October 2021

Tech
Adoption
Week

#TechAdoptionWeek

Welcome to Tech Adoption Week 2021

Welcome to the first annual Tech Adoption Week! Over the next few days, we’ll be exploring fresh ways to help you navigate change and ease tech adoption at your organization.

Check back here every day for new stories and follow Bluebeam on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube for the latest updates.

Bluebeam for Estimation: How Digital Takeoffs Reduce Errors, Save Time

Bluebeam Tips and Tricks
Frank Kalman

How ClearTech Used Digital Estimation to Win 50% More Construction Projects

Bluebeam Tips and Tricks, People & Project Spotlights
Frank Kalman

Düsseldorf Is Rebuilding Everything at Once — Except the Thing People Need Most

Construction & The Economy, Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

Germany's most prosperous mid-size city is replacing a failing bridge, finishing a years-late train and staring down a housing gap that just keeps widening. The math works fine for everyone who already owns something.

Construction Cost Estimation: Essential Resources, Software and Tools for 2026

Construction & The Economy, Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

Construction cost estimators rely on reference cost databases, digital takeoff software, professional estimation services and industry certification to produce accurate bids. Here are the essential resources for 2026, including how Bluebeam fits into the modern estimator’s toolkit.

Bluebeam Quantity Link: How Real-Time PDF-to-Excel Sync Changes Construction Estimation

Bluebeam Tips and Tricks, Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

Bluebeam Quantity Link connects PDF construction drawings to Excel spreadsheets in real time, automatically updating quantity takeoff calculations as measurements change. Here is how estimators use it to reduce errors, manage revisions and win more bids.

AI Is Becoming Construction’s Critical Infrastructure. Your Resilience Plan Should Be, Too.

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

The firms adopting AI the fastest are also the most exposed to a supply chain risk the industry hasn't faced before — one that looks a lot like lumber in 2021. Here's what the smartest teams are doing about it.

PDX Reimagined: How ZGF Architects Built a Digital Backbone for Oregon’s Most Ambitious Project

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

On the state’s biggest public works project, the hardest part wasn't the engineering but keeping 6,000 sheets — and an entire team — in sync.

Your Takeoff Is Wrong. Here’s Why That Matters More Than You Think.

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

Most construction profits don’t die in the field; they’re killed weeks earlier, at a desk, when someone writes down the wrong number.

Mumbai Builds Like Its Life Depends on It. Because It Does.

Building, Design & Architecture, Construction & The Economy
Frank Kalman

The city isn’t choosing between growth and stewardship. It’s being forced to do both at once — on sinking ground, in a shrinking window, for people who can’t afford to live in what they’re building.

Quantity Takeoffs Are the Best Kept Secret in Bluebeam Revu

Bluebeam Tips and Tricks
Frank Kalman

Deepak Maini, a 20-year qualified mechanical engineer, shares tips and tricks for using QTO software (From 2019)

Why Most Takeoffs Fall Apart When Drawings Change — and How Better Structure Prevents It

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

Revisions don't break estimates. Weak takeoff workflows do.

The AI Boom Keeps Hitting a Physical Wall

Construction & The Economy, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

As Amazon’s copper deal shows, the biggest constraint on artificial intelligence isn’t computing power, but the slow, friction-filled systems required to build and power it.

How Paris Builds When Growth Is No Longer the Goal

Construction & The Economy, Sustainability
Frank Kalman

In a city shaped by history, climate mandates and civic scrutiny, construction has become an exercise in restraint rather than expansion.

Women Didn’t Avoid Construction. Construction Defined Them Out.

Construction & The Economy, People & Project Spotlights
Frank Kalman

From census categories to apprenticeship gates, the industry didn’t just skew male but was structured to make women invisible.

Carina Wright Doesn’t Just Solve Problems – She Shows You What Else Is Possible

People & Project Spotlights, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

One woman’s story of building a career on curiosity, community and showing colleagues another way.

The State of Women in Construction: What the Data Says in 2026

Construction & The Economy, People & Project Spotlights
Frank Kalman

Women now make up a larger share of the construction workforce than ever. But skilled trades, safety and retention still lag.

