Select Products Exhibited at Technology for Construction 2006

Those who regularly attended the A/E/C Systems shows from the dotcom days will recall that the show went on hiatus after the dotcom bubble had burst and was re-launched last year in the form of Technology for Construction, a smaller conference co-located with the much larger World of Concrete and World of Masonry shows. I attended this show last year (see AECbytes Newsletter #18), and found that even though the show's momentum was considerably lower compared to other industry shows such as the AIA Convention, it wasn't short on substance—it had several interesting sessions including an Executive Forum featuring a highly charged and stimulating panel discussion on BIM, and a variety of construction-specific technology products on display in the Exhibit Hall (which were described in AECbytes Newsletter #19).

This year, the Technology for Construction show was noticeably a more significant presence at the World of Concrete show, which was held last week from January 16 to 20 and drew over 80,000 attendees. It featured several sessions on different aspects of technology implementation in construction across all four days of the show, and the exhibitor list was also considerably larger than last year. The Executive Forum moderated by Scott Shuster of McGraw-Hill Construction returned again this year with different topics and different speakers. It is good to see the show gaining in momentum, indicating the increasing importance of technology in the building industry as a whole, and in the construction sector as well.

This issue of the AECbytes Newsletter describes some of the construction-specific technology products that were on display at the show. The highlights of the Executive Forum and the other sessions I was able to attend, as well as my overall analysis of the show, will follow next week in the "Building the Future" section.

Integrated Solutions for Construction Management

Most of the technology products at the show were related to traditional construction tasks such as financial management, project management, document management, bidding, project scheduling, and cost estimation. All of the major vendors in the field were on hand to show integrated applications for many or all of these tasks. CMiC, a leading provider of enterprise and project management software for construction, took the opportunity to demonstrate several new tools: CMiC Self Service, a Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool to help organizations tailor their views of company information without the expense of heavy customization while maintaining the integrity of the company's database; CMiC Dashboard, a software tool that displays consolidated company and project information on a single screen; and CMiC IO, which enhances collaboration in a project-driven environment by allowing users to send e-mail into a project management database from any e-mail capable device, including Pocket PC, Palm, RIM Blackberry, and all other intelligent handhelds such as smartphones.

Sage Software highlighted the latest features in Sage Timberline Office (formerly known as Timberline Office), an integrated suite of financial and operations software that includes estimating, accounting, project management, procurement, service management, and property management solutions for construction and real estate businesses. One of the key new features is Document Management, an integrated system that enables users to automatically index, archive, retrieve, and distribute all electronic and paper-based documents such as invoices, purchase orders, change orders, etc., based on document type or detailed page content. It was created specifically for small and medium-sized businesses, the focus being on ease of installation, ease of use, and affordability.

Computer Guidance Corporation, another leading provider of financial accounting, project management, and bidding solutions, showed the new version of its web-based construction management software suite, eCMS. This combines 30 applications that help businesses manage accounting, projects, personnel, operations and equipment, and includes a comprehensive set of specialty applications and integrated productivity tools such as document imaging, electronic workflow, and universal messaging. The new version provides a collection of new features and functions including a remodeled graphical user interface utilizing the latest web development technology, a new SQL Server database structure that provides users with improved methods for accessing and retrieving data, new preference options for advanced security control, and an enhanced productivity toolset for better enterprise-wide visibility, communication, and control over critical day-to-day operations (see Figure 1).

A new exhibitor at the show this year was the world's leading software company, Microsoft, which has, until now, not ventured too deeply into the arena of AEC-specific software. That scenario, however, may soon change. Thanks to a recent acquisition of a construction solutions vendor, Microsoft now offers under its Dynamics (formerly known as Business Solutions) portfolio, an integrated solution specifically targeted for construction and contracting for all aspects ranging from bid proposal through project completion. It allows construction companies to manage subcontractors and vendors, plan and track materials and inventory, and build change-orders into billing cycles. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft extends its reach into additional areas of AEC technology in the future, given that the building industry as a whole is starting to take technology more seriously and implement it more aggressively.

