Track.Map.Measure

When it comes to unique innovation in the construction world, perhaps one of the best companies to look at is Oracle, the company known for its comprehensive and fully integrated stack of cloud applications and platform services. Oracle helps those in the construction sector realize its goals through technology and processes, which drive efficiency.On this episode of Track.Map.Measure, Host Shaun MacIntosh talked with Burcin Kaplanoglu, Vice President, Oracle Industries Innovation Labs at Oracle. The duo spoke about Burcin's career and how important data is when it comes to construction.He started training in civil engineering before he moved into project management. While in grad school, he also realized he liked teaching, so he began pursuing that, as well. He then earned a Ph.D. while working in the industry. Now, he has taught at Northwestern University for over a decade while working in the private sector. Let's say he is a busy man.He joined Oracle a little over three years ago. He took over a position on the construction side of things before he moved into technology. In one year, he worked on a program that worked on over 750 sites.“That project I was able to work with a large team, but was also able to leverage data,” Burcin said. “Looking at the data, trying to make predictions on which project would be completed on time, which ones would not be, and what are the common issues so we can figure out systemic issues.”This was a pivotal project in his career. It showed him the importance of data. It also showed him that it's less about the construction and more about the process and how to get projects over the finish line.

The construction business is highly competitive with razor-thin margins. So, how can contractors drive greater ROI? It's all about technology. Discussing the opportunities of construction technology, Track.Map.Measure host Shaun MacIntosh and his co-host Andrew Auer chatted with Scott Brown, Managing Partner at Construction Technology Partners.Brown has a technology-rich background with roles at Kiewit, Trimble, and equipment manufacturers, with an eye toward understanding how technology benefits the industry. That inspired him to start Construction Technology Partners, to offer consulting, support, and training in the construction industry.Brown discussed the early days of technology in construction, recalling using iPod touches. The field has evolved tremendously since then, especially the use of drones. “Drones supplement the work and provide real-time data. It's amazing what a single picture can do for efficiency,” Brown said.Brown noted that the teams he works with have a variety of users, some more tech-inclined than others. “We want to build a process that makes sense for the user. We don't say this is how it has to be done.”They strive to understand what customers are doing to create repeatable processes, which save time and money. He recalled a story of a contractor preparing an electrical easement, but the markings were off. A drone was able to identify the correct line in a few minutes, avoiding the error.Technology tools enable construction companies to be leaner and meaner and often avoid downtime. “We're urging a shift from a reactive to proactive mentality. They can be proactive with tech to reach that next level of efficiency because they aren't getting paid much more than 20 years ago to move material.”

From drones and bleeding-edge technology to the end-to-end processes that drive efficiency, modern construction is undergoing a renaissance. Host Shaun MacIntosh talks with the top leaders in construction and provides unmatched insights into the industry that quite literally built the world around us.The construction industry is adopting technology to work smarter, not harder. On Track.Map.Measure. delivers insights on how the field is evolving. Host Shaun MacIntosh took listeners on a deep dive into software with guest Tom Wiley, Senior Solutions Engineer at B2W Software. B2W Software offers a unified construction software that connects people, workflows, and data.Wiley has been with the company for over 15 years and now focuses on solutions engineering. “It's a fun and unique role where I talk to customers at the discovery phase to learn their problems and come up with creative and practical solutions to solve them,” he shared.The importance of data in construction, just like in other industries, is rising. Capturing it and analyzing it can lead to better decision-making, greater efficiencies, and higher profitability. So, what's the catalyst for construction companies shopping for software?“It starts with some kind of problem, an impediment to growth or maximizing profitability. Often problems uncover other problems, too. Companies realize they can't keep doing things the same way to grow and be competitive,” Wiley answered.Deploying software can lead to benefits. “One story is a company that couldn't bid fast enough with one full-time estimator and one part-time. After the implementation, they still had one estimator but doubled their bidding amount,” Wiley said.The embrace of data to drive business is likely the next-generation of construction companies. “Tracking and making use of data can give you daily, weekly, or monthly basis on that cost. You're fixing problems as they're happening. These tools bring real value to those that use them,” Wiley added.

Drones are revolutionizing surveying, enabling faster, less costly topographic data than ever before. Diving into this topic on the show, host Shaun MacIntosh welcomed Akash Chaudhari, project manager for Bradley Construction. Also joining the conversation was co-host Matt Gendron of Propeller Aero.MacIntosh and Gendron first met Chaudhari when he was a project manager for Strata Solar, a provider of turnkey solutions for solar projects. The company was already using drones for infrared scanning but soon found they had more applicable solutions for solar surveying. The relationship between Propeller and Strata took off from there. “These are massive projects, and you're balancing safety, quality, budget, and schedule. Technology like drones can help with this,” Chaudhari said.Before drone usage, equipment and people were necessary, which was time-intensive and costly. The company began to adopt the use of drones beyond just thermal imagery. “We started to understand the capabilities of Propeller and what was possible. We could take the data from drones and overlay it with CAD files to understand progress and speak in specifics to what problems were and start solving them," he noted.The drones helped them make adjustments in real-time by collecting more data. Some of those contain millions of points of data, something not feasible with traditional methods. “People doing the surveying could hit maybe 1,000 points of data a day. How long would it take them to hit millions?” Chaudhari added.The most critical aspect that drones brought to the projects was the quality control factor. “We could check current contours and adjust in the moment before it was too late,” Chaudhari said. The benefits of systems talking to each other made all the difference as well, aggregating CAD files, drone data, and site data for a holistic view. Drones certainly offer significant advantages in surveying and certainly far exceed the label of “toy.”

As the BIM Technology Solutions Implementation Lead at Rosendin, Jad Chalhoub, PhD, focuses on identifying relevant emerging technologies, establishing their potential values and ROI, then implements them throughout the BIM department and the rest of the company. And today, Chalhoub joins Shaun MacIntosh, host of Track.Map.Measure, to discuss how BIM technology solutions enhance their processes both internally and out in the field. According to Chalhoub, prior to BIM, “You would need a bunch of drafters sitting on tables and just drawing on big plans or AutoCAD, depending on what level of digitization you want to go back to. You would need a group of people who are just dedicated to maintaining the information that's related to the plans that are being drafted. You would need a bunch of estimators to work with the costs. You would also need a bunch of coordinators to coordinate those plans to the field.” Today, “BIM has facilitated a lot of these processes into one continuous entity that makes everything more possible. Otherwise, you just need significant more manpower to in order to carry out all of the functions that BIM has enabled us to carry out now.”Listen to Previous Episodes of Track.Map.Measure Right Here!

On “Track. Map. Measure.,” host Shaun MacIntosh is constructing a show with a host of thought-leaders from the industry that quite literally builds the world around us – construction.

On “Track. Map. Measure.,” host Shaun MacIntosh is constructing a show with a host of thought-leaders from the industry that quite literally builds the world around us – construction.