Engineering Building II on Centennial Campus will be the new home for the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, but it is already the site of new computer and communications technology. Clancy & Theys Construction Company, the construction company for the new building, is using ConstructConnect to keep the project on schedule. Developed by Field2Base, a Morrisville-based technology development firm, ConstructConnect uses a Tablet PC with wireless and cellular communication and digital photography capabilities to replace the usual clipboard and yellow legal pad carried by the site superintendent. It allows instant wireless communication directly from the construction site to the home office and off-site engineers and architects. Engineering Building II is one of the first projects on which this newest tool has been used; Clancy & Theys, which was cofounded by engineering alumnus E.I. Clancy (BSCE ’38), is one of the first companies to put it to use.

With the new technology, site superintendent Don Street can take photos of potential problems, then annotate and e-mail them off-site for instant problem solving.

Another alumnus benefiting from the new technology is senior project manager Dave Bennett (BSCE ’76). “Being able to communicate with photos, CAD drawings and sketches directly from the construction site represents a big time- and money-saver for us,” said Bennett. “Don can take a photo with the camera mounted on the Tablet PC, draw on it and send it directly to me or any other member of the team. He can send a photo of a design issue to the architect in Charlotte to get an immediate answer. In the past, it would often take days and require that the architect drive from Charlotte to the site. Now it only takes a few minutes.”

Field2Base also has close ties to the College of Engineering. Alumnus Ed White (EO ’78) is chairman of the board of the company. He became involved after Field2Base cofounder David Lea told him about the startup technology company. White, who had experience starting software companies, was a perfect match, lending his knowledge and his capital as well as his connections to the construction industry.

Street could not be happier with the new tools. He learned how to use the Tablet PC and navigate through the software in less than a day.

“This has made my job much easier,” he said. “Before, when a problem popped up, I would have to walk back to the construction trailer, call architects and engineers, walk back out and take photos or sketch the problem and then get the pictures or drawings to the right people and wait for them to respond. Taking photos and sending an e-mail with attachments is much quicker.”

According to Ed Holloway, president and chief technology officer for Field2Base, the ConstructConnect technology is designed for ease of use, and the communications functions are virtually transparent to the user. In addition, the software can be used to scan and create paperless forms that are completely interactive. The CAD drawings, notes and forms are all stored on the Tablet PC and can be attached to e-mails.

Bennett believes that the construction industry will quickly employ this latest tool.

“In construction, time is money,” said Bennett. “This technology has already saved us lots of time and money on this project and has helped us avoid some potential problems.”

For more information on the Engineering Building II, please visit the College of Engineering Promise site.