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Technology Takes the Service Call

January 27, 2012

For many of today's specialty contractors, the most profitable move they can make is the service call. While there have been signs of new life for new construction, whether or not the market has reached a period of consistent and sustainable gain is up for debate. Still, the service side of the business continues to be the bread and butter of specialty contractors.

That being said, the ability to generate accurate quotes, keep track of materials and manpower requirements is enough to make any service manager's head spin at times. That being said, construction technology hopes to ease the pain in such instances, and new applications hitting the market are evidence of such a trend.

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December 2011

Volume 14 Number 08

2011 Residential Buyer's Guide

Could the homebuilding market be picking up? While remodeling activity continues to remain slow due to current economic conditions, new home sales rose 5.7% in September, which is the fastest pace of new-home sales in the past five months. While the market is not soaring by any means, the grim reality of years’ past seems to be dying down, as the market at least begins to steady out.

Nov/Dec 2011

Volume 14 Number 07

The Power Leads to the Payoff

Power, prowess, passion, and payoff. Successful construction organizations are driven in part by these four underlying objectives: The power to make the right decision; the prowess to properly execute; the passion to rise above business challenges; and ultimately the payoff.



Commentary

A Shake Up at the Top

In a way, we seem to be entrenched in an era of “parity” in the software community. While certainly good for groups like the NFL where a Super Bowl winner can emerge from a pack of bottom-dwellers at any point, parity isn’t exactly what you would call an ideal situation for a market like construction; the Cincinnati Bengals winning the Super Bowl—pleasant surprise; your software provider suddenly falling off the radar in terms of innovation—not so much.

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Green Technology

Energy Comparisons

We live in a world of increasing interest in saving the decreasing quantities of energy we have available. As the supply of energy drops, prices go up and customers become more concerned with reducing energy use. But what does ‘reduce” mean? It is a term that needs a comparison, a benchmark, to have value.

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Infrastructure Update

Technology Transportation Trends

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for with regards to transportation construction in the year ahead: managing in lean times, bans or restrictions on cellphone use while driving, increasing visibility of transportation with upcoming presidential campaign, new ways to fund transportation, advances in intercity passenger rail, and new stormwater reforms and other environmental regulations.

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