VIRTUAL HEROES

Our Division Manager Randy Brown helped pen an article for Public Roads magazine.

Project showcases are an opportunity for highway professionals to get together to share innovations on construction projects. With increased travel restrictions and shrinking budgets, the future of such events is in question. Enter virtual reality: Randy discusses the opportunity for virtual showcases, enabling users to collaborate in real time from anywhere in the world.

Innovations Hit the Road

by Mary Lou Ralls, Bruce Seely, Ewa Flom, and Randy Brown
Project showcases are a powerful tool for converting the skeptical. If you have doubts about some new technology, these success stories might change your mind. Join the domino effect.

It’s one thing to explain to someone the benefits of an innovation on a construction project. It’s quite another to convince them to take the leap of actually using it.

All too often, the risks involved in trying something innovative can keep organizations and individuals from experimenting with a new procedure or technology. Project showcases are proving to be a key tool in bridging the yawning gap between risk and experimentation. Technology showcases enable professionals responsible for highway programs to stand on the sidelines of someone else’s project and watch as the innovation is applied, see the real-world challenges, and question those involved, one-on-one, about concerns–all without any commitment or risk.

At a September 24, 2013, showcase featuring slide-in bridge replacement technology, hosted by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in Westchester, NY, one participant observed, “This was a new concept to me, and it was great to have the opportunity to hear the contractor, the owner, and the consultant inspection firm share their experiences first hand.” Said another, “It helped shape my ideas about when this type of project would be beneficial.” Read more