ThingMagic has had the opportunity to design, build and run an RFID–based personnel management system on a large construction project in California. Only three months after going-live, the general contractor is blown away by the system benefits and the richness of the collected data.

Construction management and building owners used to have to wait for weeks and months to get data on how their projects have actually been staffed. The new RFID-based system provides this information in real-time during each workday. Construction site management used to deploy several security guards and supervisors for the sole purpose of monitoring the work force in different sections of the building. Using the new system, management can monitor the flow of people in and out of zones from the office trailer: if a person enters an unauthorized zone, an instant email alert is sent to the designated supervisor. Most importantly, should there ever be an emergency evacuation event on site, the system provides real-time updates on who is left in the building and where.

System Overview

We have deployed a three-tier system with a distinct sensor layer, database layer, and application layer.

Figure 1: RFID-based Personnel Management in Vertical Construction: Major system components and system architecture.

Every worker on the construction site is issued a passive UHF-RFID-enabled ID card, which the individual wears on a lanyard around the neck. The sensor infrastructure consists of RFID-reader-enabled secure turnstiles for access to and egress from the job site; inside the building under construction we have installed Mercury6 RFID readers and antennas to systematically cover the entry areas of the building, staircase landings, man-lift landings, and the entrance areas of elevators banks. As a worker moves from one building section to another, the portal readers pick up the badge ID of the worker and associate the individual with the new space or zone.  

Raw sensor data is sent in real-time to a cloud-based database, where the data is translated into high-level events such as zone entries and exits, and then stored.

A multitude of web-enabled applications have access to the event data through a web API.

BIM Integration

The General Contractor and other stakeholders are given access to the data via a number of interfaces, including a mobile-device friendly web portal and email reports and notifications. However, the core filtering and reporting engine has been implemented as a plug-in to Tekla Structures, the comprehensive Building Information Modeling (BIM) and CAT software developed by our sister division Tekla.

The construction manager can visualize the personnel deployment on site within the 3D model. He or she has the ability to specify the time window of interest, the subcontractor, the zone, and other properties. The selected population of workers or a particular individual is presented along with a work zone selected in the model.

Benefits

Why would a general contractor or project owner deploy this system? Our RFID-based people management system provides:

• Real-time visibility into worker location during an evacuation event
• Instant alerts on security or safety breaches 
• Instantaneous reports on sub-contractor staffing levels
• Real-time updates on personnel-related compliance issues or ordinances.

Figure 2: Full-time equivalent construction personnel over a period of about seven weeks by day, subcontractor, and zone of the building under construction.

Supported by RFID and cloud-computing, emerging life-cycle management solutions are enabling new levels of innovation, productivity, collaboration, and growth in the construction market and others.  Organizations that can best harness this “Big data” opportunity will hold a distinct competitive advantage.

Next-Generation Building & Cityscape Modeling

After being commissioned by Alexander the Great to lay out the city of Alexandria, the Greek Hippodamus (c. 407 BC) became known as the "Father of City Planning".  My guess is he didn’t use a CAD system or RFID to help with his design.  How times have changed.

As mentioned in our post Construction Management with RIFD, RFID and sensors (RFIDS) are being integrated into building materials, enabling new Building Information Modeling (BIM) capabilities and allowing construction firms to use real-time data to enhance construction processes.  And now, new RFID-enabled 3D building design tools are being developed to assist planning professionals even before the construction phase begins. 

According to a recent EE Times Europe story, researchers at the CEA-LETI (Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory of the French Atomic Energy Commission), are developing 3D interactive urban modeling tools using a combination of RFID and Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based motion capture technologies.

The prototype application includes an interactive table that holds a physical model of an urban area under construction.  13.56MHz HF RFID tags are applied to movable 3D pieces used to represent existing and planned buildings and are read by a total of 960 embedded RFID readers.  The interactive table is coupled with computer assisted design (CAD) software that renders the views of the urban landscape. 

