Top Stories From 2019

As we approach the end of another year, the team at Bluebeam wanted to take a moment to look back at some of the best stories we’ve published on our blog.

Looking back, 2019 was a banner year for Bluebeam Blog. We published stories on topics ranging from technical overviews on how to get the most out of Bluebeam Revu and the new features that came with its 2019 release, human interest stories about crane operators and construction-site photographers, as well as stories on the emerging role things like drones, video games and other innovative technologies are playing in the AEC industry.

Here’s a complete look at the top 10 Bluebeam Blog stories from 2019:

Level Up Your Digital Dashboard in Bluebeam Revu: Project information sharing can make or break a project. On the one hand, digital solutions have allowed project documentation to reach levels of detail and context never before seen. On the other, that bulk of information without documentation standardization can leave it useless, as project stakeholders don’t know where and when to be able to access the latest documentation they need when they need it. Here’s how Digital Dashboards in Revu solve this problem. READ MORE.

The Humanity in the Workers (Video): Tara Garner spends her days on construction sites, her favorite tool always close at hand. She walks the site, inspects progress, greets the workers, chats with them, surveys the scene, takes it in from all angles. And then she shoots—beautiful, stunning, and impactful pictures. READ MORE.

When Construction Looks Like Manufacturing: What happens when two organizations known for practicing at the highest level in their respective fields—Penn Medicine for world-class healthcare, Balfour Beatty/L.F. Driscoll Joint Venture (JV) for construction management—team up to build a glimmering new inpatient hospital, the Pavilion at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia? The answer is innovation at every level—even the bathrooms. READ MORE.

Can Video Games Make You a Better Architect?: The overlap between video games and AEC shouldn’t be surprising. Video games require virtual spaces. Virtual spaces require virtual architects. But recently the connections seem to have reached a fever pitch. With the advent of virtual reality and the explosive growth and versatility of gaming engines, the line between digital and physical spaces has grown porous, and the resultant flow of ideas and information across the boundary has benefited groups on both sides. READ MORE.

The World’s Littlest Skyscraper: The World’s Littlest Skyscraper in Wichita Falls, Texas, is—as its name would imply—not a colossal structure. Built in 1919, the four-story Littlest Skyscraper—or the Newby-McMahon Building, as it is formally known—stands at 40 feet tall. The history behind the building, however, is anything but inconspicuous. READ MORE.

A Day in the Life of a Crane Operator: Paul Livingstone is a crane operator with more than 30 years of experience. When we caught up with him earlier this year, he was working on a job in Rialto, California, supervising the construction of a Liebherr 1,600 crawler crane, which was going to be used to raise concrete walls, weighing roughly 270,000 pounds each, for a future warehouse. READ MORE.

“Bluebeam Is on My Business Card”: You could say it was the cataracts that changed Paul Xuereb’s life for the better. Not directly, of course. Paul is an electrical estimator in Sydney, Australia, and vision problems meant he was having a difficult time doing his job—particularly, seeing detail on architectural drawings. To cope, he found himself involved in a laborious process of taking snapshots of the drawings and placing those snapshots into an Excel file. Somebody noticed Paul struggling to piece together a way to view his drawings and asked him, “Why don’t you try Bluebeam Revu?” He listened. “I think it’s the best thing I ever did,” Paul said. “Bluebeam has been my savior.” READ MORE.

Drones, Deliverables and Disciplined Innovation: Dominic Daughtrey and Italo Cruz sat down with the Bluebeam Blog to discuss their experiences, approaches, and insights on new technology and where the construction industry is headed. READ MORE.

The Power of Standards: The B1M and Bluebeam earlier this year presented “The Power of Standards”—a groundbreaking short documentary that explores how consistent approaches can drive efficiency and improve outcomes across the construction sector. The film charts the journeys of passionate individuals who have worked to drive standardized approaches to PDF use in the construction sector across the U.S., Sweden and the U.K. in recent years. As part of the film’s premier, Fred Mills, co-founder of The B1M, led a panel discussion featuring industry leaders from across the U.K. WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY.

The Future of Malls in America—or Lack Thereof: It’s no secret that shopping malls have been taking a beating since the emergence of online shopping. As retail companies vacate en masse, the fate of these buildings remains capricious. Some malls have attempted to reinvent themselves by offering more food, restaurants and nightlife; others have added gyms, climbing walls or office space. But even in geographically viable areas, these metamorphoses have been met with variable success. READ MORE.