Technology can be a double edged sword in the masonry construction.

When we first became a Mast Climber Dealer we had a Bennu off-shoot called Hydek. The equipment was very futuristic in that it had a single lever to run the whole system and a computer to manage the orientation of the deck. What happened was the the system was always out of level. In addition the climbing hooks were under the deck which necessitated the use of sensors integrated into the system via computers to keep from climbing off the top of the mast! Needless to say the fact that the complete system was always out of level never gave me a warm and fuzzy about the over travel sensors. enter Hydro Mobile with their elegantly simple solution to this problem that should have never existed. The M2 has two levers, hooks on top visible by the driver of the machine who can count the ladder rungs from the connection point every five feet to keep the machine level and cannot physically drive off the top.

Next we have over the last 22 years provided engineering support for many mixer manufacturers and done R&D on mixers equipped with computers to control all different of, once again, non-existent problems. Lets just leave it at “Who need an app to run a mixer?”

As for Drones, we have been using them for five or six years to get the cool job site shots and to inspect mast climbers on the job. As a former Army Aviator it was easy for me to get my FAA Part 107 that allows me to fly drones legally on job sites and anywhere in general following general and commercial aviation regulations. As the availability of good inexpensive drones has increased many people have started using them and the potential for misuse has increased along with the FAA oversight of them. If have a drone ensure you have registered them at https://faadronezone.faa.gov/#/. You must fly it under Part 107 or under the Modeling Club rules without exception. Think of this like the OSHA regs, you don’t have to put up guard rails on your scaffold but is it worth the fine or worse an injury.

See some of our videos here, https://troweltrades.net/videos/

Anyhow that is my two cents on equipment technology on the masonry jobsite. As for means methods and materials, I will have to leave that for someone more knowledgeable.