The Physical Economy Is the Bottleneck

Construction & The Economy, Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

As AI, data centers and advanced manufacturing surge, the real constraint on growth isn’t capital or software, but the skilled labor and physical systems required to build them.

Autonomous Equipment Is Here. Construction’s Information Handoffs Aren’t Ready.

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Steve Smith

AI-ready machines have arrived, but the workflows behind them are still stuck in the trailer.

The AI Power Crunch Isn’t a Technology Problem … It’s a Permitting One

Construction & The Economy, Technology & Innovation
Parth Tikiwala

AI-driven demand is pushing the power grid to its limits, but the real constraint isn’t generation, but how slowly infrastructure moves through permitting, interconnection and approval.

From Cleanup to Rebuild: Why Wildfire Recovery Needs a Project Mindset

Construction & The Economy, Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

How fragmented handoffs slow post-fire rebuilding—and what a project mindset reveals about moving recovery forward.

This Chicago Nonprofit Isn’t Just Training Workers but Rebuilding the Construction Pipeline

Construction & The Economy, People & Project Spotlights
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Hire360’s ecosystem approach connects labor, capital and opportunity where the industry usually fails.

When Wildfire Put the Getty to the Test

Building, Design & Architecture, Health, Safety, and Compliance
Emily Beyda

How fire-resistant design and year-round planning helped protect two iconic campuses.

The Efficiency Mandate: Why 2026 Is the Year Construction Runs Out of People

Construction & The Economy, Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

As megaprojects surge and the workforce thins, builders will have to create capacity through efficiency, not headcount.

AEC Technology Outlook 2026: Industry Investment Climbs, but Integration Challenges Persist

Construction & The Economy, Technology & Innovation
Mike Ferrigno

New Bluebeam research reveals firms accelerating digital adoption while struggling to fully connect their tools.

Why Construction’s Supply Chains Still Run Like It’s 1999 — and How AI Might Finally Fix It

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Jessica Brown

Manual processes are still draining time and money from projects, and AI may finally give teams the edge they need.

The Hidden Plastic Problem in Construction—and How to Fix It

Health, Safety, and Compliance, Sustainability
Diana Kightlinger

Why AEC professionals must confront plastics on the jobsite, and the steps they can take to reduce them

The Next Stadium Boom: Finland Just Showed Us How to Do It Right

Building, Design & Architecture
Emily Beyda

Finland’s Tammela Stadium proves that the next generation of sports arenas can anchor neighborhoods—not drain them

From Guarding Nukes to Guarding Projects: How Bluebeam’s Josh Sergent Found Mission Beyond the Air Force

People & Project Spotlights
Frank Kalman

One veteran’s journey from high-stakes patrols to customer success shows how mission and teamwork never really end—they just evolve

From Fuel Convoys to Customer Success: How Jessica Haffner’s Perspective Powers Her Mission

People & Project Spotlights
Frank Kalman

One veteran’s journey from tactical fueling to guiding Bluebeam customers shows that service doesn’t stop when the uniform comes off

From Runway to Rebuild: The Architectural Evolution of US Airports

Building, Design & Architecture
Frank Kalman

Billions of dollars are reshaping US airports after decades of decline, with new terminals built for efficiency, resilience and civic pride

A European Architecture Tour: How Five Cities Are Reimagining the Built Environment

Building, Design & Architecture
Frank Kalman

Discover how five European cities balance heritage, sustainability and innovation in architecture

Power Lines vs. Wildfire: How Utilities Are Racing to Stay Ahead

Sustainability, Technology & Innovation
Diana Kightlinger

From underground lines to orbital satellites, utilities are racing to keep sparks from becoming infernos

A Robot That Prints Big-Box Stores in a Week? Meet RIC-PRIMUS

Technology & Innovation
Jessica Brown

Construction robots aren’t hype—they’re already slashing crews, costs and build times on real jobsites

The Cost of Waiting: Lessons from Germany’s Construction Collapse

Construction & The Economy
Frank Kalman

What Europe’s building freeze teaches every contractor, architect and builder about resilience

Unbound Day 2: Innovation Meets Reality on the Jobsite

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

From AI-powered workflows to mobile breakthroughs, Day 2 of Unbound 2025 showed how Bluebeam is turning big ideas into practical tools for builders everywhere

Day 1 at Unbound: Why Creativity and Courage Beat Business as Usual

Project Management & Efficiency, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

Why the first day of Bluebeam’s new industry conference wasn’t just about features but about the mindset to use them

Beneath the Capital: How Washington, D.C.’s Hidden Infrastructure Keeps the City Alive

Sustainability, Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

Some of D.C.’s most important work happens where no one’s looking—not in the marble halls or under the dome, but 60 to 160 feet below ground

I Knew Nothing About Construction. Then I Interned at Bluebeam.

