Virtually every industry understands the continued maturity and proliferation of digital transformation. Companies of most every size are prioritizing the importance of data collection and how it informs crucial decisions.
The Construction Industry is no stranger to this dependency on “Big Data.” Continuing improvements in technology have resulted in more efficient use of equipment, improved safety, more accurate bidding and cost projection, reduced waste, improved use of human resources, and completing more projects on time.
The entire construction ecosystem benefits from real-time access to information. This includes key stakeholders like architects, engineers, consultants, subcontractors, suppliers, accounting team, and many more. However, the benefits are changing the game because all these different entities are able to be on the same page, operating from the same playbook.
How Can the Construction Industry Better Leverage Big Data?
The modern construction industry has enormous disruptive potential when leveraging the power of big data. Next-generation technologies like IoT sensors, process automation, robotics, five-D printing, cognitive machine learning, and artificial intelligence will transform the face of construction as it has in other vital industries.
Prioritizing Data Harvesting and Management
This will only happen as construction companies prioritize harvesting data and putting it to good use. This means adopting the necessary technology to collect and analyze data from every source. Every construction project is awash with data that can be put to good use to improve safety and productivity and cut waste and costs. Using this data is an impossible task without the technology to gather and collate it.
Using Big Data Wisely
Once harvested and analyzed, what is next? Who can use data gleaned from sensors, wearable devices, measurements, cost research, resource management, and other means? Every stakeholder can benefit from big data, when it is provided to them in time. Consider these examples:
- Improve Safety - Sensors can monitor environmental conditions that affect workplace safety, biometric sensors can monitor the health of workers, and machine sensors can warn nearby workers of danger.
- Reduce Waste - It is estimated that the volume of construction waste generated worldwide every year will nearly double to 2.2 billion tons by the year 2025. Digital technology and analytics can help reduce wasted resources, manpower, time, equipment, and money.
- Mitigate Risks - Proper use of big data can allow companies to identify risks early and plan to avoid or reduce them appropriately. This includes delays, fatigue, overruns, overuse of equipment, and more.
- Improve Productivity - Real-time monitoring of equipment and human resources can identify downtime, overuse, high activity times, fuel usage, and resource management for better overall performance.
What are the Internet Requirements for the Construction Industry’s Use of Big Data?
In order to facilitate this enormous digital transformation in the construction industry, companies must rely on a backbone of secure, reliable Internet that can quickly be installed for on-site projects. This is crucial for the number of data harvesting devices used on the modern job site:
- Material and equipment sensors
- Digital safety mechanisms
- Hand-held tablet project management apps
- Digital measurement equipment
- GPS location features
- Automated drones
- Ground-based site rovers with cameras and LiDAR
- Inventory control cameras and sensors
- Worker biometric sensors
- Motion-sensored safety alarms
A dependable, secure, and scalable Internet solution is necessary to bring all this together into a usable system. Plus, construction projects don’t have time to wait months for a fiber buildout that reaches the site.
A dedicated, high-speed wireless Internet connection and network can provide all the bandwidth, security, and reliability required for effective construction Internet applications, plus the installation is fast and simple.
- MHO guarantees that your site's Internet service will be up and running within 10 business days.
- MHO offers an exceptional Service Level Agreement (SLA) of Enterprise-Class reliability.
- Most requests to scale Bandwidth are handled on the same day or within minutes.
- Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) core network designed for fast rerouting and core redundancy.
- Each dedicated internet & ethernet link has an FCC license to ensure your connection maintains reliability and security.
Plus, if a fiber installation is already available nearby, a dedicated wireless network is the perfect solution for redundancy and diversity to keep your construction site fully operational while avoiding outages.
Contact MHO today for more information about dedicated Internet and Connectivity solutions for the modern construction industry that can handle all the demands of big data and next-generation technology.
