In the United States’ pursuit of sustainable sources of power, addressing buildings’ energy consumption is top priority. The U.S. building sector accounts for about 39% of the nation’s energy use, and commercial buildings are...
Electrical contractors should be more vigilant than ever before about Industry 4.0’s continued advancement. The face of the new job site is one where Industry 4.0, and a higher degree of automation, is likely to be...
Building technologies are applicable far beyond building automation and controls—advancements in robotics and software means they can now be used for construction. Robotics’ rise Robotics are widely used in construction...
As sustainability comes into the mainstay of conversations, it's important for electrical contractors to be vigilant and aware of some developments taking place globally about sustainability and electrical engineering...
One unavoidable fact is that our industry is constantly changing, and in order for our businesses to stay ahead, we have to keep up. The technology involved in our day-to-day projects is evolving, and we have to adapt and...
In the 1928 election, before the Great Depression hit the United States, President Herbert Hoover’s campaign vision of American prosperity was one with “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.” Things did not...
In a recent interview for a historical report on power quality instruments, I was asked to describe the evolution of PQ monitors during my 41-year tenure with one of the leading design/manufacturing companies. In the late...
Artificial intelligence is disrupting multiple industries. In construction, A.I. is a big game-changer. In a January 2021 report, “AI: Construction’s New Frontier of Digital Enablement,” consultant Ernst & Young Global Ltd...
Now is the time to get excited about prospects for new starts and more sustainable architecture and facilities. This should be good for electrical contractors as infrastructure stimulus grows and technology develops...
Will we ever see buildings that consume zero energy? We already have. The National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment 4 building supplies 100% of its energy from on-site renewable energy sources with...
There’s a new flavor of human resources leadership today where the employee experience meets HR operations to create human experience management, or HXM—and technology is the accelerant. That’s how San Francisco-based SAP...
Perhaps not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the adoption of mobile apps on construction job sites, but integration and data sharing with other apps or other company software is still lagging, according to the...
Many companies now offer software to manage funds, equipment and more on construction projects. But perhaps one of the greatest uses of software is managing people. Software to manage employees Human resource (HR) management...
Remote working, as well as social distancing on job sites, due to the pandemic has expedited adoption of some construction technologies such as digital collaboration platforms, virtual scanning tools and safety-focused...
The Espoma Co., Millville, N.J., produces organic gardening fertilizer. The staff is proud of its facility, with warehouses and structures that sport a rooftop solar-energy installation covering nearly 43,000 square feet. The...
Construction design projects rely on simulation software, such as building information modeling, to drive design and construction decisions. Building information modeling (BIM) and other simulation software usage is picking...
The coronavirus pandemic has made clear that there is a range technology available to buildings that serve different building constituents. “Smart building technologies are built upon connectivity among building equipment so...
The world can be a small place. It is if you believe that wireless networks connect us with each other, our devices and a universe of pathways to do everything from conversing clearly on the phone to rapidly following...
Say robotics, and we think of a physical robot. Say automation, and we think controls, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), digital dashboards, cloud-based software and other connotations. However, robotics process...
Building intelligence and sensor technology have been driving energy efficiency. On the horizon is a next level of intelligence based on capturing data about how occupants use a space and then applying that information for a...
