How drones are revolutionizing the construction industry

Drones have been one of the fastest growing phenomenon’s in the last few years, both in terms of private and commercial use. To be the expansion into context, back in 2012 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimated that by 2012, 30’000 drones will be operating in US airspace; at this current time (2016) around 2.5 million drones are operational in the United States, of which 500’000 are being used commercially. Unsurprisingly, the FAA has since revised their forecast and now predicts the country will have 7 million drones in the air by 2020.
Many believe drones are the next step in the process of the ‘industrial revolution’. Before the availability of the modern cranes and industrial equipment, we rely so heavily upon today, laborers would be forced to complete every single job on the construction site by hand. Jobs that today take months to complete would have in years gone by taken years, and in maybe 20 years time, the jobs we see today taking months could take weeks, thanks to the use of drones.
Assessing the earth for the foundations of construction is also something that a drone can be considerably more efficient for. Traditional land survey equipment gets the job done and provides accurate results, however, when the apt software is installed into a drone, it will also attain accurate result but it will complete the job in a time 85-percent quicker at a cost of 10 times cheaper than traditional methods.
Furthermore, the job a project manager is also made fundamentally easier through the assistance of drones. In years gone by builders manually assessed project dimensions, which would predominantly be unreliable, timely and costly.  By using drone data tools, the drone can automatically measure essential projects components, such as stockpile volumetric, whilst also sending instant feedback to the project manager who can begin analysis.
Drones are becoming increasingly common in day-to-day life but this is just for leisure, more importantly, drones are becoming more and more prevalent in a variety of industries but none more crucially than construction. Construction is an industry very much built on efficiency, in the sense of cost and time; hence the reason drones potentially have such a pivotal role to play, when the above reasons are taken into consideration.

You would be a brave person to bet against drones being a key player in the next industrial revolution.

UK manufacturing defies Post-Brexit concerns

Everyone knows the Brexit story; it’s been captivating every media source since the decision was made in June. The general consensus around the world is that it was a bad decision and that the British economy is going to suffer considerably, as a result. However, the British manufacturing industry is very much enjoying life after Brexit, in September the industry grew at its fastest pace since the middle of 2014.

The latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index reading jumped to 55.4 in September, up from 53.3 in August, with any figure above 50 showing expansion. The result far exceeded the expectation of the cities analysts, whom predicted that the September readings would see a decline from August, with activity moderating at 52.1.

The manufacturing index had plummeted to 48.2 in July, immediately after the June referendum.But it surged the following month, helped by a jump in export orders on the back of the 10 per cent depreciation of sterling against the euro and the dollar in the immediate wake of the vote.
It’s believed the reason for the September surge was a high-number of domestic orders; however, exports did also increase slightly. The manufacturing industry is continuing to have a positive effect on the GDP and economic outlook of the country; all the signs are indicating that the country will avoid another recession.

The Tree of Life – Milan 2015 Expo Steel Symbol

We have already discussed about the upcoming 2015 Expo taking place in Milan, Italy, in less than two months. As you know is a very important event, not just for the European peninsula, but also for all the participant countries willing to promote their products. This year’s theme is “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life”. It will be very difficult for Italy to beat the success of the Chinese 2010 Expo edition, although the theme seems very interesting. If you visited Shanghai during the Universal Exposition or after 2010, you have probably visited the Chinese pavilion. Indeed, this great piece of architectural art has been the main symbol of the Shanghainese exhibition and it has rapidly became one of the main tourist attractions of the city.

from http://www.panoramio.com

The Chinese pavillion is a 63 meters high structure inspired by the most important element of the building tradition of China: the dougong system dating back over 2000 years. It consists of wooden beams embedded in overlapping layers on a base of columns. (from IlGiornaledell’Architettura)

But what about Milan? What will be the symbol of the next Expo made in Italy? The Tree of Life. It came to light in early March, erected in the center of the Expo Lake Arena. According to L’Eco di Bergamo,  the project of  the tree was inspired both by the mosaic of the Otranto Cathedral and the floor of Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo, of which is a 3D version. Its creator, Marco Balich, explained that the tree is a symbol common to “all cultures, from the Bible to Avatar”.

from http://www.madeinuvet.com

The tree has a steel structure made of 150 tons of metal, around which a wooden part was built (90 tons of wood), which will then be adorned with several plants and lights. This 35 meters high installation of steel and wood (and 45 meters of diameter) will be the highest structure of the 2015 Expo. Moreover, the tree will host one show per hour admired by 3000 people each time sitting on the arena built around the Expo lake.

In sum, the symbol of the upcoming Milan Expo 2015 is made of steel. A futuristic steel tree!

from http://www.balichws.com

Do not  forget that Shanghai Metal Corporation provides you with a great selection of steel products such as high carbon steel strips, steel wires and steel ropes, copper clad steel strips. Visit our website and do not hesitate to contact us.

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Stefano// SMC Editor