During the planning phase of an urban area, users can reorganize the layout of a city or suburb by manually moving the 3D pieces around the table.  This movement is captured by the CAD software which renders new views in real-time.  Taking the solution even further, the research team has developed a number of modeling functions like applying textures to buildings with and RFID “brush” and an RFID-enabled magnifying glass that can be moved over specific blocks to zoom in on elements displayed in the CAD software.

This is a great example of how RFID can bridge the physical and electronic worlds – turning a physical model into an interactive computer-based platform that can be used easily by experts and non-experts alike.  What do you think about the future of tools like these?  Let us know your thoughts on how RFID and sensors can be used for construction planning.

[Photo credit: Gérard Cottet]

Tool Tracking, Heavy Equipment Management, and Next-Generation 4-Dimensional Building Information Modeling

Construction companies and maintenance organizations face a unique set of asset management and operational challenges during the best of times.  Given the tight economic and budget conditions we face today, keeping a closer eye on the location of tools and equipment, and ensuring a safe working environment is more important than ever.

Having access to timely and accurate information about the location and status of critical assets such as tools and equipment are directly related to the successful completion of a project and a company’s bottom line.  With the advanced technologies and innovations in the construction industry, it has become both technically and economically viable to integrate the use of automated data collection methods – like RFID - into daily operations. 

Deploying an RFID system involves individually tagging each tool or piece of equipment and then outfitting warehouses, trucks, or kiosks with RFID readers.  A comprehensive RFID system can be implemented at a low cost to the customer and provide significant improvements across all areas of the construction process.  Here are a few examples:

Tool Tracking on Vehicles

Normally, trucks leaving work sites have to manually take inventory of all their equipment. More often that not, a piece of this equipment is inadvertently left behind, forcing the company to pay to replace it.  Other times an assignment might call for a specific tool or piece of machinery that has been misplaced.  Looking for the missing item wastes labor hours and wages paid during the time spent searching.

With an RFID-enabled tool tracking solution, employees loading a truck headed to a work site can take inventory in a matter of seconds and retrieve any misplaced or forgotten items.  Upon completion of the job, inventory can be taken again to prevent leaving valuable tools behind.

OK – you didn’t think we could go too long without mentioning Tool Link in our 100 Uses of RFID campaign did you!  Ford Work Solutions™ Tool Link™ uses UHF RFID technology to tell you what's in your truck and what isn't.  This solution is a prime example of the growing number of innovative solutions where users and consumers can naturally interact with RFID and sensors and where the technology is so integrated and transparent that it disappears into its environment. Visit our solutions pages to read about ThingMagic’s involvement and view a video.

Construction Site Tool Tracking

Atlas RFID, a professional service agency dedicated to improving business processes in all fields of RFID, has created a tool tracking solution using ThingMagic USB Readers.

Atlas’s Asset Management System (AMS) not only tracks tools and equipment, but also the personnel involved.  In addition to the loss prevention and elimination of inefficiencies, Atlas AMS also has the ability to check compliance with safety regulations and inspection.  When tools are passed by the self-service kiosk, this data is displayed up on the user friendly touch screen, allowing a worker to take action if required.

Heavy Equipment Management

Heavy equipment providers that lease cranes, bulldozers and other machinery are testing or deploying RFID to keep track of assets and monitor their use in order to maximize lease revenues. In addition, these companies are testing RFID to keep tabs on workers to ensure both safety and productivity.

RFID and Sensors for Maintenance and Building Information Modeling

The integration of RFID and sensors into building material is finding its way into Building Information Modeling (BIM), allowing construction firms to generate and manage real-time building data during its life cycle to increase productivity in building design and construction.

For example, tagging of building components allows one to perform authentication and lifetime maintenance of construction materials such as concrete blocks, steel beams and piping.  RFIDS in environmentally stressed materials can be monitored for the lifetime of a building, measuring strain, temperature and moisture to deliver a profile of building with very high resolution in real-time for real-time control.

Let us know your thoughts on how RFID and sensors can be used in the construction industry.  Please share your success stories with us.