November 2012
4 posts
Safety Against Rising Currents
ArtInfo
October 2012
3 posts
Hurricane Sandy: Manhattan Is Flooding and Sandy... →
The worst of Hurricane Sandy isn’t supposed to hit the New York City region until after 4 p.m. today, but signs of flooding have already begun in some parts of the city.
5 tags
FieldLens CFO Ponders His Bathroom Remodel
Matt Sena, FieldLens CFO
Living in NYC, you quickly get used to small spaces and the perils of living in close quarters with your neighbors. Throw in an old building and you could have a recipe for trouble. Recently our upstairs neighbor let a leak linger for a few weeks and we were treated to a bathroom ceiling collapse. Sure, a pain in the neck, but being relatively new to home ownership and...
5 tags
Are You a Strong Project Manager?
By Doug Chambers, FieldLens CEO
Having taken the leap from managing construction sites to managing a tech startup, people often ask my opinion on what makes a good project manager. While I consider the art of management a lifelong learning process, I’ve picked up some useful knowledge along they way that I would like to share. I’ve written a few times about the challenges of being a project...
September 2012
4 posts
6 tags
Update: How FieldLens Private Beta Users Are...
By Joseph Coniglio, FieldLens Sales
There’s a sector of the construction industry that’s been in the workforce long enough to know how things work, but no so long that we are adverse to change, particularly technological changes that will make field management safer and easier. It’s clear to us that the construction industry is long overdue for the simple technological advances that other...
You are a Tech Champ at Work. Your Boss Doesn’t...
By Gordon Titus, FieldLens customer support and sales
New Guy (fresh out of business school): We need to implement this new software program that will save us tons of time, tons of money, and will help the company operate more efficiently. Here is the cost-benefit analysis that shows how much money it can save us (face beaming with pride at his own genius). Industry Veteran (New Guy’s manager):...
7 tags
Raising Money for Your Startup
By Matt Sena, FieldLens CFO
FieldLens is making a major media announcement today - we have successfully secured seed financing and we could not be happier with the stellar group of investors that are helping us bring real change to field management in the construction industry. We’ll be posting the official press release this afternoon, so please check back for more information about who our...
4 tags
And We're Back. Again. Really.
Ok, this time we are back and we mean it. Turns out that creating a revolutionary product and managing a startup is no easy task, and this blog has not received the attention it should. Things are starting to settle down relative to the last few months, and next week we’ll be making a big announcement, so you’ll see what we’ve been working so hard on this summer. The root of our goal here at...
July 2012
1 post
FieldLens Android App Hits the Google Play Store!
We’re back! Our heads have been buried in development but we are peaking up to see daylight today!
We are thrilled to announce that the FieldLens Android application has hit the Google Play Store! The app is currently in private beta, meaning that it is only accessible to companies working with us as we smooth out the kinks. Our web app will also be entering private beta in approximately...
May 2012
2 posts
Techcrunch Disrupt!
We’ve been a little quiet around here and wanted to apologize! We’re heads down on our first release right now and everyone is working their butts off to ship a great product out the door soon.
Next month we will be alpha testing the first version of the FieldLens mobile application; including punchlist/deficiency management, job site safety monitoring, and progress/observation reporting. In...
14 tags
The History Set.
Did you hear that? Every construction professional reading the title of this post just sighed. The History Set is arguably the most important set of information on a construction project and equally the most annoying to create and maintain. What is it? The best way to describe a history set is with an example construction project.
Let’s imagine a new ten story building with one basement...
April 2012
5 posts
8 tags
Who are you guys?
So we’ve talked quite a bit about the myriad of communication failures (and their resultant impacts) on construction sites. We’ve given a glimpse of our vision for the future: a device ubiquitous platform that enables real-time communication and coordination for construction professionals, no matter where they are.
Big problems and an innovative solution. But are we the team to make...
11 tags
Let's get real.
Not surprisingly, we’re going to talk a lot about lofty technology goals here at the FieldLens blog. We admit, we’re susceptible to excitement over stuff like Autodesk’s move to the cloud or Google’s aspirations for a sci-fi style heads up display (just imagine the possibilities for a modern construction workforce that doesn’t have to constantly reach down for paper...
11 tags
Communication Breakdown!
In our last post we discussed the social environment that is a construction project. All those companies and all those people need to communicate effectively to ensure schedules are met and costs controlled. But communication breaks down on projects all the time. The breakdowns can often be blamed on inadequate technology but that’s not the whole story. Many of the ingrained processes in the...
A fun interview with Business Insider's Jay... →
10 tags
Social!
Social. It’s a term we hear all the time these days. Social media. Social apps. And of course the movie chronicling the history of Facebook, “The Social Network”.
Admittedly it’s an overused and often annoying term. What’s it mean?
Merriam-Webster defines social in many ways, but here are a few relevant descriptions: the interaction of the individual and the group,...
March 2012
4 posts
9 tags
Mobile First.
Designing applications “mobile-first” is a very nascent strategy that is starting to take hold in the development community. For us, it felt like the only strategy. Our mantra throughout the FieldLens design process has been “if you can’t do it from the mobile, you can’t do it.” After all, we are solving mobile problems. Our users are most stressed, and most in...
9 tags
99 problems but is the app fun?
There has been a lot of chatter of late about the consumerization of the enterprise. Techcrunch recently published a great post discussing the major changes currently underway in the enterprise software space. Changes that will result in happier users…and possibly unhappy incumbent software companies.
So what does “consumerization” mean? There is no clear definition but if you...
$40 Billion wasted every year? Huh?
So what’s this about the US construction industry wasting $40 Billion every year?
Well, the American Society of Civil Engineers studied field mistakes and their resultant impact and determined that 5% of the total domestic construction spend is attributed to field re-work…essentially fixing mistakes that could have been avoided. In 2011 we spent $800 Billion on construction in the US....
9 tags
Hello (Mobile) World.
Hi there.
Welcome to FieldLens. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
We’re excited to get to know all of you and thought you might like to know a little bit about us.
We believe that the health of the construction industry is fundamental to the health of both our great country and the World. Lofty statement, huh? We do tend to get a bit animated and excited every now and again. But think...
