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Birmingham construction project causes shopping center next door to start sinking into ground BIRMINGHAM, Mich. - A construction project that went awry in Birmingham caused a shopping center next door to sink a few inches into the ground, officials said. The Daxton Hotel is the new construction project: a five-story luxury hotel that will feature a two-story underground garage. When excavation started last summer, everything appeared to move along smoothly. Construction workers building next to an existing structure are required to pay attention to the new building's impact on the existing one. Monitors noticed cracks in the floors and drywall...

Seven Areas To Tackle Poor Productivity In Construction With ConTech In the 2017 report “Reinventing construction through a productivity revolution”, MGI argued that, if construction sector productivity were just to catch up with that of the total economy, there would be a cumulative productivity boost of up to 60%, translating into a 2% global GDP boost. The report highlighted seven areas which, if acted in simultaneously, would permit us to achieve these gains. Regulation This is considered to be an enabler for the other efficiencies. The goals are to streamline permitting and approvals processes, reduce informality and corruption, and encourage...

Investor Momentum Builds For Construction Tech Although it’s not the sexiest of industries, the hefty construction sector in 2018 attracted not only the attention but, more importantly, the dollars of investors. Historically, the multi-trillion dollar sector has been slow to adopt new technologies, as builders rely on a variety of disparate systems to manage projects, traditional building methods to construct homes, and non-smart materials. But a wave of startups is looking to capitalize on opportunities within the sector. Companies that have developed software solutions aimed at streamlining processes and increasing efficiencies are increasingly common. Prefab construction has evolved thanks to...

Minnesota Industry Group Wants Teens in Construction Although Minnesota law permits teens ages 16 and 17 to work in a variety of fields, construction is not one of them. David Siegel, the executive director of BATC-Housing First Minnesota, told Finance & Commerce that it’s time for that to change. In response to construction labor shortages, BATC and other industry groups are urging the state to allow young workers to perform certain jobs on construction sites. Several states allow older teens to work in construction, according to the report. The group hopes to bring teens on board, but keep them off...

Better designs with digital construction Technology makes accomplishing things faster and cheaper, and the construction industry is no different. An engaging conversation with Bhupinder Singh, Chief Product Officer, Bentley Systems establishes the fact that Going Digital is the way for the construction industry to excel in this fast-changing environment. Why Go Digital? Going digital makes us achieve more with less. For instance, consider the task of adding a lane to a national highway, how would the industry work traditionally? Surveyors would survey the existing highway with theodolites, go with stakeouts and capture the data points that will eventually help in...