Is construction undergoing a technological revolution due to new methods to collect and share data? Many processes are being altered and streamlined thanks to technology innovations, and it’s not a stretch to imagine many workflows in the construction industry being revolutionized as a result.

A new partnership between BidsList, www.bidslist.com, San Diego, Calif., a company that brokers any service-related projects, and NoteVault, www.notevault.com, San Diego, Calif., which provides voice-to-text software for mobile devices, is a step toward using technology to improve productivity, track progress, and enhance collaboration efforts on the jobsite.

For IT professionals in the construction industry, cloud computing is creating a certain level of complexities for doing business. Before diving head first into the cloud, contractors need to carefully consider how such technologies will work within the business, creating a strategy for how to move forward with the cloud.

When it comes to cloud computing, there are several different delivery methods including IaaS (infrastructure as a service), PaaS (platform as a service), SaaS (software as a service), and RaaS (resource as a service), as well as many deployment models, which include public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud.

Guard Industry and Osmose.Europe, both leading suppliers of wood preservative technologies, announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby Osmose Europe has been granted exclusivity to supply Guard Industry's Woodguard products into the manufacturing sector of the UK. Terms of the agreement are confidential. 

The WoodGuard range of products is a next generation product designed to protect wood against water, stains and dirt, tackling the main causes of deterioration. It is available in clear finish (woodguard) and in a coloured finish (woodguard color) to protect and enhance beauty of wood whilst providing high level protection from UV rays.

Both parties will continue to supply the market with their respective portfolios of preservative products that offer numerous important benefits to consumers, contractors, and builders.

Europe’s largest engineers’ body has appointed five industry experts to head up new sector-focused, global communities of engineers.

Recognising that demands on engineers and technicians have changed, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is prioritising five key sectors: Built Environment; Design & Production; Energy; Information & Communications; and Transport.

The sectors provide a focal point for engineers and technicians from all disciplines to find relevant communities, events and information.

IET Head of Sectors and Communities, Steve Perry, said: “The work of engineers and technicians has never been more important, and it’s vital that the IET supports the good work that they do.

The government is seeking innovative construction companies and property developers for a £4m research project to develop new ways of building.  Technology Strategy Board will invest the cash in a collaborative research and design competition that will fund up to 15 research projects. The projects will explore and test the viability of new ways of working, novel tools, products or contractual arrangements to demonstrate that they improve build consistency, cost-effectiveness, speed and sustainability.

The project is aimed at encouraging the construction industry to collaborate with its supply chain to radically rethink the build process to deliver buildings cost effectively, in volume, at speed, and with very low levels of defects. The competition is targeting contractors, developers and other major procurers of buildings.

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A house which is able to rise with the water level will be built on the banks of the Thames later this year, while the planning permission granted sets a precent for new properties built in areas prone to flooding.

Planning permission has been granted to build the UK's first amphibious house. Once built, it will rest on the ground on fixed foundations but whenever a flood occurs the entire building will rise up in its dock and float, buoyed by the floodwater.

The design will use the latest technology and is a major breakthrough for British architects and engineers who have been searching for many years for a solution to mitigate the risk and damage of water entering homes in flood-prone areas.

The region's first hybrid operating room, one that adds imaging and robotics to traditional surgery, will reduce recovery time and the risk of postoperative complications when it opens this week at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, officials said.

Not only will common heart surgeries, such as insertions of stents, be performed more effectively in the hybrid room, officials said, but the state-of-the-art technology will better allow doctors to deal with complications that can arise out of complex heart surgeries such as endovascular aneurysm repairs.

The hybrid, plus eight new traditional operating rooms, were shown to the media Wednesday. The traditional operating rooms will be in use within the next few weeks.

Online toolkit developed to help homes cope with climate change Experts in Leicester have developed an online toolkit which provides advice on how to adapt homes to cope with future climate change and cut energy use.

Stephen Porritt, a Research Fellow at De Montfort University’s (DMU) Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development (IESD), has created a toolkit for homeowners, residents and landlords, which shows the steps that can be taken to reduce overheating in homes.

During the heat wave in August 2003, when temperatures exceeded 37 degrees, more than 35,000 people died of heat related problems throughout Europe, with more than 2,000 of those deaths in the UK. It is predicted that extreme weather such as this will occur every year by the middle of the century.

Kamasa have just introduced this Hex and Star key set (part no: 56038) with innovative magnetic handle which holds the key securely and enables extra torque to be applied.

The nine Hex keys are sized from 1.5mm up to 10mm, the nine Star sizes (Star is the equivalent of Torx) from T10 up to T50. Manufactured from chrome vanadium for strength and include a black oxide finish for long life and corrosion resistance.

The double-ended keys can be used as they are, or locked in to the ABS handle which is clearly marked with the key positions. Supplied in a sturdy open case that holds the keys and handle securely.