7 Areas where Technology is Shifting the Construction Business
November 21, 2018 —
Eric Weisbrot – JW Surety BondsThe digital transformation of the last two decades has taken hold of the business environment in a powerful way. Companies in nearly all sectors are experiencing a significant shift in the way business is done, with a heavy focus on improved productivity, increase profitability, and enhanced product and service offerings. The construction industry has been historically slow to update its processes and business models in-line with other industries, but technology is currently making its long-awaited appearance in the sector. Construction professionals can embrace these new solutions to run more efficient businesses and keep a closer eye on profitability by reducing
common costs over time.
These are the seven major areas where technology is changing construction.
1 - Business Management
One of the most apparent shifts taking place in the construction industry thanks to technology is the advancement of business processes and systems behind the scenes. Construction managers and job site owners have countless
digital tools at their fingertips to help with managing all aspects of the business. This includes more efficient ways to manage material use and equipment inventory, logging subcontractor hours and pay, and maintaining reporting requirements from regulatory perspectives. Many software solutions integrate with older, legacy systems, making this change an easy one for construction businesses across the board.
2 – Jobsite Productivity
Another area of transformation in construction is productivity on each job site. Technology has offered job owners and general contractors more efficient methods to keep track of project timelines as well as subcontractor progress from start to finish. The technology advancements in this arena come in the form of wearable devices that track work performed, as well as mobile devices that help keep the often mundane tasks necessary for a project’s success up to date and completed on time.
3 – Worker Safety
Although wearables are being utilized in several different ways in the construction business, these devices are making a significant difference in the safety of workers. From smart helmets to digitally enhanced eyewear, workers are alerted to potential hazards on the job that they otherwise could not identify. Similarly, augmented and virtual reality solutions are being used to train workers before they arrive at a job, preparing them for safety concerns well in advance. Even though most licensed and
bonded construction workers have appropriate training throughout their careers, the addition of these resources has the ability to further reduce the risks often associated with construction work.
4 – Surveying and Monitoring
Unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as
drones, are being used throughout construction. These digital tools are equipped with cameras to offer a bird’s eye view of a construction site to help with surveying and identifying potential hazards for workers. Drones also help with inspections throughout a project’s progression, offering some reduction in cost and improving efficiencies.
5 – Improved Materials
Technology is also playing a role in the materials used on job sites. The addition of 3D printing has proven beneficial for construction companies, as concrete composites, plastics, and other materials are being printed and used to create structures on-site. This offers a more cost-effective and accurate way to complete a project.
6 – Self-operating Equipment
Some technology firms are making waves in the construction industry because they are currently developing and implementing
autonomous equipment solutions. Heavy machinery, like excavators, bricklayers, and bulldozers, are already being used on construction sites to help ease the burden of the labor shortage in the industry. While these machines are not yet mainstream, the benefits they offer mean they are likely to become a staple in construction in the years to come.
7 – Big Data
Finally, technology is shifting the construction business by way of big data analytics. With the detailed information from new software solutions, wearable tech, and drones, construction site managers have more data than they have ever had. This influx of information offers a way to analyze job site progress, budgets, timelines, and efficiency for companies large and small.
Author:
Eric Weisbrot is the Chief Marketing Officer of
JW Surety Bonds. With years of experience in the surety industry under several different roles within the company, he is also a contributing author to the surety bond blog.
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California Bid Protests: Responsiveness and Materiality
January 06, 2016 —
Garret Murai – California Construction Law BlogIt can be a rough and tumble world out there. And in the case of public works construction in California, this includes bid disputes.
California’s competitive bidding laws require that a public works contract be awarded to the “lowest responsible bidder.” However, as we’ve mentioned before, there are two requirements which must be satisfied for a bidder to be determined to be the lowest responsible bidder: (1) the awarded bidder’s bid must be “responsive”; and (2) the awarded bidder must be “responsible.”
In a case decided this past month, DeSilva Gates Construction v. Department of Transportation, Case No. C074521 (December 14, 2015), the California Court of Appeals for the Third District addressed the first of these two requirements, whether two bids on $34 million highway widening project were responsive, which in turn involves a two-step process: (1) whether the bids were responsive or not; and (2) if not, whether the variance in the bids were “material” or “immaterial.”
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Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@wendel.com
Court Finds Duty To Defend Environmental Claim, But Defense Limited to $100,000
August 14, 2023 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiWhile agreeing with the insured there was a duty to defend, the court determined the defense of an environmental claims was limited to $100,000. Casa Nido Partnership v. JAE Kwon, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97701 (N.D. Calif. June 5, 2023).
In 1976, Casa Nido purchased the property and remains the current owner to this day. Catherine O'Hanks owned and operated a dry-cleaning facility at the property from 1960 to 1992.
