Connected Jobsites : Integrated Mobile Technology & Information Exchange
In present day scenario, the use of mobile devices is on an upswing. Although, with respect to safety concerns, some opinions might debate against the use of these mobile devices on a job site, the fact that they help in enhancing the communication & increase the overall productivity in real-time cannot be overlooked. The accuracy & punctuality of decision-making has seen a remarkable growth as a result of incorporating mobile technology in a work process & field.
The average person communication for work purpose always relied on the basic telecommunication means. From a general point of view, work communication had always been just another type of communication carried out by the means of telephones.
The rapid growth in technology has proved to be a boon to the construction sector, as it has enabled us to build & use programs with dedicated functionalities. As a result, most pioneering software & application providers are engaging & investing in generating algorithms & building programs focusing on the operations in the construction sector. For instance, Plangrid, Procore are some customized alternatives that make available, the structured information that is needed for a job site use.
This advancement has helped the professionals on the desk jobs collaborate with the on-site teams in tremendous fashions & derive information models, which bear testimony to the growth in productivity due to the use of mobile technology on a day-to-day job site. There is technically negligible chance of information lost in translation or obstruction in the flow of information.
On a wholesome level, the IoT in construction world, has evolved & cultivated a macro-ecosystem of sorts for the various stakeholders of a project, wherein the flow of information takes place without any interception with other natures of exchanges.
To explain the scenario better, let us build parallels between the science of communication in most communities of animals and any particular industry. They develop languages specific to their own group/unions to be able interact with their fellow mates & to carry out activities for their survival. In the similar fashion, the software available in today’s world, enable the various sectors to function & carry out their work seamlessly in an organized manner.
It is of general knowledge that the construction industry is an information-intensive arena. The job sites are almost connected to the source of operations at all instances, courtesy of the software via means of job site information management applications (JIM)*, enabling the working teams to collate data in real-time. These software are a platform to store, generate data in a structured format which carries minimal/negligible chances of human error.
Mobile devices such as portable phones, pads have transformed many industries such as business, education, and healthcare. Mobile devices have made their existence count and have been found to be useful in the construction industry.
Mobile devices are extraordinary tools being used every day in the construction industry. Their ability to connect to the Internet, enables the project stakeholders to use and share information instantly. The article presented helps make a full understanding of the use of mobile devices on construction sites. Of all the general opinions, every project utilizes mobile devices, but the overall procedures used along with the devices tend to be underutilized.
As researched [1] by Dr. Anoop Sattineni and Taylor Schmidt in their paper presentation “Implementation of mobile devices on job sites in the construction industry”, it has been asserted that, “If companies fully invest and follow up on new software for mobile devices, then construction field management can be introduced to an unlimited amount of innovative and superior quality of communications translating to increased productivity, thus assuring profits.”
While majority of medium to large scale construction companies already relying/functioning on mobile devices for their operations, many companies in different sectors of construction still haven’t discovered it, such as residential and small-scale contractors.
It’s imperative for the companies in the construction sector to invest in mobile devices and their software capabilities because of its practicality and competitive edge it conveys, in the market and most importantly for profitable commercials.
* JIM – Job-site Information Management (term coined by Forbes Magazine)
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705815032014
