A skilled operator and well-maintained equipment are indispensable assets to any construction project. Most of the equipment and operators are hired or rented from third-party companies/services for the project time by the construction companies. It is often the case that the equipment can be from a particular company while the laborers and operators are from somewhere else entirely. This makes it a bit challenging to keep track of every piece of equipment and its operator and their working behavior.
Functional faults in equipment or an unskilled operator can lead to liabilities for the site manager and top management. Hence, first and foremost, it is essential to have well-trained operators handling specific machines. It is also necessary that the operators themselves know the ins and outs of the machines they are supposed to be running. Operators should be thoroughly knowledgeable about not only the type of equipment or machine under them but also have some know-how about the terrain or environment the construction project is going to take.
With IoT making its way across the construction sector, one should understand the interrelation and interdependency between operator and equipment is necessary to solve issues and optimize efficiency and productivity effectively. IoT integration can assist in these dynamics as follows:
1. Handling Fuel Consumption
Resources also play an essential role in the operator-equipment dynamics and the construction project in its entirety. It is bothersome, to say the least if fuel inadequacy occurs in the middle of a construction project. This tends to hamper the project budget as well as the completion timeline. IoT installation, apart from helping the managers keep track of fuel consumption, lets the operator see the fuel consumption at various points of the equipment usage, leading to corrective measures to ensure smooth work progress.
2. Emergency measures/ maintenance schedules
In the case of distant construction projects, like road or bridge building, or even long-distance material transportation, there is a lack of servicing or maintenance stops around the area. In such instances, IoT trackers and sensors help the operators know the functional status of the equipment they are handling or notify them about the nearest service centers in the vicinity of the project. It can also assist in letting the operators and machine handlers keep track of maintenance schedules. Apart from this, IoT can aid in emergency responses in case of accidents to help save human life and reduce extra expenses by preventing equipment breakdown.
3. Equipment tracking and management
As multiple vehicles and operators work on any given project simultaneously, there are instances when specific machines may not be available for use due to reasons like servicing, being in use somewhere else, etc. This can cause the operator(s) to remain idle during that time, thus affecting the amount of work to be done. Equipment tracking sensors can be customized to send the data to the managers and operators regarding the machinery’s real-time location and status. This can assist in prior scheduling of the operators to particular vehicles.
Conclusion
There is a plethora of IoT solutions and products that can assist the operators as well as the equipment for an improved standard of working and increased productivity. Though there have been considerable advancements in how machines and their operators work, there is still a vast potential in fully automizing equipment and operator dynamics. Most of them include training the operators to handle technologically advanced machines and equipment and understand their maintenance. This calls for a need for skilled or certified operators. It is also essential to keep up with technological advancements, both in the equipment and the administration of the construction projects. IoT can assist in both of these matters due to the granular visibility granted that lets one gather data from multiple areas and process it into actionable insights.
Tor Loco is one such end-to-end industrial IoT solution that assists you in your construction project management needs across multiple boards.
