Methods to identify and assess new building technology

The lack of a coordinated industry-wide effort to provide the emerging construction technological information is one of the reasons behind the slow adoption of new technologies in the U.S. construction industry. This paper reports the results of a research project on this critical issue. The purpose of the research was to develop a formalized mechanism to identify new building technologies available for use by the construction industry and to assess the potential impact of the identified new technologies on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction program. There are many means to identify new building technologies. Information can be obtained through periodical search, code organizations, testing laboratories, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Department, advertising in trade magazines, and interviewing experts. The impact of each identified technology on the corps' construction programs was assessed in terms of the corps' five-year plans, the Means and Dodge manuals, and building systems affected by the technology. Other assessed features were a cost benefit comparison and the risk associated to implement the technology. The findings of this research are encouraging. A generic framework has been developed, and the areas that need to be further improved have been pointed out.