Drones, robotics, and other technologies are impacting construction tenfold in today’s market. The spike in the popularity of these technologies has led to an explosion of innovation in construction, and big names in the industry are leading the revolution.
Today, we want to zoom the lense more into focus on the construction industry and take a closer look at what technologies theses mega companies are using and how they are applying them in action. Here is a look at today’s technology in construction:
Turner Construction – Webcams for Public Exposure
Tappan Zee Constructors – Robots in Use On-Site
Komatsu – Using Drones on the Field
Skanska – Developing Robotics
Turner Construction
Turner Construction, an internationally known construction company, in addition to using a vast number of technologies, is using webcams in some not only innovative, but useful ways. The company has installed webcams on buildings adjacent to their jobsites, allowing the project’s progress to be viewed in real-time online. Also available online is a library of videos showing time-lapses of their projects from day one to finish.
By having this technology implemented on-site, the company can track virtually anything that happens, giving Project Managers 24 hour a day, seven day a week access to footage which can then be tied to Gantt charts. The data collected can be shared with stakeholders, can be used for security purposes and to limit liabilities, to track (RFID), and best of all (since the data is shared openly online), the company can share their data to attract potential buyers. By being cutting edge, they get the upper edge.
Tappan Zee Constructors
Tappan Zee Constructors, the team responsible for building the New New York Bridge, previously announced that they would be enlisting robotic welders on-site to aid with the building of the structure. The bridge, which is to be completed in 2018, required the assistance of six robotic welders from Wilkinson Technologies to complete the project on-time within the parameters of the contract.
The robotic welders can reach up to twice the speed of manual welders, cutting time in half on-site for the tasks they are assigned to. In addition, the robots promise to deliver more quality work consistently, with less room for mistakes.
Komatsu Ltd.
Komatsu Ltd., the well known construction equipment company, announced their big on-site drone induction as early as January of this year. What started as a simple means to an end to remedy the company’s employee shortage in Japan proved quite fruitful in the long run for the company, as they eventually began implementing drone-usage for daily operations through the frequent use of unmanned aircrafts for completing a large majority of their foundation work.
Drone use for Komatsu originally came as a simple addition to deploying driverless bulldozers and excavators, but drones have come to play such a pivotal role in the company’s work in construction and automation that their new mission is to totally “automate the construction site, leaving humans to program the machines and then push a button to send them to work.”
Skanska UK
At the start of last month, Skanska UK was awarded a government grant of over €700,000 to test and develop robots beginning this October (2015). Robotics in construction have been on the rise for some time now, and Skanska’s big win is a loud statement to the industry that robotics are here to stay.
The company is looking to develop robots that can perform multiple tasks such as cutting, drilling, and fixing both on-site and off. Skanska wants to “eliminate a lot of work at height in dusty, noisy environments.”
The Future
With all of these big companies leading the industry with their innovation, one thing is clear, technology is here to stay and it is going to continue to play a huge role in advancing it. Still don’t think technology plays a main part in construction? Ask one of these guys, they might tell you something different.
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