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i4F Patents & Technologies doesn’t make floors. Yet its influence is embedded throughout the industry. i4F Patents & Technologies operates as the behind-the-scenes innovation engine in flooring. It invents and licenses patented technologies that manufacturers integrate directly into their own flooring and surface products, enabling them to turn new ideas into scalable, high-performance formats that can be produced reliably at industrial scale. i4F’s patented solutions help strengthening installation performance, enhancing visual authenticity and supporting more adaptable product constructions. “We are here to solve problems and create new features and new technologies,” says Mathieu Dekens, president of i4F USA. Each i4F license grants manufacturers legal access to protected innovation and the technical expertise required to apply it effectively at industrial speed. In a landscape defined by precision, throughput and tight cost structures, that support is often what determines whether or not an idea becomes a viable commercial product. Over time, i4F has introduced technologies that expand what the industry believed was possible, from advanced surface effects to pre-integrated grout and new material compositions. Today, these patented capabilities extend beyond floors to walls, stairs and outdoor decking, forming a platform that continues to broaden how and where modular surfaces can perform.
Remote Virtual Inspections Platform of the Year 2026
Construction contractors increasingly recognize that permitting and inspections influence more than compliance; they directly affect project schedules, cash flow and the predictability of jobsite operations. When permit status, documentation requirements and inspection timing are transparent, teams can avoid reschedules and reduce the uncertainty that often delays construction activity and payment. Inspected was built to address the day-to-day reality contractors face in an environment where permitting requirements vary widely by trade, municipality and project type. Through its Permit Hub platform, the company provides contractors with a centralized place to manage permit submission, plan review, inspections and closeout across trades and jurisdictions. Instead of relying on spreadsheets, emails or disconnected tools, teams gain a clear view of where each permit stands, what is required next and how approvals align with the broader project timeline and job readiness. “Progress stalls when approvals operate in isolation from the jobsite. Permitting works best when status, timing and accountability are visible to everyone involved,” says Inspected CEO, Ian Cohen. For Inspected, technology and human support are intentionally designed to work together. Permit Hub delivers clear, real-time visibility into permitting activity, while dedicated inspection and account teams provide hands-on guidance as projects move through inspections across jurisdictions. Inspectors work directly with crews to explain requirements, flag issues early and resolve corrections quickly, reducing friction that often slows approvals. Inspected supports contractors across homebuilding, roofing, pools, renovations, windows and doors, solar, generators, HVAC and all other home services installations, serving both regional operators and national brands that require consistency across multiple jurisdictions. For these organizations, Permit Hub functions as a practical operating layer that reduces friction in permitting and inspections at scale.
Top 3D Lab Design Tool 2026
For decades, laboratories have been planned using static, two-dimensional tools that implicitly assume change will be rare. In reality, modern labs change constantly. Instruments evolve, workflows shift, staffing models adjust, and new scientific priorities emerge. The problem is not that labs don’t change; it’s that changing them has traditionally been slow, costly, and disruptive. This friction has become a real constraint on scientific progress. Leading organizations, including Eli Lilly, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, and Quest Diagnostics, are driving a shift from traditional project-based lab design toward continuous lab planning and optimization. By using digital 3D platforms such as the Kaon Lab Design Tool, they are transforming how labs are planned, adapted, and scaled, delivering measurable financial gains, reduced operational risk, and accelerated scientific progress. Across enterprise R&D and diagnostics environments, continuous lab planning with the Kaon Lab Design Tool has consistently reduced reconfiguration timelines by 31–40 percent, cutting three to five weeks from a typical 10–12 week cycle. This acceleration has a meaningful downstream impact. When labs become operational weeks earlier, organizations avoid significant opportunity costs associated with delayed scientific work. “In R&D settings, customers estimate that accelerating lab readiness translates into roughly $12–$16 million in additional revenue per project, based on established industry benchmarks for daily drug development value,” says Gavin Finn, CEO. At the enterprise level, these benefits scale across entire project portfolios. Organizations report saving 400 to 1,200 planning days each year by reducing the plan-to-build cycle from weeks to days. Along with less rework, lower dependence on external services, and regained internal capacity, this speed delivers more than $1 million in annual operational value—without altering downstream engineering or construction processes. Teams prioritize practical outcomes: faster science, smoother workflows, and confidence that labs will be ready on time.
CXO INSIGHTS
It All Starts With Having An Innovative Culture
Craig Chappell, Virtual Design and Construction Technology Specialist, TDIndustries, Inc
The Future of Technology in the Construction Industry
Todd Mercer, Senior Vice President, Webcor
BIM is about Connected Data
Gregory Smith, Director of BIM/VDC, Yates Construction
People-First Innovation: Developing Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Training Programs to Empower Field Team Members
Chase Roles, Operating Group Director Virtual Design and Construction, Mortenson Construction
The Engineering Choices Behind Safer Construction
Pietro Da Sacco, Regional Engineering Manager West, Doka USA
IN FOCUS
Enhancing Collaboration and Compliance: Remote Virtual Inspection in Modern Construction
Remote virtual inspection platforms enhance construction efficiency, safety, collaboration, and compliance while supporting digital transformation and sustainable, future-ready project delivery.
Strategic Evolution of Advanced Flooring Technologies in Modern Construction
Advanced flooring technologies enhance durability, sustainability, digital integration, and lifecycle value across modern residential, commercial, and industrial construction projects.
EDITORIAL
Building With Measurable Intelligence
This issue of Construction Tech Review examines how installation systems, permitting workflows, laboratory planning, and safety leadership are redefining execution discipline across the built environment. As projects grow more complex and margins narrow, technology is evaluated on measurable outcomes. It must remove friction, reduce risk, and accelerate operational readiness.
Our cover story, i4F Patents & Technologies, recognized as Flooring Technology Company of the Year 2026, illustrates how engineered intellectual property can reshape an entire category. Its one-piece drop-lock system accelerated global adoption of rigid-core LVT by simplifying installation and improving reliability. Subsequent innovations such as CeraGrout and universal herringbone configurations addressed inventory complexity and field-level constraints. By pairing protected technologies with applied technical support and a licensing model built for scale, i4F has evolved into an innovation platform extending beyond flooring into walls, stairs, and decking.
In permitting and inspections, Inspected, named Remote Virtual Inspections Platform of the Year 2026, confronts a persistent structural bottleneck. Its Permit Hub and coordinated virtual inspections framework provide contractors with real-time visibility into approvals, reduce idle labor, and restore schedule predictability. The result is measurable cycle-time compression that directly improves project economics.
Lab Design Tool, awarded Top 3D Lab Design Tool 2026, advances laboratory planning from static drafting to continuous 3D optimization. Enterprise users report accelerated commissioning timelines, reduced rework, and stronger stakeholder alignment through early visualization and data-informed layout decisions.
Industry leadership provides operational grounding to these advancements. Jeff Aaker, Regional Safety Manager at TopBuild, reinforces that digital progress must sit on a disciplined safety foundation anchored in employee engagement and proactive hazard identification. Craig Chappell, Virtual Design and Construction Technology Specialist at TDIndustries, Inc., underscores that competitive advantage is sustained not by experimentation alone, but by structured adoption of BIM, VR, and analytics within accountable workflows.
The common thread is clear. Durable progress in construction does not emerge from isolated tools. It is built through integrated systems that align technology, process, and leadership. The organizations featured in this issue demonstrate how operational friction can be converted into strategic advantage through measurable intelligence.
Copyright © 2026 All Rights Reserved | by: Construction Tech Review
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