Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/885126
October 2017 | EquipmentWorld.com 10 reporter | staff report For more on each of these stories go to equipmentworld.com. A ccording to a study released by management consultant fi rm McKinsey&Company, a productiv- ity revolution is at hand, if only construction and engineering companies will fully exploit the opportunities new technology offers. Entitled "The New Age of Engineering and Construc- tion Technology," the study says that while most other industries across the globe have created 3 to 4 percent labor-productivity growth annually, construction has only averaged 1 percent productivity growth over the last 20 years. "If engineering and construction companies can close this gap – partly by using new tools and solutions – the industry's output would increase by $1.6 trillion a year," says McKinsey. New companies, investors and venture capitalists are plowing a lot of money into construction and engineering technology. From 2011 to 2016, $1.7 billion was invested in document management technology and $1.4 billion in equipment management systems and enterprise resource planning software. And these areas are the ones the in- dustry needs the most help with, according to McKinsey. If you would like to read the full report, you can access it at: http://bit.ly/2vbhUaJ –Tom Jackson T exas Central, an investor-owned railroad com- pany, announced in August it has selected Fluor and The Lane Construction Corporation for the construction planning, cost estimates and other en- gineering activities of a bullet train linking Houston to the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. When complete, the train will make the 240-mile trip in 90 minutes with a midway stop in the Brazos Valley. Texas Central emphasized that the $15 billion project will be privately funded. Unlike California's sputtering bullet train initiative, no tax dollars will be used in any phase of the Texas bullet train project. Lane has been working in Texas since the early 1980s and has built numerous transportation proj- ects there including interstate and airport infrastruc- ture. The company's signature Brazos River Bridges on I-35 in Waco won the 2014 Engineering Excel- lence Award. Lane's Italian parent company, Salini Impregilo, has built high-speed rail projects all over the world. Fluor is one of the world's largest publically traded engineering, construction and project management companies. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, it ranks No. 149 on the Fortune 500 list with $19 billion in revenue. "This will be America's fi rst true high-speed train," said Lane CEO Robert Alger. "The project will create benefi ts for generations to come while providing an innovative transportation alternative for Texas com- muters." – Tom Jackson Texas bullet train: One of the largest civil engineering projects in US history – and it's privately funded Artists concept of the Texas bullet train that would link Houston to Dallas-Fort Worth. McKinsey: Digital technologies are key to construction productivity