In August 2016, Casa Nido learned of Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) subsurface contamination. Casa Nido stipulated that it did not know, nor had any reason to know, before 2016, of the existence of the subsurface contamination. Casa Nido alleged that due to equipment malfunction or improper usage, there were sudden and accidental spills and equipment overflows of PCE during the 32-year period that defendant O'Hanks operated the dry-cleaning business on the property. Casa Nido spent hundreds of thousands of dollars remediating the environmental damage.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Investigation of Orange County Landslide
June 02, 2016 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFOn May 29th, a landslide occurred in Newport Beach, California “about 100 yards below homes on Tidal Surf, Newport Beach Battalion Chief Justin Carr” according to the Orange County Register. Carr stated that the “slide measured about 150 yards wide and about 40 feet in length.”
A building inspector and a geologist inspected the site to determine the danger, if any, to the homes in the neighborhood.
The Orange County register reported that it has not been determined whether a recent earthquake in the area caused the landslide.
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Bailout for an Improperly Drafted Indemnification Provision
February 11, 2019 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesA recent opinion came out that held that even though an indemnification provision in a subcontract was unenforceable per Florida Statute s. 725.06, the unenforceable portion is merely severed out of the indemnification clause leaving the rest of the clause intact. In essence, an otherwise invalid indemnification clause is bailed out by this ruling (which does not even discuss whether this subcontract had a severability provision that states that if any portion of any provision in the subcontract is invalid, such invalid portion shall be severed and the remaining portion of the provision shall remain in full force and effect).
This opinion arose from a construction defect case, CB Contractxors, LLC v. Allens Steel Products, Inc.,43 Fla.L.Weekly D2773a (Fla. 5thDCA 2018), where the general contractor, sued by an association, flowed down damages to subcontractors based on the contractual indemnification provision in the subcontracts. Subcontractors moved to dismiss the contractual indemnification claim because it was not compliant with Florida Statute s. 725.06. The indemnification provision required the subcontractors to indemnify the general contractor even for the general contractors own partial negligence, but failed to specify a monetary limitation on the extent of the indemnification as required by Florida Statute s. 725.06. (The indemnification clause in the subcontract was the standard intermediate form of indemnification that required the subcontractor to indemnify the general contractor for claims regardless of whether the claims were caused in part by the general contractor.)
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David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
Missouri Protects Subrogation Rights
April 15, 2024 —
Lian Skaf - The Subrogation StrategistThe point at which an insurance carrier possesses the equitable right of subrogation is an issue on which the states have differed. Some allow carriers to pursue rights of subrogation immediately upon payment and some have taken stricter approaches. Missouri falls into the latter group. By not allowing the carrier the right to file suit against third-party tortfeasors until the insured provides its carrier with an assignment of all its rights, Missouri’s approach has opened the door for challenges to subrogation rights.
In Megown v. Auto Club Fam. Ins. Co., 2024 Mo. App. LEXIS 82, the plaintiff-insureds Michael and Jane Megown (the Megowns) suffered a house fire on February 8, 2016. Their insurance carrier, Auto Club Family Insurance Company (Auto Club) reimbursed the Megowns for their property damage in the amount of $722,433.56. Subsequently, the Megowns sued Auto Club for breach of contract and later amended their complaint to add claims against Tyberius Enterprises, LLC d/b/a Crag Electric (Craig Electric), the third-party tortfeasor, for direct negligence, alleging both property damage and personal injuries. Auto Club intervened in the Megowns’ claim against Craig Electric to protect its interest as subrogee for its property damage payment to the Megowns. Craig Electric settled prior to trial, paying $1,000,000.00 to both the Megowns and Auto Club, to be allocated at a later date. After a bench trial that apportioned the settlement with $722,433.56 paid to Auto Club and $277,566.44 paid to Megowns – and a jury trial awarding no further damages – the Megowns appealed.
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Lian Skaf, White and Williams LLPMr. Skaf may be contacted at
skafl@whiteandwilliams.com
What Construction Contractors Should Know About the California Government Claims Act
May 28, 2024 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogIf you work on state or local public works projects in California you should have at least a basic understanding of the Government Claims Act formerly known as the Tort Claims Act (Govt. Code §§ 900 et seq.). In the event of a dispute with a public entity, the Government Claims Act will usually apply, absent contractual provisions providing otherwise (Govt. Code §§930, 930.2) (e.g., in a construction contract), and requires that a “claim” first be presented to a “public entity” before a claimant files a lawsuit against the public entity. Failure to comply with the Government Claims Act can serve as a bar to maintaining a lawsuit against a public entity.
What types of claims does the Government Claims Act apply to?
The Government Claims Act broadly applies to most claims against state and local public entities. This is not limited to construction projects and includes all claims for “money or damage” arising from death, personal injury, breach of contract, and damage to real and personal property, wrongful death, or breach of contract.
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Garret Murai, Nomos LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@nomosllp.com
An Increase of US Metro Areas’ with Normal Housing & Economic Health
February 05, 2015 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFAccording to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Eye on Housing, 63 (out of 351) US metropolitan areas have returned to or exceeded their last normal level of housing and economic health—that’s up from 60 last quarter.
NAHB reported that “The Leading Markets Index measures a market’s proximity to normal as defined by the level of single-family housing permits, home prices and employment.”
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