The integration of the latest construction tech, with traditional job site safety items like collapsible cones, safety gear, and construction barricades, can help improve the safety of any job site while maintaining the operability in a tech-driven environment.
For construction companies who are hesitant to let go of the past, introducing new tech products to the job site is imperative. There are several new technologies you can integrate to help improve overall efficiency and production while increasing safety.
Consider these four items to naturally blend, which your construction crew will also much appreciate, as they’ll help workers complete jobs more efficiently.
Wearables
Wearable devices help improve safety. Smart glasses help improve augmented reality; they help cover the eye/retina to protect it from flying debris, and help construction workers collect data points, based on the data in the environment they are working in.
There are wearables that can detect noise or vibration, to help determine if it’s safe to construct in an area, or if a construction worker can safely remain in a field. There are devices that can help reduce muscular and joint pain/stress and reduce fatigue.
Not only are wearables going to help improve safety on the job site, but with built-in technologies, they can also help improve efficiencies, and help construction crews in utilizing the data around them, to ensure the best outcome on any project or site they’re working in.
BIM
Building information modeling is another must-have tech product that construction companies have to integrate into their arsenal of tools when working on a new construction job. It’s similar to CAD software.
However, it also implements multiple layers of metadata that CAD software can’t. You can see things in a way you can’t see on a blueprint that’s drawn up on paper. BIM can help solve problems that exist in design and remove flaws in a construction plan.
BIM software can also help through different planning stages, as it allows users to integrate new information, or remove something from a project while working on the construction site. So, changes are possible, whereas they weren’t possible in a 2D blueprint.
It gives construction crews more flexibility, and a better rendering of the final project, for collaboration at all points of the construction project.
VR
Virtual reality isn’t just for gaming anymore. Using VR devices, you can walk around a job site before you even begin construction. You can give a client an idea of what the outcome will be, and they can virtually “walk through it” wearing the VR headset, to see the outcome.
This technology is ideal for planners. It makes it easier to know where to insert a beam or leave it out. Where to implement a particular storage shelf or move it to another corner. With VR, you can bring yourself into a non-existent world, before you complete it.
So, you can have a better idea of how things are going to look, what the final outcome will be, and let your client see it for themselves before you even begin working on the job.
Mobile Technology
Smartphones and tablets should be on every job site. Integrating apps can help improve efficiency and streamline processes. Some apps today help with
- Delivery of supplies
- Improving functions on the site
- Reducing errors before they occur
- Improving site safety
Apps can even help in surveying a job site (GPS and laser technologies) and utilize real-time information to keep all team members abreast of what’s going on at all phases of construction. Software and app integration helps construction crews and managers update other personnel, regardless of where they might be on a job site.
This is just the beginning of tech in the construction industry. The sooner your company is willing to embrace and utilize these items, the easier it will be to make any construction site more efficient and safer.
Not only that, it will help reduce overhead, reduce costs of equipment and supplies, and make your construction crew more productive. Ultimately, introducing the latest industry tech will help drive profit margins for a construction company that’s currently hesitant to accept the changes that are here, and more modifications that are bound to come in the near future.