Connected Construction

Jacobs picks up more Highways England Roads Investment work

August 18, 2016

US group Jacobs Engineering has been appointed by Highways England to develop preferred options for multiple highways schemes. The projects are in the east, southeast and northwest regions of England, according to statement by Jacobs. Contract value has not been given. Jacobs senior vice president for buildings and infrastructure, Bob Duff, said that the award “builds on our long established relationship with Highways England”. Highways England is the new government company charged with operating E

Property issues holding back start of work on Gordie Howe Bridge

July 19, 2016

Delays in buying properties in Detroit, Michigan, could hold up construction of the proposed 3.2km Gordie Howe International Bridge that will link the US city to Windsor in Canada. A report by the Detroit Free press said that around 30 of the estimated 900 parcels of land in the city’s Delray district could pose potential problems if owners resist selling the sites to the bridge’s developers. The newspaper noted that Dwight Duncan, interim chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority - the Canadian e

Astec Industries CEO and president Ben Brock says stay focused and true to win

July 8, 2016

Core values, constant innovation and looking after the customer are the key drivers for Ben Brock, chief executive officer and president of Astec Industries. How does he keep his company ahead of the pack and what does he think that the future holds? if you ask Ben Brock to explain how his Astec Industries group has managed to do so well for so long, he doesn’t even pause for breath. “That’s easy, I thank the good doctor. He always told me: do good work and take care of the customer ... which is exactl

In control - with machine control technology

June 21, 2016

Advances with machine control technologies are providing major benefits right across the construction sector - Mike Woof writes With the massive bauma 2016 exhibition now having run its course, the construction sector look set to benefit from a range of new machine control technologies. These systems are being offered across a range of different segments in the equipment sector. Bulldozing was one of the first portions of the earthmoving segment to benefit from machine control systems, but a vast array o

Efficient concrete inspection from GSSI

June 17, 2016

A new portable tool from GSSI offers fast and accurate analysis of concrete structures. The firm’s latest handheld ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be used for concrete inspection Industry. The StructureScan Mini series is a handheld, all-in-one GPR system for locating rebar, conduits, post-tension cables and voids. The unit can also be used to determine concrete slab thickness in real time. The firm offers the product in two models, the standard StructureScan Mini and the high resolution StructureSca

Mott MacDonald Sweco JV to design part of A96 dualling, Scotland

June 16, 2016

A Mott MacDonald and Sweco joint venture has been appointed by Transport Scotland to carry out route option assessment and detailed design work for dualling of the A96 highway between Hardmuir and Fochabers. The nearly 47km stretch of the road will provide users with improved journey times between two of Scotland’s economic hubs, the cities of Inverness and Aberdeen. In 2011, the Scottish Government published its Infrastructure Investment Plan which set out the Government’s plans for infrastructure i

Liebherr’s strong results

June 15, 2016

Liebherr reports a record turnover for 2015 at €9.237 billion. This is the highest figure in the Liebherr Group’s history and represents an increase of €414 million or 4.7 % over with 2014. Some €751 million was invested in the business in 2015. Business in Western Europe saw an increase in turnover. Among the contributing factors were positive developments in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. Sales revenue dropped, however, in France, the Group’s third-largest market. Turnover increased in volume

Topcon and Bentley: integration between MAGNET 4.0 and ProjectWise

June 7, 2016

Topcon Positioning Group and Bentley Systems have set up direct communication between Bentley’s design applications and Topcon mobile work force products with the upcoming MAGNET 4.0 release. With the direct communication from MAGNET Enterprise to Bentley’s ProjectWise, users of Topcon’s family of MAGNET and 3D-MC software solutions can now, while working in the field, access or receive i-models created by Bentley’s OpenRoads design modeling technology. By the end of June, survey data and as-built

Topcon announces increased integration with Autodesk scanning software

June 2, 2016

Topcon Positioning Group has announced increased integration in the Autodesk and Topcon reality data workflow that it says is designed to increase project efficiency. Raw scan data from the Topcon GLS-2000 laser scanner can now be taken directly into Autodesk ReCap 360 and ReCap 360 Pro with no intermediate software conversion steps necessary. Topcon said that this integration is designed to streamline point cloud analysis to quickly identify conflicts, measure variations and make adjustments at vari

BOMAG’s smart asphalt compaction technology in use

May 25, 2016

BOMAG’s highly sophisticated compaction control technology is now being used successfully on the highway project to link Warsaw with St Petersburg. The system is being employed in the rural area around the border triangle of Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus. Lithuanian road contractor Panevezio Keliai won the package of works to upgrade a stretch of the E262 in Zarasai. The project requires high quality as the E262 route links Warsaw with St Petersburg and carries a large volume of traffic, including a hig