Developing a safety culture

Upon entering the ferrous metal recycling yard at Sadoff Iron and Metal in Fond Du Lac, WI, we were greeted by safety slogans clearly printed on the booms of every material handler and loader in sight. “The hardest things to change in developing a safety culture at our 8 industrial metal recycling facilities,” explained Jason Lasky, company vice-president, who has been in charge of developing and implementing the safety culture for the past seven years, “have been behaviors, such as not taking the time to do a job right, rushing, taking short cuts, not being aware of distractions. Behaviors such as these have been our biggest challenge.”Read Full Story

How an FAA Drone Initiative Could Spur Construction Innovation

Drones are already providing value in construction, but more innovation is still coming. For operators and contractors, drones — also known as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) — can help collect data to complete tasks such as surveying at the construction jobsite. However, the industry has only began to scratch the surface of what is possible, as more innovation is still on the horizon.Read Full Story

How Raken Helps Facilitate Major Construction Projects

Raken is a service that allows construction managers to keep track of job site information. Construction photos, videos and attachments can be added to the app. And a daily report can be sent from phones and tablets. Raken is used by superintendents, project managers, subcontractors and foremen for their daily reports.Read Full Story

Sea urchin spines inspire elastic concrete

A key ingredient of cement can be made more elastic and crack-resistant by giving it a structure that mimics the nanoarchitecture of sea urchin spines. Calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) gives concrete its compressive strength, making it the most used human-made construction material in the world. But being brittle, it lacks flexural strength and so weakens and fractures if anything causes it to bend.Read Full Story