Strictly Business: High-Tech on Site: Friend or Foe?

On a job site a few years ago, we were talking about which power tool could do the most expensive damage the fastest. I voted for the handheld power planer, but the consensus was leaning toward reciprocating saws. Then, some joker on the crew grabbed my notebook computer and held it high in the air. The thunderous ovation that followed still echoes in my ears. The crew was right, of course. Technology — computers, faxes, cell phones, you name it — acts like an amplifier. If I’m a sloppy estimator, a computer helps me to do even more sloppy estimates — and I do them faster than ever. If I’m an overly optimistic scheduler, I can now