be understated – individuals and groups can collaborate real-time over great distances, without needing to be in the same place. The recent JBKnowledge survey based on about 1,000 responses ob- serves that “most of the respondents' companies are drifting into the cloud, with 40.5 per cent saying their firms have no cloud security policies and procedures and 22.76 per cent saying that, if their firms do have such poli- cies, they are not aware of them.” “Almost 30 per cent say their com- panies have no data in the cloud.” Wearable technologies While the original Google Glass project has been put on hold, the un- derlying concept has been applied in environments where hands-free com- puting has real value – such as con- struction sites. The Glass add-on, tested mostly by nerdy “explorers” in the U.S. who paid $1,500 for the privilege, wouldn't be suitable for most construction sites. The electronics are far too flimsy, and voice-activated commands don't work so well when jackhammers and drills operate nearby as cranes lift loads. However, one published report shows some of the potential of the new technology, when it is developed and hardened enough for construc- tion site conditions. Todd Wynne, op- eration technology specialist with Rogers-O'Brien Construction in Kauff- man, NTX, described to Building De- sign and Construction how, when doing a job walk with a project engi- neer, “they came across a sub who questioned them about the flashing on the roof.” “Since he was wearing his Google Glass, he decided to put his own the- ory to the test. He called the architect on the phone but the architect couldn’t grasp the issue well enough to instruct them. So using Google Glass and Google’s live video chat, Todd had the architect “look through my eyes,” directing him to view the issue better. “Now look to the right, pull that flashing back…right there. Okay, this is what you need to do…” Boom, they had their answer in a mat- ter of minutes. The PE was able to issue a confirming RFI rather than a standard RFI, shortening the process by a couple weeks.” 3D printed buildings The seemingly most far-fetched ex- tension of BIM and computer technol- ogy occurs when you plug your computer into the actual building process, taking the concepts of 3D printing to the building site. If this sounds far fetched, you can find experimental initiatives in Los An- geles, Amsterdam and China where construction demonstration projects are under-way using 3D printing tech- nologies. In Amsterdam, for example, 3D printers are generating plastic “blocks” to construct houses – you can watch the process unfold in front MAKE E H HERCULES S S SLR R AN N ESSENTIAL L M A K E R C U L E L A E S S E N T AI PART T O OF F Y YOUR R W WORKPLACE. E . P A R O U O R K P L AC H Hercules s SL R i is s a n national al s supplier r of o f securing, lifting and d rigging cre u le SLR ta io n u pp l ie s e c ru ir ng l, if it ng an r gi ig ng co courses. .sesru herculesslr.com h cre u elu ss c.rl om The Canadian Design and Construction Report — February - March 2015 – 7