*** IoT to boost construction in Bahrain | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

IoT to boost construction in Bahrain

Manama: Bahrain’s construction sector can benefit immensely from Internet of Things (IoT), according to an IT expert.

According to HPE Aruba Country Manager, Gamal Emara, the progress made by mobile & IoT devices is encouraging for the construction sector. He said the devices are now capable of aiding the planning, designing, and building phases of construction projects.

The importance of WiFi solutions is highlighted due to the very fact that wired connections are not feasible at job sites, he said.

“With the introduction of tablet devices, mobile project management has emerged as a worthy replacement to age old methods. This coupled with the broad ecosystem of feature-rich mobile applications and the ability to draw from remotely stored data and ‘cloud’ services, these devices are capable of granting contractors, engineers and supervisors access to blue prints, schematics and other vital documents,” he explained.

Moreover, he said, with the ability to instantly push updates to all members working on the project, mobile computing devices can revolutionise the building information modelling process in real-time.

“With site-wide high speed wireless connectivity for all mobile devices, workers can transfer high volumes of data between not only each other but also headquarters (HQ). This significantly streamlines communications while cutting costs and improving operational efficiencies. It also saves regular trips to and from HQ,” he explained.

He also suggested various wearables for employees. “Truck drivers may be given an activity band, using which management can be notified if they are missing or being unproductive. Construction workers on-site can wear a helmet and vest with Radio-frequency identification (RFID), vitals monitoring, GPS sensors, motion sensors, etc.” he said.

Asset Tracking, Equipment Inspection and Site security are other areas where the sector can benefit with IoT. 

“Developers can also benefit from automated maintenance schedules, logs and reports. The readiness of cheap and easy-to-use RFID technology has made possible the automation of inventory management. By knowing in advance which materials are soon to run out, construction companies can avoid material deficiencies, thus eliminating losses in productivity,” he said.

Similar to monitoring and repair, he stated that equipment inspections could be enormously enhanced with smart sensors.

With the advanced sensors available now, machinery can self-detect the imminent need for a repair before it becomes a larger issue. Lost/late forms, low accuracy and undue internal processing time are no longer an issue with electronic processes,” he added.