People & Project Spotlights
Ella Perius

A marketing intern with zero construction experience reflects on what she learned—and unlearned—while helping tell the stories behind the buildings

From Paper to Pixels: How Cal Poly Rebuilt Its Construction Management Program

Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

When students warned the industry had gone digital, Cal Poly scrapped old workflows and put Bluebeam at the center of its curriculum

When There’s No Warning: What Two Survivors Want Men in Construction to Know About Prostate Cancer

Health, Safety, and Compliance
Frank Kalman

Randy Hanson and Benji Gibson didn’t expect to be talking about prostate cancer, let alone living through it. But after two different journeys to the same diagnosis, both men want others to act before it's too late

One Tower, 1,250 Homes: How 5 Times Square Is Being Rebuilt from the Inside Out

Building, Design & Architecture, Sustainability
Frank Kalman

The Midtown office tower conversion offers a real-world blueprint for high-rise reuse, housing relief and carbon cuts without starting from scratch

When Drawings Hide Problems: Why the Industry Needs to Get Ahead of Risk

Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

And why the Bluebeam-Firmus pairing might just be the right tool at the right time

From Jobsite to Social Feed: How This Superintendent Builds Careers on and Offline

People & Project Spotlights
Ella Perius

Bob Medina blends early mornings on the jobsite with evenings sharing construction skills online, turning a blueprint course into a mission to inspire and educate tradespeople

Rebuilding Hollers: How Local Supply Chains and Skilled Hands Are Driving Recovery in NC

People & Project Spotlights, Project Management & Efficiency
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

A North Carolina nonprofit is blending supply chain innovation, contractor collaboration and community labor to rebuild after Hurricane Helene

Cathedrals and Hidden Gems: Inside the Architecture of College Football’s Most Iconic—and Underrated—Stadiums

Building, Design & Architecture
Frank Kalman

From 100,000-seat giants to mountainside gems, explore the design, engineering and traditions that make college football stadiums unforgettable

Why Unbound 2025 Is Built for Builders, Not Buzzwords

Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

For the people who actually build things, not just talk about It

400 Whales at a Time: Inside Europe’s Tunnel Megaproject Beneath the Baltic

Project Management & Efficiency
Larry Bernstein

It’s one of the longest immersed tunnels ever built. Its 73,000-ton concrete segments float—barely—and it’s being assembled with millimeter precision beneath the Baltic Sea

Geospatial Tech Is Rewriting Construction. Who Owns the Map?

Technology & Innovation
Frank Kalman

As geospatial data becomes central to modern construction workflows, a deeper question emerges: who owns the digital maps shaping the built world?

Inside France’s Wooden Skyscraper Boom

Sustainability
Frank Kalman

From Bordeaux to Paris, France is stacking wood higher than ever—what does it mean for the future of cities?

How US Builders Are Preparing for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics

Project Management & Efficiency
Frank Kalman

As the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics approach, US builders are racing to retrofit stadiums, expand transit and deliver under intense global pressure

Code to Concrete: How ICON’s Integrated Workflow Is Rewriting Residential Construction

Technology & Innovation
Erin Flynn Jay

ICON is proving that integrated workflows, smart software and on-site robotics aren’t just the future of construction but are already reshaping how high-performance homes get built

No Plans? No Problem: How a Drywall Robot Is Reshaping Interior Construction

Technology & Innovation
Emily Beyda

Canvas’s AI-powered drywall robot is speeding up interior construction, easing labor strain and finishing walls with precision—no blueprints, scans or lengthy setup required

October 2021

Tech Adoption Week