Daily Reports on Autopilot: Save on Construction Costs- kwant

Costs and Safety Crush Construction Industry

Cost overruns and accidents are crushing the construction industry. According to a 2015 McKinsey report on construction productivity, 98% of megaprojects go over budget and, on average, experience cost increases of up to 80% over the original projected cost estimate .

To gain project control, McKinsey suggests that top performers understand what is happening in the day-to-day life of the project, and create standard reporting systems, using lean principles to minimize waste.

As of 2018, approximately 4 industry deaths occurred every day in the US, and accounted for more than 20% of all worker-related deaths on an annual basis.

Gain Insights and Safety Using Automated Headcounts

In the field, one method to reduce costs and to improve safety is to automate your daily head count per crew on the project site. A Superintendent that spends up to 20 hours each week on manual entry of head counts is not only costly on a per-hour basis, but is also detrimental to higher-quality work required in the field.

The Super’s role is to ensure a safe working environment while work is done on-time and in an efficient manner. Up to 20 hours gained from automated headcount results in more time spent on enhanced quality control on project sites, and increased awareness and proactive decision-making with regard to workforce utilization.

The Benefits of Internet of Things (IoT) for Productivity and Safety

Internet of Things (IoT) devices use sensor technology to collect and aggregate data in the cloud, and this data is then used to make data-informed decisions. Iot devices like the Smart Watch, Nest thermostat, and self-driving cars are everywhere and they are only expected to grow to 50 Billion devices by 2023.

Kwant provides IoT devices for construction sites to enable Superintendents, Project Managers, and Safety Managers to understand what is happening in terms of headcount and hours for each company, cost code, and location of the project.

By knowing where your workforce is located on the project site, you can make proactive decisions with regard to day-to-day activities.

IoT Devices for the Construction Phase

Kwant uses Bluetooth (BLE), Low-Powered Wide-Area Range Network (LPWAN) sensors on multiple zones of every floor of the building to inform on things such as out-of-sequence work, identification of high-risk activities in the field, and material status.

The sensors used to collect real-time data in the field can be in the form of Smart Badges, material tags, and mobile applications. In the field, workers can use the Smart Badges to send an instant SOS alert in the case of a safety incident, which reduces the response time in the case of an emergency.

Equipment utilization can be tracked using our BLE/LPWAN sensors, and equipment-related incidents reduced in the field.

Location Awareness Enables Productivity Improvements

Using IoT technology you are able to improve location awareness of companies and workers, which in turn improves productivity. For example, you are able to compare trail time versus time spent using tools in the field.

You can optimize materials and storage locations, and identify out-of-sequence work. In our recent project with Marlbro Construction, we were able to understand that total tool time comprised 53% of total worker hours on the project.

The contractor was better able to optimize the location of material storage and improve productivity by reducing travel time.

Plug-n-Play Technology for Automated Daily Reports and Headcounts

Our Plug-n-Play technology is easy to implement in the field, at the start of any project. Our LPWAN Gateway is powered by 915 MHz, as a point of comparison to a home wifi powered by 30 MHz, and is placed in the trailer or other powered-source.

This Gateway network spans up to 5 miles and communicates with our multiple BLE Kwant location sensors, which are placed multiple times on every building floor.

This technology communicates with our BLE Smart Badges, which are worn by every worker, and collects real-time information on general trends of workers as they move throughout the project site.

We use this real-time information to automate daily tracking and headcounts by company, code code, and location, and automate daily reports, including our own daily manpower report delivered to your email each day, our downloadable project controls reports, and Procore Daily Logs, which are accessible through our platform integration (Table 1).

These reports provide insights on workforce utilization and cost and schedule variance throughout the lifetime of the project, which can be used to inform on daily and weekly scheduling of project activities and crews.

Conclusion

The construction industry has historically experienced cost overruns and scheduling delays due to inefficiencies in daily and weekly planning. Automated headcounts and daily reports are a significant method to save time in the field, and to inform on high-risk activities that are impinging on workforce utilization and causing project delays.

The Kwant BLE/LWPAN sensor technology and OnTarget Platform enable crews to automate daily tracking by code code, crew, worker, and location, and to automate daily reporting for general trends and patterns of high-risk cost and safety activities.

Contact our Head of Growth, Kelsey Poinsatte-Jones, kelsey@ontargetcloud.com, to schedule a demo and learn more about Kwant can do for your crew.

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