Technology for the Builder in New Home Construction

In the past, we’ve discussed the use of technology in construction from a homeowner’s viewpoint. It is true that the Internet of Things has blossomed wide open for homeowners to have “smart” homes. But tech is not only transforming the construction experience for the homeowner – it’s changing the way builders work as well. We will examine several innovations which will make your job, as a builder, easier.

Headgear

Wearable gear is one way to use technology to both enhance your capabilities or to increase your safety. For example, Augmented Reality glasses or a visor can superimpose 3D models on a live site, can allow the builder to see where electrical cables, pipe or ductwork run behind an existing wall and can merge plans with reality. An example of this sort of technology is the Microsoft Hololens (https://youtu.be/AQOGBPYf2Mg). Another type of tech gear is the enhanced safety helmet. While most construction professionals wear a hard hat on site, this gear takes the hard hat into the 21^st century. The DAQRI Smart Helmet (https://daqri.com/products/smart-helmet/), using Google Glass technology, has sensors and cameras, which it uses to gather data about the immediate environment. It includes a clear visor, lenses and 4-D Augmented Reality. This helmet can warn the wearer of possible dangers and also assist in task completion.

Wearable Technology

Another type of wearable technology designed for construction are devices you wear, such as GPS-enhanced safely vests or gesture-activated wristbands. The safety vests use GPS technology to track movement and location on a job site. This in turn can notify a worker who is entering a hazardous area. Wristbands connect to devices which are digitally enabled, such as the Augmented Reality glasses discussed above. Through gestures, the wearer can control those devices without touching.

Airborne Tech

Drones are also offering assistance on job sites. A drone can perform a multitude of functions, such as surveying land, mapping a job site, documenting job progression, and securing the site from theft and vandalism. If a drone records footage of the site, that recording can be used to project job completion and to update job progress to customers. The tech industry is now creating specialized drones designed specifically for construction and industry.

On Your PC and Phone

A recent improvement in computer technology is Building Information Modelling or BIM. This technology merges various data about the project and create high-detail, interactive 3-D models, which are far more informative than a simple blueprint.

As regulations and codes change, your PC and phone are valuable tools for staying abreast of all those changes. Apps also can assist you in streamlining your business. For example, some builder productivity apps are BuildCalc, which includes equations and calculations for hip roof construction, Fast Concrete Pad Calculator, which figures out how much rebar and concrete you need for your project as well as a cost estimate for those, DeWALT, which is a calculator for volume, length, construction materials (such as quantity of nails or number of drywall boards), PlanGrid, which allows contractors to save PDFs of project designs and to share them to workers’ devices, and Estimate ALL PRO, which helps you estimate materials costs after you input the item and the cost per unit. Additionally, apps are usually quite affordable comparative to their functionality.

Another great tech-related tool is … drum roll … the 10-Year New Home Warranty, from American eBuilder! Did you know that we are now mobile-friendly, and you can order your warranties straight from your smart phone or tablet? From its start, American eBuilder was prescient in this area; we were providing the convenience and ease of warranties purchased online before anyone else! But with the mobile-friendly site, we’ve taken our technological convenience a step further. “On-line, on-time, un-equaled!” To learn more about our convenient and quick warranty process, visit New Home Builder’s Warranty or contact us today!