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Uncompromising safety standards are a cornerstone of any successful operation. From protecting your team’s health and improving morale to boosting your bottom line, no single factor has a bigger impact on your day-to-day operations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overexertion and falls alone cost businesses more than $25 billion annually. Needless to say,…

Call them what you will: collaborative robots, intelligent assist devices (IADs) or simply “the workforce of the future.” Cobots are coming to a plant floor near you, and the realities of what they can do may surprise you. First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Contrary to popular belief, here’s what cobots won’t do:…

The skilled labor shortage sweeping across the industry is no secret. According to the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute (ACRI), for every new trade worker, three or four are retiring. On top of that, the average age of a construction tradesman is 47 years old, and a third of all skilled tradesmen are over the age…

By now, you’ve probably heard plenty of chatter about the IIoT, though adoption is still lagging across the industrial field. The benefits are hard to ignore, and it’s only a matter of time before the idea of machines talking to each other becomes as old hat as mobile devices on the plant floor. The Industrial…

We all know how important safety is in our industry. You’d be hard-pressed to find a plant manager who didn’t insist that safety is paramount in their day-to-day operations. Plenty of us focus on compliance, training and equipment maintenance in order to create a safe workplace. These efforts are certainly part of the safety equation,…

Now that you know why you need a preventive maintenance program, it’s time to do something about it. We can all agree that reacting to unexpected equipment failures is more expensive, less efficient and more disruptive than a proactive approach. Still, scheduling inspections and maintenance tasks in order to prevent issues before they occur can…

It’s no secret that there’s a skilled labor shortage in the construction industry. And while homebuilders may have gotten hit the hardest after the great recession of 2008, the shortfall of skilled labor can be felt in all sectors, stretching from craftsmen all the way up to leadership. The numbers are nothing short of staggering.…

Sure, drones can take stunning aerial photographs. They can create sophisticated marketing videos. And we all love tracking job progress with time-lapse images. But drones have plenty of construction site applications that go beyond pretty pictures. For a fairly modest investment, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can increase your efficiency and minimize man-hours on everything from…

Be honest: How much has your safety gear changed in the last decade or two? Has your personal protective equipment (PPE) evolved along with the machinery you’re working on? Are you keeping up with the latest technology in the workplace? The truth is, a lot of safety gear hasn’t changed all that much in the…

There’s plenty of buzz throughout the industry about the IoT, the Industrial IoT, smart machines and computers taking over the world … okay, maybe not that last part. But what the heck is the Internet of Things, anyway? And more importantly, why should you care? It’s all about devices and machines (aka “Things”) that are…