IOT in Construction Industry : The Game Changer

Construction is one of the oldest professions as people have been building shelters and structures for thousands of years. 

However, the industry has evolved quite a bit in the way people design, plan, and build structures now in the 21st century. For the past few decades, technology has been used in the construction industry to make jobs more efficient and construction projects safer. 

 

One of the new technologies of today’s construction world is IOT – Internet of Things.

The sole purpose of using IoT in the Construction industry is to ensure optimal usage of the resources available with proper technological planning and with regulated expenses at the cost of minimal and low risks. 

There are plenty of IoT devices used for various purposes nowadays. Some of them are:

 

1.      Wearables assisting the employees

 

·         Warning the crew by making high-pitched noises when a worker is close to a dangerous zone

·        Tracking workers vitals and reminding them to take a break when their bodies are close to           exhaustion

·         Assisting emergency workers by determining the real-time location of an injured worker

·         Offering workers real-time instruction on how to complete work tasks safely and efficiently.

 

Examples:

 

·       Smart Cap — a wearable device that tracks brain waves to monitor worker fatigue

·       Triax — a device that tracks the number of workers on each building in real-time, assisting         project management;

·       Hololens — a wearable allows construction workers to get real-time access to a 3D plan of a       property, thus improving the efficiency of their actions and smoothing the learning curve.

 

2.      EMS - Remote Equipment Management Systems

 

·         Handle construction tasks in hard-to-access zones;

·         Track the state of equipment remotely;

·         Detect and prevent security, performance, and other issues.

 

Examples:

 

·          Hyundai Construction Equipment — this monitoring system gives project managers a full,          360-  degree view of the site from any angle of the machine — a lift, an excavator, etc.

·          Remote Eye — a technical assistance system that helps track the performance of the                    equipment   and instruct on-site workers in real-time.

 

3.      Device Maintenance systems

 

·         Help prevent unscheduled maintenance expenses

·         Offer accurate machine performance data

·         Prevent machine downtime.

 

Examples:

 

·         Bimba — this monitor offers site managers real-time data regarding the efficiency of                   construction equipment.

·         VibrAlign — tracks the vibrations of on-site equipment both online and offline and provides        insights on a dedicated dashboard.

4.      Device Asset Tracking tools

 

·         Improves on-site security, ensure the integrity of equipment;

·         Helps business owners locate needed materials easier;

·         Monitors the efficiency of material usage;

·         Generates real-time reports.

Examples:

·    Atmel — a GPS tracking platform that offers real-time location data on construction equipment and materials.

·    Ayantra Asset Management — a product for monitoring lifts, excavators, and other heavyweight equipment.

·    Blackberry Radar — a tool for real-time equipment monitoring and reporting.

The future of IoT in Indian construction industry appears bright, as companies are developing products and launching them in the market. They are encouraging construction business owners to try and see for themselves the significant benefits of the technology.

GHD, a leading regional construction company in Australia is working on an IoT project to create a platform called Connected Objects. The project enables benefits like tracking the movement of materials and assets at a construction site in real-time and monitoring the number of workers on-site, giving construction companies the data to optimize logistics, detect thefts, maintain inventory levels and mitigate safety risk.

Hilti ON! Track, an internal IoT app by Hilti, has unlocked multiple productivity drivers by providing transparency to ensure accountability & efficiency. It gives you complete control of your assets to help you make better-informed decisions to improve your ROI.

Orange, a New York-based telecommunication industry is also working with leading construction company McConnell Dowell on a customized, smart and scalable IoT solution that will enable construction sites to collect and report on real-time information, such as heavy machinery utilization and asset tracking.

Another example comes from construction specialist Arup, which has developed a project named Neuron, a “digital brain” that helps buildings achieve energy savings and also creates a more enjoyable indoor environment that focuses on the health and well-being of occupants.

The Indian construction industry is on its way to emerge as the third-largest globally by 2025 as it is estimated by Invest India to grow on average by 7.1 percent per year

Though it’s a slower adaption in Indian industry, these new techniques of technology and connectivity can be a boom to the construction industry.

A lot of builders and contractors are ignorant about investing in such devices as they fail to recognize their significance. Yet these tools if used properly and with cautions can play a crucial role in creating a space where everything is coordinated to a central room and everything is being taken down in the form of a digital record. 

Although there can be different predictions regarding the potential job losses, implementing IoT technology will not replace humans in the construction industry. Instead, it will allow altering business models, eliminating expensive errors, reducing worksite damages, and making building operations more efficient.

Ultimately, the most appropriate approach for construction firms to apply the IoT solutions is to prioritize investment depending on the areas where IoT will make the most immediate influence according to their unique requirements. 

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