Concrete 3D Printing May Soon Become Standard Practice in Construction
Innovation in the construction industry has taken a whole new turn with the latest advances in 3D-printing technology. If you’re not already familiar with this technology, 3D printing involves a machine that uses concrete as its “ink” to construct buildings from the base up. Layer by layer, the…
Giatec Adds Four New Ready-Mix Concrete Producers to the SmartRock® Plus Family
It’s been a busy summer already for Giatec, and we’re not slowing down as we welcome four new members to the SmartRock® Plus producer family. These ready-mix producers have embraced technology by integrating wireless concrete sensors into their business models to optimize the performance of their mixes and…
How Concrete Can Reap Solid Environmental and Economic Benefits
Made up of water, aggregate (rock, sand, or gravel), and Portland cement, concrete is the most widely used construction material. Its popularity is mainly due to the fact that concrete is flexible, cheap, and durable. Unfortunately, even with today’s contemporary recycling technology, used or old concrete is seen…
Testing Is Easier With the Concrete Slab Temperature Sensor SmartRock® Plus
On the job site, time is money, and delays can be costly. But what if making a small change could shave days off your schedule while saving big bucks? That’s the premise behind SmartRock Plus™, the concrete slab temperature sensor that allows contractors get real-time information about the strength and temperature…
How Drones Can Work With, Not Against, Inspectors
Recent advances in drone technologies (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs) and non-destructive testing (NDT) have led to significant changes in the way data is collected in the field, especially when it comes to structural inspections and repair/rehabilitation assessments. Traditional Inspections Just Aren’t Cutting It Traditional bridge…
Expose Your Civil Engineering R&D on a Global Stage with Giatec
At Giatec, we believe that today’s civil engineering researchers are shaping cities of the future. That’s why we have launched an annual contest to recognize innovative research and thought leadership in the world of civil engineering and concrete infrastructure. The Giatec Award for Best Paper is an essay-writing…
Defending the Most Sustainable Construction Material: Response to CNN
A few days ago, CNN published an article entitled “Concrete is a disaster for our planet: can the building industry break its addiction?” causing an uproar from thousands of construction industry professionals. Rightly so. The article, as we will discuss in greater detail below, was largely biased and…
Choosing the Right Tablet for Your Construction Projects
In today’s digital world, the use of tablets in the business environment is becoming increasingly popular. This is true for the construction industry as well, where tablets are being used to give contractors and engineers access to data on the go during various building and infrastructure projects. Technological…
Update Your SmartRock App Today!
At Giatec, we always take customer feedback seriously in order to add value to our products and give users the best possible experience. Today we’re excited to announce the launch of our new and improved SmartRock app, which has incorporated all your suggestions into a user-friendly, intuitive interface…
Intermat Paris 2018: SmartRock® Plus Concrete Sensors on the Global Stage
Paris, here we come! The Giatec office is buzzing with activity as we prepare for the International Exhibition for Construction and Infrastructure, a.k.a. Intermat. This year’s show is taking place from the 23rd to 28th of April 2018, and will welcome 1,500 exhibitors and 183,000 visitors from 167…
Increase Concrete Durability by Keeping Water Out
Image Copyrighted by https://pixabay.com/photos/crack-wall-concrete-texture-stone-695010/With concrete being the world’s most popular construction material, it’s clear why we must always push to find new ways of improving its inherent durability. And there’s no better to do this than to protect it from its nemesis—water. Why Is Water Bad for Concrete?…
Avoid Construction Delays During Shoulder Season
It’s cold out there! Shoulder season has brought record-breaking cold temperatures across Canada and the United States. Not only are these temperature fluctuations uncomfortable (to say the least), but they’re also taking their toll on hard infrastructure like buildings, roads, bridges, and tunnels. In fact, construction crews in…
How Recycled Tires Can Put an End to Potholes Forever!
Concrete and asphalt are the main materials that are used to pave the roads that paint our landscapes throughout the globe and connect us to one another. Every driver, bus dweller, and sidewalk trekker knows that where there are paved pathways, there are potholes. What Are Potholes? Technically…
Bringing the Uber Model to Construction
The construction industry is one of the oldest industries in the world. It’s also one of the slowest to implement change. The proof? Textbooks I studied 20 years ago are still used in civil engineering schools worldwide today! How is that possible? For one, design practices have not…
Florida International University Bridge Collapse
Why Ensuring Proper Quality Control is Important On March 15th, 2018 a 950-ton, partially assembled pedestrian bridge at Florida International University (FIU) collapsed onto the busy highway below after only five days of its placement, killing six people and leaving nine seriously injured. The 14.2-million-dollar bridge encompassed an…
Is Your Home Smarter Than Its Building Materials?
From controlling everything including your lights and laundry via your smartphone, to your Amazon Alexa randomly laughing in what some call a very creepy manner, IoT is everywhere. Not only is it surrounding us in our modern homes, it’s also present in the production, delivery, placement, and use…
Evaluating Current Methods Predicting Service-Life of Reinforced Concrete
Service-Life Prediction for Reinforced Concrete Exposed to Chloride-Induced Corrosion Risk: Are We Just Rolling the Dice? Corrosion of reinforcing steel is the most prominent cause of deterioration in reinforced concrete in North America and many parts of the world. The safety concerns associated with corrosion, along with the…
Using Beet Juice to Keep Streets Healthy and Clear of Ice
A Viable Alternative to Corrosion Causing Road Salt In Canada and other parts of the world with colder climates, road salt has been used for decades to ease the effects of ice on roads and prevent slipping and traffic collisions. Although salt is effective for melting ice and…
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