Drones seem like new age technology, an incredible concept brought to us only recently because of our advanced scientific knowledge. But functional unmanned drones have been a reality since 1918 and incredible advancements have been made since then. And now, 100 years later, this incredibly useful mechanism has been capitalized on by the construction industry. The unmanned aerial vehicles are being used for efficient and accurate information gathering on project sites as well as further ensuring worker safety, among other things.

Drones also aid in cutting costs on projects by saving time and manpower as well as reducing safety risks for tasks which could be dangerous for a person to perform. In Jeffrey Freund’s article published to Construction Business Owner Magazine he addresses the ways in which the new pair of eyes in the sky is aiding construction companies.

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Reference:

Stamp, Jimmy. “Unmanned Drones Have Been Around Since World War I.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 12 Feb. 2013, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/unmanned-drones-have-been-around-since-world-war-i-16055939/.

The United States Interior Department, on Thursday July 19^th, 2018, has proposed changes which will lessen the environmental roadblocks for construction projects to obtain approval. Environmentalists are taking up arms against this motion as the potential changes would leave threatened species with less protection. The Interior Department is clashing the interest of economic development with the fight for environmental conservation.

More specifically, the proposed changes are to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in an effort to make it easier for construction projects to get approval in areas with a fragile environment. It is also working to remove protections from threatened species as well as make it more difficult to move a species from threatened to endangered status. David Bernhardt, the deputy secretary of the Interior Department, is adamant that the proposals would not gnaw at wildlife protections. This plan is to be finalized after 60 days of public commentary.

Read more at The NYTimes

Lorraine Grillo, as of Monday July 16th, 2018, is not only NYC’s president of the School Construction Authority (SCA) but also the city’s commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). Ms. Grillo has been president of the SCA for 8 years and has an impressive track record to call upon. According to Katie Honan with the Wall Street Journal, Grillo will take over as DDC’s commissioner after years of delayed projects and “cost overruns”.

As the new commissioner, Grillo plans to bring her seemingly successful tactics from the SCA with her to make the fixes necessary to the DDC. Ana Bario, the former commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction, has joined the Department of Environmental Protection in light of Ms. Grillo’s appointment. Hopefully, Grillo is the leader the DDC needs.

See the original NYC Press Release .