In assessing the importance of the measuring technology, the Fiatech judges said, “The advancements have the potential to impact the entire sheet metal roofing industry by significantly increasing on-site productivity.”

The MetalForming/Georgia Tech innovation uses videogrammetry - overlaying stereo video feeds - to deliver 3-D views as big as a building. It enables real-time digital measurements of nearly any object with 15 mm precision.

The innovation reduces errors, cuts labor expenses and will improve safety on construction job sites, said Geoff Stone, CEO of MeltalForming Inc., which distributes and supports high-end architectural metal-roofing machines throughout North America.

Specifically, he said, it solves a longstanding challenge for his customers in the roofing construction industry.

“We have a machine that reads CAD (computer-aided design) models, or BIM (building information modeling), and cuts panels to fit them,” said Stone. But, “we can’t cut metal panels to as-drawn BIM files because it’s not accurate enough,” he said. “We need as-built.”

Though initially intended for the roofing industry, Fiatech judges noted the surveying technology “could be applied to any application the requires tape measuring: commercial build-outs, kitchen and bathroom cabinets and countertops, flooring, window installation, and siding.”

For MetalForming, the video measurement application is but the latest in a series of web-centered technological advances the company has developed for its customers.

Gathered under the heading of Computer Integrated Roof Manufacturing (CIRM), the innovations are partly the outgrowth of a partnership between MetalForming and Microsoft and Level 3 Communications that can create a unified communications network for any metal roof production operation, large or small.

For more information, www.metalforming-usa.com.