The concept of IoT is not new, but the use of IoT in construction industry is a recent thing. The essence of the Internet of Things (IoT) is to automate tasks and save people’s precious time.
Now, just imagine how this technology will impact the construction industry.
A construction site where all your equipment, machinery, materials, and personnel are synced to a central server that will automate, monitor, and track the activities of all in real-time.
It’s fascinating, right?
But it’s a reality, and just think of the benefits you will get if the devices at your construction site start talking to each other.
This communication between the devices is the result of the interconnectivity of the devices and, surely, in the future, of the construction sites.
To help you better understand this technology, let me state some benefits of using IoT in the construction industry by discussing the already existing IoT innovation in the latter industry.
Why You Need IoT in Construction Industry
In the construction industry, every year, there are significant transformations to improve efficiency, well-being, and process improvement, and we always welcome new tools and technologies with open arms.
In the construction industry, low-control sensors are used to transmit data at an economical rate, since they are part of civil engineering.
98% of industrial companies predict digital solutions such as IoT-enabled market trends, predictive maintenance, and up to 12% productivity increases.
The IoT market in the construction sector is estimated to be worth USD 16.8 billion by 2024. The rising safety concerns at the construction site and increased efficiency are also driving market expansion.
Today, IoT solutions are very predominant in the construction industry and are having a huge impact on how the industry is transforming. The Internet of Things technology will allow construction site managers to understand what is happening in real time at each construction stage and how the structure functions during administration. All this is possible to monitor even remotely when the manager is not at the site.
Other than this, challenges like low profitability, reduced margins, increased schedule overruns, and increased complexity are some more reasons why the construction industry should consider incorporating IoT technology into their everyday operations.
Below are mentioned, some IoT applications and their benefits to make clear what the Internet of Things can do for the construction industry.
7 IoT Applications in Construction Industry
Let’s understand the benefits of integrating the Internet of Things in construction by discussing its use cases.
1. Machine Control
Controlling machinery is the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about the integration or application of IoT in the construction industry. Because in the construction industry, there is always a need for heavy machinery and equipment.
Heavy civil construction will always benefit from machine control and machine-guided construction.
Wondering how?
Well, with machine-guided construction technology, the machines can automatically adjust heavy equipment to precisely grade, pave, drill, and pile large areas.
By integrating IoT into machines, the machine operator will be able to track the progress, movements, and status of the machines in real-time, and all the machines will be controlled in a prominently precise way.
So, the benefit of using IoT is that the connectivity will be used to plan and coordinate other build activities, thus increasing productivity at the construction site and reducing delays.
2. Site Monitoring
Site monitoring is done using various sensors spread all across the construction site to record and monitor site conditions remotely.
For site monitoring, constructors can place IoT devices and sensors all over the construction site to constantly collect, report, and analyze data related to site conditions. Such as the concrete sensors placed at the site, analyze the strength of concrete walls and detect cracks that are hard to observe through the human eye.
If these are in place, a construction site will be able to prevent accidents and violations by constantly remotely monitoring their sites for safety compliance.
3. Fleet Management
An ongoing construction site has to deal with loads of incoming and outgoing fleets, and with proper fleet management, the site’s productivity can be improved greatly.
With an IoT in fleet management system, equipment tracking can be simplified by having every machine automatically report all factors to a central database, such as fleet location, speed, fuel consumption, and maintenance requirements.
At big construction sites, managing even a small fleet is a headache and requires attention to detail. However, if it gets IoT-ized, there will be fewer chances for errors. Plus, it will enhance safety by monitoring the driving of the operators.
4. Wearables
The wearables are considered the most common example of IoT, and at construction sites, these wearables can be utilized to enhance the worker’s safety. As the name implies, these wearables can be smart watches, smart bands, or smart helmets that a worker can wear. Construction sites can use these wearables to track labor and their safety. In addition to sending real-time safety alerts to all workers, these wearables can also automatically count the number of people working at each site.
5. Waste Management
On-site waste management is the most common and beneficial aspect of IoT that a construction site can adopt to efficiently manage construction waste.
Also, to free up space and avoid hazards on a construction site, it’s necessary to clean up the waste as quickly as possible. So, if the construction site reaches the maximum trash level, an alert will be generated to indicate waste clearance.
6. BIM Optimization and Digital Twins
With the continuous generation of real-time data with IoT sensors, combining historical data from previous projects can be utilized to not only monitor and analyze the current job sites but also provide an ever-lasting dataset that can be combined with ML to perform predictive maintenance, making construction even smarter.
7. Safety & Security
When talking about construction sites, how can I not mention safety and security? A construction site is always prone to accidents. One can prevent the occurrence of fatal and non-fatal accidents at construction sites with the help of an IoT system.
And aside from that, IoT-enabled tags can be used to deter theft of any expensive or material item. These tags can notify the current location of the item/machinery, so there is no need to deploy a human agent to conduct an inspection.
Also Read: IoT in Banking
Benefits of Applying IoT in the Construction Industry
The IoT revolution is underway, and no doubt this is the start of transforming businesses across all sectors. Some of the benefits for construction businesses to take advantage of using IoT include:
– Management resources and budgeting
– Handling safety issues
– Smart waste management
– Remote site monitoring
An IoT services-providing company can effectively identify and fulfill your digital requirements by applying their IoT expertise. With an IoT service, one can collect and analyze the data in real time to provide actionable, proactive, and predictive information. Thus, improving the construction industry with a data-driven solution.
To conclude,
IoT has a vast use case in the construction industry if only people are aware of how they utilize the technology for their own benefit.
The motive of this article was only to inform people of the benefits of using the Internet of Things in the construction industry.
The construction industry is always a prime target and tops the research list in the IoT adoption journey. At the present time, construction sites generate a large amount of valuable data that goes totally unnoticed. However, this data can allow construction managers and employees to take a proactive approach toward maintaining building systems and managing sites more efficiently.
Nevertheless, people have different points of view regarding the integration of IoT technology, which will result in potential job losses. However, IoT is not here to replace humans; instead, it allows businesses to eliminate expensive errors, reduce site injuries, and make operations more effective.
Construction companies like Trimble, Pillar Technologies, ES Track, and Spot-r by Triax have incorporated IoT into their respective construction fields, such as Machine control, site monitoring, and fleet management.
I hope this information was useful, meanwhile happy scrolling.