Takeoff and Estimating Solutions

In the field of takeoff and estimating, as was the case in last year's show, there was still no sign of automatic takeoff of quantities from CAD or BIM, as the only two vendors I am aware of who have developed or are developing applications for automatic takeoff—Graphisoft and Autodesk—did not participate in the show. All the other vendors in this field who exhibited at the show showed quantity takeoff solutions that rely on manual input into spreadsheets or the digitization of CAD drawings. One of the biggest exhibitors in this arena was Quest Solutions, which featured a number of takeoff workstations at their booth where contractors could try out their digitized takeoff and estimating solutions. Quest also exhibited some of its new products, including Takeoff, which allows contractors to generate takeoffs from digital plan files without the use of a digitizer or physical blueprints. The closest Quest comes to in providing some kind of automated takeoff is in its 2D and 3D Visual Assemblies, which are add-on products to Quest's main Estimator software (see Figure 2). Users can create Visual Assemblies for complex structures like a block wall, a slab on metal deck, a lift station, etc., and can use them in different projects by adjusting the measurements to fit the job. The software automatically generates the quantities and costs for each assembly.

Another leading developer of takeoff and estimating solutions, Vertigraph, exhibited its key products at the show including BidScreen, which allows takeoff from electronic plans using a mouse directly in Microsoft Excel; BidPoint, which digitizes quantities from paper blueprints using a digitizing tablet, again, directly into Microsoft Excel; SiteWorx, which computes cut and fill calculations for general and evacuation contractors using a digitizing tablet to record existing and proposed contour lines, spot elevations, project boundaries, topsoil strip and respread areas, spot elevations, and so on; and BidWorx, which is a structured database application for estimators, allowing them to define work breakdown structures to organize the estimate from a required point of view, and link the takeoff quantities from Excel spreadsheets to items and assemblies in the work breakdown structure.

Other Products at the Show

While there were many other exhibitors at the show demonstrating a variety of project management, accounting, and estimating solutions that are beyond the scope of this article to cover, I must mention three vendors exhibiting products that were somewhat different. Oak Ridge Solutions was demonstrating CustomCAD, which, to put it very simply, is a BIM solution for the basement design of residential and light commercial projects, to be used by the foundation/basement subcontractor. It works as a plug-in to AutoCAD, providing tools for drawing and capturing the attributes of objects such as walls, interior footings, pads, piers, ledges, pockets, windows, and so on (see Figure 3). The design can be visualized in 3D and modified with smart editing tools. Once the design is finalized, the application automatically calculates the quantity information needed for accurate estimates, material ordering, and billing. It also includes an advanced tool for coordinating points on the drawing with the site layout, allowing this data to be directly transferred to field equipment on the site.

Then there was Aligo, which was demonstrating a GPS-enabled tracking solution called WorkTrack that works with a mobile phone or Blackberry. It allows contractors to track employee time, job, and location, and dispatch jobs to the most qualified employee. WorkTrack can also be used in the field by workers and superintendents to submit time and job information wirelessly, eliminating paper timesheets. It integrates with most payroll and job management applications, helping companies to more effectively manage their employees and reduce payroll and administrative costs. While applications like this do not fall within the realm of traditional AEC technology, they will play an important role in making the overall construction process smarter and more efficient.

And finally, I was impressed with a new product that was making its debut on the show, Phoenix Project Manager, a dedicated scheduling software developed by a company that had over 30 years of experience in the scheduling industry. While the foundation of the system is based on the same Critical Path Method (CPM) that is commonly used in scheduling software, where Phoenix Project Manager stands apart is in its support of both the Bar Chart (Gannt) and Network Diagram schedule layouts, giving construction managers the choice of viewing the project in an informative bar chart layout or an easy-to-read network diagram. It also provides other unique features such as CPM checker, "Lag To" feature, activity code toolbar, and update comparisons (see Figure 4).

This wraps up the first part of my report on the Technology for Construction 2006 show. Stay tuned for the report on the Executive Forum, general sessions, and my overall analysis of the show in the next "Building the Future" article coming up soon.

About the Author

Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.