The Internet of Things technology is becoming so relevant in every business with the fact that we can not underestimate the ‘power’ of teamwork, communication, and efficiency in delivering projects.

In the construction industry, for example, there are cases of the use of IoT and the benefits are enormous, making IoT becoming a significant part of civil engineering in this era.

It has transformed every stage of building construction, from designing, developing construction equipment, building, and management.

Also, in facilitating the construction team to deliver projects on time and it’s now considered in the digital marketing strategy of the construction companies.

In today’s post, I’m going to cover the importance of the internet of things in the construction industry, its significance in the building construction process, and how smart buildings ensure better safety for workers and users.

Better Coordination of activities

With standard iot communication protocols, both short and long protocols and even wireless protocols, it enables project managers and construction workers to give directives and process instructions quickly and effectively, irrespective of whether they’re all together at the construction site or not.

The construction manager can set up IoT machines, employ internet technologies, like computer devices or software to send and receive data, making the workers work effectively even under the control of the remote boss.

This is also effective working in an unsafe environment as emergencies are promptly responded to.

Not just that, with the development of wearable technology such as Google Glass, it has made accessing instruction manuals to become more convenient for workers.

It means they’ll be able to see what should be done while working on other tasks simultaneously.

Better monitoring of supplies

With the help of this technology and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) system, you can easily know when you’re running out of supplies for your project.

The IoT software must have been programmed to alert the necessary department in the project team when supplies are low and more orders should be made.

This alone can help in preventing oversupply of materials, so also delay in getting more supplies as the project managers would be notified not when the materials are finished but when there are no much in stock.

The waiting time for more resources to continue work on-site is one of the causes of delay in delivering projects sometimes and IoT is a solution to this challenge.

Better Analysis and Tracking

The recent innovations in technology make it possible for the construction workers to accurately determine the number of workers needed for the project, and how particular machinery would function.

For example, you can have the idea of how a pneumatic machine would work, and the different machines already installed on the site.

With this, there would be no more delay in planning since most processes are automated, and even the cost of purchasing replacements for equipment would be well managed.

There are also GPS data and sensors that could be employed in safety cones, as well as vehicles to monitor everything happening on the site in real-time.

IoT technology also allows the machinery and devices to be positioned accurately, and then automatically carry out the instructions through a virtual map whenever modifications are necessary.

For better Monitoring of devices

The sensors embedded in machines help tracking it and sending data about its operations.

It helps to improve the routine maintenance activities, manage time and resources, and yield better results as a prompt notice about devices that needed to be serviced, repaid, or replaced with a new one are given.

One good news about this advantage is that managers would be able to identify faults and fix the machines before they start malfunctioning.

This will help in preventing severe damage to the machinery or/and give more time for the managers to plan and replace a machine that’s not working properly, especially if they rely heavily on the machine to do most or major work on the site.

For effectiveness and efficiencies

IoT technology makes it possible to send and receive information regarding the amount of power or fuel used by a device or equipment.

That means you’ll be able to adjust the after-hours lighting to be able to save energy.

For machinery, they’ll be able to send back information regarding the idling time, which means that during off periods, it can be easily adjusted without having to waste fuel.

Augmented Reality

The internet of things technology also brings in augmented reality. Through this, wearable devices can be more functional as instructive data can be saved in these devices.

Also, augmented reality makes it possible to program safety devices with sensors as these are usually installed on the AR device.

It can also stimulate real-world interactions, communicate, and process the collected data.

These can be controlled either through a touchpad or voice command system.

At a construction site, a voice command is preferred as workers are usually engaged in physical activities and their hands are always ‘tight’.

Conclusion

Finally, It doesn’t matter if you’re working on small or large tools equipment, the integration of IoT in the construction industry means the building process is enhanced, instructions would be better processed to yield better results.

There would be proper and better analysis and recording, accidents can be better prevented and resources, both human resources and material resources would be better managed.