Infrastructure product manufacturers face two pressing challenges today: tight margins and hiring/retaining high-performance people. Fortunately, there is a business practice called OKRs that addresses both of these. Originally introduced in the 1970s by Intel's Andy Grove, OKRs are now standard in ...

The ‘smart city’ is the wave of the future and there is a lot of interest in making it happen. However, you don't seem to hear as much about ‘smart infrastructure‘, which is curious. Every house has a foundation, and infrastructure is the foundation of the city, so it stands to reason that you ...

We conducted a Twitter poll this week asking what the construction supply chain expects to gain from adopting technology. By a factor of almost 2:1, 'Reduce paperwork' was the most common response. There have been a lot of solutions offered by many tech companies to help the AEC industry transition ...

This week we began conducting our new Twitter polls to get a finger on the pulse of what the construction supply chain is thinking these days. More respondents told us that they see productivity growth as their greatest opportunity, ahead of market growth and increased market share. Curiously, we ...

In our conversations with precast concrete manufacturers lately, we have heard of a lot of interest in lean manufacturing. Some of our customers, such as Jensen Precast and Smith Midland, have engaged in the practice for some time with good success. The NPCA wrote about their experiences in a ...

RFID systems are becoming more and more prevalent. We drive through tolls and the RFID tag in our car is automatically read and we are charged. Tags are included on items in stores to deter shoplifting. Hospital equipment is tagged so that supplies can be tracked. And, of course, infrastructure ...

Over the past two and a half years about 80 precast and prestressed concrete manufacturers have subscribed to the Idencia concrete tracking system to improve inventory control and implement paperless QC processes. As they have integrated Idencia into their operations, they have developed some great ...

We were pleased to be asked to speak at the Command Alkon ELEVATE 2017 customer conference this past week. As the theme implies, creating ways to offer more customer value was a topic of extensive discussion. The Idencia presentation was Connected Concrete: An Opportunity to Lead. Since this was ...

As project owners and contractors adapt to the demands of the coming infrastructure boom, precast and prestressed concrete manufacturers will be forced to redefine the nature of the products they provide. They will have to deliver "Connected Concrete", concrete that can deliver information.