The Los Angeles Community College District, the largest such district in the US, mandated a building information modeling approach for the third phase of its $6 billion campus-modernization project. Bentley's BIM systems were used to create a collaborative 3D environment and enhance project coordination, helping save millions of dollars on complex and sustainable construction.

Ireland's Kingspan Group is one example of a company willing to do the hard work to realize the benefits of still-evolving building information modeling technology. The manufacturer of high performance insulation and building envelope solutions is now taking a major next step in BIM with a $10 million investment in Invicara, a cloud-based data-management platform to help owners and partners use BIM to create data-rich digital buildings.

Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas Sands are developing a 360-foot-tall sphere to house an 18,000-seat arena located off the strip in Las Vegas. Construction, which is expected to begin later this year, is scheduled for completion in 2020.

The $30 million East Reservoir dam restoration project in Ohio remains on schedule to be completed early next year. The work includes the construction of a 30- to 40-foot-wide cement soil block that will be three stories high, plus a wall that will be even deeper.

S-Squared 3D Printers on Long Island in New York is one utility patent away from pre-printing concrete houses that can be constructed in as little as three days. The company's S-Squared 4D Commercial division uses an ecology-friendly printer called Atlas that reportedly produces concrete that is 200% stronger and 70% less expensive than traditional construction.

Akke Suiker, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, has developed a model for engineers to determine dimensions and printing speeds necessary to make printed walls more stable. Suiker said his formula can become commonly used in 3D printing.

Velocity Robotics says it has developed a robotic miter saw accessory that can make cuts 50% faster. The technology could save two or three days on a five- or six-week construction project, founder Brad Kriel said.

A recent survey of more than 330 construction contractors showed that a growing number are using technology to enhance worker and site safety. The survey, conducted by Dodge Data & Analytics in partnership with the Center for Construction Research and Training, showed that drones, laser scanning and wearable devices were among the top safety aids used.

Agile methods of working require dedicated time to short sprints of work and a collaborative environment where people commonly work in the same physical space in a cross-functional manner, but this way of working can be easily compromised by nervous middle managers or executives, write Sol Sender and Ben Edwards. "Without control of their time, team members cannot commit themselves to an agile-style sprint, creating unforeseeable dependencies and eroding team trust," they write.

Develop ideas in collaboration with a team to draw on others' experiences and opinions, Jennifer Chandler writes. Working in a silo can make it difficult to get people on board with your ideas.

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