Citation
Hoxley, M. (2003), "Editorial", Structural Survey, Vol. 21 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2003.11021eaa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Editorial
While attending the RICS Construction Research Conference (COBRA) recently, a fellow delegate demonstrated this innovation to me. He drew a sketch of a foundation on a pad of paper. By selecting different coloured lines at the side of the pad he was able to draw in different colours. He wrote an e-mail address at the top of the paper and ticked a box at the bottom of the sheet. His mobile telephone, which was lying on the desk next to the pad of paper, then vibrated. The image had been sent (via a server in Sweden) to the e-mail address. The pad of paper although it looks quite ordinary has a grid formed with tiny dots super-imposed upon it and the pen (which costs £200) has a camera in it. Clearly, this new technology has exciting implications for all surveyors. To have one’s hand-written notes (or even the report?) digitised and on one’s computer before one returns to the office cannot but help surveyors. Of course, if the surveyor writes the report before returning to the office he or she would need to allow the necessary time for reflection before pressing the print button – or perhaps more importantly, posting the report to the client. It will be interesting to see how quickly this new technology becomes common-place.
Papers in this issue
The second part of Lowe et al.’s important paper on a case study of how energy efficiency changes are likely to influence house construction into the next decade appears in this issue. Part 1 of the paper in the last issue concentrated on cost issues while part 2 in this issue looks at the technology and training implications of likely new legislation. There are two papers in this issue on concrete – one from Alan Richardson of Newcastle University on freeze/thaw durability with fibre additions and one from Brian Leung (City University of Hong Kong) on flexural performance of concrete beam splices with different surrounding concretes. Gai Murphy and her colleagues’ paper on mouse infestation is at the same time fascinating but frightening. For anyone of a squeamish disposition this paper is best read in daylight! Finally, Alan Scott’s paper on roofing in the Lake District will be of great interest to those interested in conservation of vernacular buildings.
Mike Hoxley