The coronavirus is being spread at a high pace and had a serious impact on the building and construction industry. It is time for industries to rethink job sites and how people work and communicate with all stakeholders and build accordingly almost immediately. In most cases construction is considered as a key service and work has to continue in these tough times in spite of the fact that with severe safety requirements in place.

Remote meetings, virtual inspections and a combination of social distancing safety devices are few of the technology-based solutions being acquired enabling work to move safely. IoT solutions allow contractors to continue safety guidelines to protect workers and enable remote stakeholders to be up to date on a project’s progress.

Investigators and regulators have to be open to utilizing IoT technology for virtual inspections to avoid project delays. Offsite investigators can schedule and analyze work remotely if the contractor can fully document progress and this accelerates projects via the elimination of physical site visits. Virtual reality technology can be utilized to take virtual run-through so stakeholders can communicate with the job site workers and get an up-to-date vision of work in progress.

IoT devices are utilized for real-time tracking, analyzing and measurement on the job site thus opening huge possibilities for executing AI and improving better outcomes for contractors. Below are some ways that COVID19 is speeding up IoT adoption in the construction industry.

Project Analyzing and Investigation

To maintain social distancing, technicians and engineers should avoid visiting factories, remote areas, or any other crowded places. Further, many of the prime safety changes on construction sites will add on to the time it takes to complete projects hence the requirement to improve efforts to increase productivity.

An onsite worker can utilize a flexible camera to seize photos and videos for real-time data sharing with the team and regulators. When it comes to Virtual reality technology the response time is a prime challenge that can be resolved using Skype, Google Duo and Microsoft Teams, etc.

With the help of IoT Sensors which are installed in machinery can assist organizations considering predictive maintenance to reduce downtime. Hence with the reduction in job site visits by the investigators will helps to maintain the safety of employees which improves workplace efficiency as well.

Remote Work

The coronavirus has proposed vital changes to the construction’s back offices as well. Many work employees had to work from home depending on technology such as video conferencing, emailing and texting to stay in contact.

Many organizations are now realizing that the utilization of smartphones for photos and videos to make a document of the job site will improve communication as well as reducing waste. In this way, project success status information is shared more precisely, effectively and efficiently than when project managers are allocated to do it physically.

Supply Chain Management

Worker’s safety is a prime concern in any organization which will help to speed up the industry’s development to offsite construction methods. Contractors are evenly pushing fabrication off-site and forcing manufacturers to enlarge their range of prefabricated sub assemblies. The assembly-line efficiency and controlled environment of factory production can preserve labor costs and diminished project schedules.

In most cases, higher inventory levels are being advised and the importance is being placed on supply chain strength over efficiency. It will help companies to minimize the amount of time they on the field. IoT technologies are being utilized to analyze off-site production, track and record assets as well as analyze storage conditions of inventory.

Secure Job Sites

Drones equipped with IoT devices(https://www.hiotron.com/) are being placed to analyze job sites, utilization of infrared cameras to measure human body temperature during work and spray disinfectants are few ways to make job site secure.

All this happens whilst communicating information to stakeholders to enable quick decision making. Currently, sites are being allowed to restart only if they have rigid plans to minimize density, keep physical distancing and build good hygiene. Hand washing stations that are automatic, analyzed and cleaned on demand are not significant.

Acceleration

Construction industry players must now speed up the efforts to acquire IoT technologies and utilize real-time monitoring, data collection and enable for quick response to any project challenges.

The WHO believes that pandemic like COVID19 comes in waves so now is the time to essentially evaluate job sites and recognize areas where technology can be used to support remote employees, save the health of field employees, avoid job site failures and keep project budgets and progress.

Maintain Social Distancing

In the current situation, social distancing and contact tracing are two most prime concerns that need to be maintained to improve worker safety on the job site. Various IoT devices are installed to communicate with other devices within its prescribed range to recognize close contact interactions.

Such a system can analyze, gather information and give an alert when workers come within proximity to each other. In addition to that, Edge or cloud AI can be mounted and utilized to generate actionable insights. On the other side, thermal cameras are also used to detect body temperatures that are shared with an AI handling agent that can work as a virtual safety manager and discover the distance between any two workers.

BLE-Beacon based tracking technology(https://www.hiotron.com/how-to-improve-the-healthcare-experience-by-utilizing-beacons/)is also used for assets and individuals that have been acquired to provide contact tracing of workers in critical places such as construction sites, hospitals, and factories.

The implementation of IoT Technology in the region of construction as well business industry will definitely improve safety and cost management in such challenging business environments.