Fungus may help concrete self-repair

Brief: • Researchers at Binghamton University-State University of New York and Rutgers University have developed a self-healing fungi concrete that could help permanently repair cracks, according to Science Daily.  • The team of researchers found that when the fungus Trichoderma reesei is mixed with concrete it will lie dormant until the first crack appears. As […]

What is my business worth?

People have a tendency to overvalue things that they own. We are all guilty. But for a business owner, they must ask this question during the business planning process: “What is my company worth?” I see business owners overvalue when it is time to exit or in perpetuation planning. I have heard one say, “I […]

The Hush Hush In Business

My grandfather who founded ZORN had an old saying that has stuck with me since childhood and makes me think of him when I hear someone repeat it. He would say, “son there are two things you can count on as you get older, death and taxes.” The news has been filled with information around […]

How to Speed Up Construction Training

Many view construction training as an unproductive but necessary evil. Not true. The Construction Industry Institute found that productivity increases by 11 percent for every one percent of project labor budget invested in training. Every construction worker—from the green rookie to the seasoned veteran—can benefit from some level of construction training on the jobsite. The trick […]

Gradall intros Discovery Series excavators designed for emergency cleanup

Gradall says it has come up with a low-cost solution for local and state governments facing emergency cleanup, such as occurred with last year’s string of devastating hurricanes. The company’s Discovery Series excavators were used during storm recovery on the Gulf Coast and in the Bahamas and Caribbean, a news release says. They can travel […]

‘Reskilling crisis’ emerging as 1.4M US jobs face technology disruption

Brief: • Rising technologies and socio-economic forces are expected to disrupt 1.4 million jobs in the U.S. between now and 2026, according to a report from the World Economic Forum. The report analyzed 1,000 U.S. jobs, which account for 96% of national employment.  • Referred to as a “reskilling crisis,” only 2% of workers could transition […]

Warehouse Construction Boom

Overview: • The warehouse sector will achieve a net absorption of 655 million square feet between 2017 and 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest North American Industrial Forecast Report. Such activity will be second only to the 833 million square feet seen between 2014 and 2016. • Cushman & Wakefield’s findings are based on […]

U.S. Asphalt in Pavements

A report by The Freedonia Group forecasts asphalt used in highways and streets could increase 3.3 percent per year to reach 13.7 million tons by 2021, citing expectations of increased construction activity and more government funding. The report, “Paving Asphalt Market in the U.S.,” expects total “paving asphalt products” used in total applications to reach […]

3DR CEO Chris Anderson on the future of drones in construction

The construction industry may be slow to change, but technology’s influence on and off the job site is unmistakable. One company fueling that trend is Berkeley, CA–based 3D Robotics (3DR), a commercial drone software developer focusing on single-layer data collection and analysis. Founded in 2009 by former Wired Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson, the company wants to increase […]