Well, there have been some super exciting tech trends unfolding in the construction and building industry this year- and for good reason.

Best of all, it’s showing no signs of slowing down.

In fact, the current technology trends in construction are reshaping the industry. Increasing profit margins, winning more builders more projects and improving safety are just some of the benefits.

A Böcker AHK 36 trailer crane AHK 36 is being used for the restoration of the Peck Ledge Lighthouse, off the coast of Norwalk in Connecticut, USA.

The AHK 36 was easily loaded onto a barge by a small mobile crane, utilising its lifting bolts on the chassis, and taken to the lighthouse. On site, Böcker US crane dealer Innovativ Hoisting is using the crane for the assembly of steel frames, delivery of material and removal of old material.

Today’s Freres Lumber blog features a question and answer session with our Human Resources Director Marilyn Gueltzow, and SEDCOR’s Retention and Expansion Manager Nick Harville. We will have a dynamic discussion about the challenges of hiring and retaining employees in today’s market.

Treviso, Italy-based Jekko said V stands for versatility and Max for maximum when describing the new version of the JF545 articulated crawler crane.

In this video, Abdon shows us one of his tricks on throw line that he likes to apply. Using the carabiner and inserting it into the clove hitch he ties midline helps to eliminate that unwanted wrap pressure on the hand.

SENNEBOGEN held the official launch of the 718M E Series tree-handler equipment to the United States, Canada, and Mexico tree care industries, following a successful Demo Day staged at their American headquarters near Charlotte, NC. The innovative machinery requires only one operator and is capable of quickly dismantling and removing trees in difficult terrain or treacherous locations - as well as acreage clearing for land development or right-of-way construction.

Israeli technology company, UltraWis, has introduced a crane control system which allows full control of a crane from the ground.

Ultrawis, with investment from Incubit, has a technology solution which the company states is “the industry's first system to transform the tower crane operator's cabin into a cockpit, controlling the crane and the whole construction site from the ground.”

Minnesota, USA-based residential building contractor Link Construction used a Potain Igo MA 21 self-erecting tower crane, made by US manufacturer Manitowoc, positioned in a gap between two houses being built in order to increase construction efficiency.

According to Manitowoc, the crane’s strategic location and small footprint of 13.8 sq ft (4.2 m) combined with its 85.3 ft (26 m) of jib radius allowed Link Construction to reach the entire jobsite using just one piece of equipment, increasing efficiency on both builds.

Delicately moving a huge structural scaffolding section into place above St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunedin, yesterday signalled a new phase in the cathedral’s recovery from a damaging fire.

Cathedral dean the Very Rev Dr Tony Curtis said that much earlier preliminary work and planning had been undertaken after fire tore through the cathedral roof early on August 11.

"I lost everything," he said. "I lost my home. I lost my family. I couldn't tell where the ground stopped and the sky started."

Palmer was a well-known radio announcer for more than two decades until industry cut backs.

"Have you ever heard people say that if you find something you love and can do it for a living, you'll never work a day in your life?" he asked. "I had that, and I lost it."

When The Manitowoc Company implemented a common control system across its family of cranes, the company recognized an opportunity to use simulators to support the marketing and sales program behind the initiative, as well as deliver operator training.

Manitowoc partnered with CM Labs to develop the simulators.

Fibre ropes of one kind or another have been used for millennia before iron took over. Steel wire has enjoyed a monopoly in some sectors for almost two centuries. But is fibre about to mount a historic comeback? Simon Hastelow reports.

All manufacturers of articulating or knuckle boom cranes have been affected by the virus. Its impact has been strong, gradually hitting all world markets and reducing the number of orders for new cranes, as reported by Italian manufacturer Fassi Gru, for one.

MONTROSE – Students in the Montrose Community Schools Career Technical Education (CTE) construction program have been learning at an outdoor classroom lately.

CTE construction teacher Mike Roberson said, “This is the third year for the new construction program at Montrose Hill-McCloy High School. We have been building the program and the curriculum each year. We are proud to say we are now on our first off-site build for the new construction program.”

For professional arborists, who are trained in the care and maintenance of trees, their office is the great outdoors. The following arborists, who are featured in YouTube videos, said they wouldn't have it any other way.

Do you have a video or photos of your arborists hard at work in the field? If so, email Field Editor Amy Fischbach, and it could appear in a future issue of Vegetation Management Insights, which comes out the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.

Julian Champkin looks at the knuckleboom market and finds that though sophistication can be sought-after, and increasing size brings new roles, there is still a demand for the basic and simple.

Knucklebooms are workhorses. Their basic job is to load and unload the flatbed truck they are mounted on, which generally carry building materials, bricks, blocks and rooftiles. It is a simple job, and it can be carried out by efficiently and easily by simply-constructed cranes of light or medium capacity.

Last month’s article, “Better Profits with Effective Employee Retention and Growth,” got a lot of attention. The labor shortage issues that companies are experiencing, despite the high unemployment numbers, are having a negative impact on many companies’ manufacturing capacities. There is not much one can do about the coronavirus and government policies, but there are steps every company can take to improve their current employee hiring and retention position.

Contractors made construction history last weekend when they used a massive crane to lift another, smaller crane to the top of the new Tiffany flagship store at 727 Fifth Avenue.

This is only the fourth time in New York City construction history that a crane has lifted a crane onto the roof of a building.