Construction companies in the Upstate are saying hello to increased efficiency and communication – and goodbye to the paper blueprint
The construction industry is a notoriously late adopter of new technologies.
“Our work processes – the way we do things – have been tried and proven over a 100-year tenure,” said Tony Roache, director of construction automation at Fluor Corporation.
He said a great deal of apprehension about replacing a tried-and-true method with a new one is not uncommon in the industry.
Yet the move toward what he calls “data-centric” operations is marking a time of rapid transition in the industry. Mobile devices have been household items for more than a decade, but have just recently begun to appear at construction sites. Software for online collaboration, workflow management, and even tools to address legal and language challenges of working overseas are being rapidly developed and adopted.
On the material side, new concrete curing sensors can tell exactly when fresh concrete will bear the load needed for work, eliminating the need for core samples and lab testing. And radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips can track thousands of pieces of material associated with a project. A truck could simply roll past a scanner to complete an inventory.
The last notable technology jump in construction came with computer-aided design (CAD) software in the 1980s, Roache said.
In the late 1990s, the emphasis was on more robust AutoCAD products and project management software, said Brian Gallagher, director of marketing at O’Neal Inc.
Now data is king, said Roache, and the best use of it makes the most difference. “New stuff has allowed us to move that data to the point of activity, and that’s were we’ve realized the most efficiencies,” he said.
On-site and Off
O’neal, an industrial engineering and construction firm with worldwide markets, recently investigated where it could derive the biggest benefits from investing in technology, and found that engineering and construction were the “low-hanging fruit,” Gallagher said. It invested in more technology and training. The entire company aims to be paperless by 2015.
For the past six months, employees have “been playing with” iPads and various software.
The bulky paper blueprint, perhaps second only to the hardhat as the archetypal item of construction, will one day be a relic, Gallagher said.
“One of the biggest challenges we face is you’re not always sure if the contractor’s working from the most recent version of the plans,” he said.
Before, addressing discrepancies meant snapping and printing a digital photo, comparing it to the paper blueprint in the shed, and making a telephone call to somebody at the home office to discuss the problem. Now it’s an iPad snapshot and a couple of minutes of back-and-forth on the Web. For about a year, O’Neal has used GPS technology to make documentation more precise, so everyone knows exactly where the issue is.
“When you can get that engaged with the owner, designer and contractors in the field, you can make lots of up-front fixes,” Gallagher said, adding an electronic document trail adds an extra level of security and accountability among multiple partners.
Who’s Really Behind?
It’s true the construction industry had to overcome barriers of convention and psychology, but technologies also took a while to evolve to meet construction’s particular needs.
Leaders say software companies have only recently begun to address construction’s needs. Until recently, appropriate software simply was unavailable, Gallagher said, but now Apple and Microsoft are looking for opportunities to develop tools for construction. He has seen a serious acceleration in offerings in the past six to eight months. Startups are being snatched up and companies are merging and going public, all of which indicates potential for a new phase of growth, he said.
Roache said it has taken companies time to differentiate between what’s needed on a work site and what’s needed on a desktop. Also, the hardware could not handle the rigors of a construction site, where sunlight, dust, water and threats of dropping are routine.
No Turning Back
For various reasons, some clients still do not want everything to be so connected and accessible. Gallagher said some clients still request paper blueprints while some “extremely protective” clients refuse cloud storage options. He admits that protecting clients’ intellectual property will be critical as technology evolves.
Yet employees are sold.
“They love it. They can’t imagine going back to the way it had been in the past,” Gallagher said. Some veterans in the industry are embracing the technology, but Gallagher said it is mostly younger employees who are most adept and enthusiastic.
“I think the industry is changing forever pretty quickly in terms of how buildings are designed, built, maintained and operated,” he said. Not only that, the technology investments have given the company a competitive edge when it comes to recruiting, he said. New graduates are armed with a new toolbox, and they’re looking for employers prepared to let them use it.
