve probably heard of the Spot robot dog, made by Boston Dynamics, that is a completely autonomous 4 legged nightmare intended to walk construction sites with attachments strapped to its back. You’ve probably also heard that they have a pretty hefty price tag currently. Well, there’s a new four-legged robotic dog coming to market that promises to be a less expensive alternative.
Read more
Shane is the creator of Construction Junkie and an active construction project manager. In his career, he has managed interior remodel projects, site development, construction safety, governmental project compliance, and facility maintenance. He has a strong passion for construction technology and safety, as well as sharing the knowledge or insights he has gained throughout his career.