BuildBinder Industry Trend Article Prepared By: Sharon L. Hadden NINICO Communications
Tech-wise Construction Makes the Impossible, Possible The construction industry is full of good intentions—placing priority on sustainable buildings, making continuous efforts to reduce waste and maximize resources, and even standardizing software and processes, to improve the quality of life for executives, owners, project managers, and developers alike. When Oscar E. Nunez-Elias, CEO, BuildBinder, first set out to create a complete unique system for construction firms, he kept those good intentions in mind. “So far, we haven’t found any other solution covering the whole lifecycle of a construction process in the same application,” NunezElias shares. BuildBinder is a cloud-based construction information management software, built by construction experts, for construction experts. The platform helps both large and small firms save money and work more efficiently, by making tools and information available, searchable, and ultimately useful, from day one, to close-out of a construction project. According to the Construction Management Association of America, technology has begun to play a key role in the success of construction projects. By selecting the right tools, and prioritizing interoperability, firms can “eliminate manual data re-entry, duplication of business functions and the reliance on paper to duplicate and exchange data.” As a result of tech-wise construction, firms reduce infrastructure vulnerability, decrease supply-chain communication costs, increase the reliability of information and increase the speed of project delivery. With over 30 years in the AEC industry, Nunez-Elias has witnessed this technology transformation first hand. If he were to highlight just five trends to watch for in 2017, it would be drones, lean construction, augmented reality, business intelligence and construction information management systems (CIMS). “Lean construction is a whole new way to think about the construction process. It’s a broad concept, but once successfully applied, you can work on getting the best results with minimum impact on the environment and only the precise amount of effort applied,” says Nunez-Elias. Among other trends on Nunez-Elias’s list, augmented reality proves to be the most revolutionary, based on the number of areas it can be applied. Augmented reality allows the construction professional to review designs in a real-world context, as well as an ability to measure, assess and forecast information throughout the lifecycle of a construction project. While construction professionals see augmented reality as a key opportunity for walkthroughs, Nunez-Elias also sees its value in regard to GPS data and image storage. “Ten years ago, you could only dream of seeing the inside of a structure, while construction was still in progress. With augmented reality, those dreams are realized,” Nunez-Elias explains. Nunez-Elias shares that while the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is exciting, it’s also challenging. “Every project means creation and transformation. Creation of new structures and spaces to live, and transformation of the environment when putting something new where there used to be nothing. Construction provides people with what they need to
BuildBinder Industry Trend Article Prepared By: Sharon L. Hadden NINICO Communications live, work, travel, heal and enjoy. Because of that, I plan to keep helping the construction process evolve, so that all of those things are always possible.