where we’re headed · phablet - another made up word that has now made its way into the oxford...

WHERE WE’RE HEADED: Construction Technology Trends for 2015

1 A Bridgit Publication

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lauren is a Structural Engineering graduate with a background

in concrete restoration and is the Co-Founder of Bridgit. As a

young engineer, Lauren has always had an interest in how

new technologies can improve efficiency and productivity on

construction projects. With this passion, she founded Bridgit in

2012. Bridgit focuses on developing mobile-first solutions that

can help relieve on-site pain points, such as punch list

management. Lauren is an active mentor to young women in

engineering and a frequent speaker at local and national

industry events focused on construction innovation.

LAUREN HASEGAWA

Co-Founder, Bridgit


WHERE WE’RE HEADED:

Construction Technology

Trends for 2015

Technology is evolving at an exponential rate. Each year we

will see more impressive advancements than the last, and the

time between a technology being born and its practical

application will continue to become shorter and shorter.

Today, we’re seeing a lot of advancements that deal with the

blending of the digital and physical worlds such as 3D printing

and augmented reality. Making right now, a more important

time than ever for construction professionals to pay attention

to emerging trends in technology and ideate around how

these trends can help in the industry.

Here is a compilation of trends in construction technology that

are going to be important to pay attention to in 2015 and

beyond.


1. Device convergence: phablets to replace tablets on-site Phablet - another made up word that has now made its way

into the Oxford Dictionary. A phablet is a smartphone with a

screen that is intermediate in size between that of a typical

smartphone and a tablet computer (phone + tablet = phablet).

In 2013, phablet sales accounted for ¼ of all smartphone

sales1 and with Apple’s recent launch of the large iPhone 6

Plus, this number is expected to keep growing.

Apple’s Phil Schiller announces the new iPhone 6. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

1 Deloitte TMT Predictions 2014: Phablets are not a Phad


Construction professionals have been struggling for the past

few years over whether they should deploy tablets such as the

iPad on-site because of the large screen size, or invest in

company smartphones which allow for better collaboration.

The struggle is possibly coming to an end with the

introduction of phablet devices that provide the best of both

worlds: a screen size large enough to view drawings and

other detailed reports on plus all the features of a smartphone.

This device convergence will help make the choice easier for

decision makers designing mobile policies and on-site teams

will no longer need to struggle between multiple devices.

This trend, however, means that some software vendors need

to adapt. Cloud based software that is only available on tablet

devices could be threatened by the move towards larger

smartphones. As you evaluate software vendors ensure that

you ask: “Is your solution a smartphone app, a tablet app or a

web based app?” Sometimes the solution will be a

combination of a few delivery methods - which is good.


2. Augmented reality and wearables to make BIM and VDC more accessible Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a

physical, real-world environment whose elements are

augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as

sound, video, graphics or GPS data2. Today, the most common

form of AR is delivered via wearable smartglass, such as

Google Glass, where the user sees a digital image beside or

on top of their view of the world.

DAQRI smart helmet – launched September 2014

2 Augmented Reality on Freebase, licensed under CC-BY


For decades, two-dimensional communication (via drawings

and spreadsheets) has been the norm in construction. This

communication method forces the reader to reach into their

imagination and translate the 2D information, with standard

markups, into actionable information for building in the real

(3D) world.

Building information modeling (BIM) brought the promise that

this translation of sorts would no longer be necessary.

However the complex learning curve, amongst other barriers,

for BIM software makes the software hard to integrate past

BIM consultants and experts - creating a further disconnect.

The ability to integrate BIM and AR technologies for use on-

site could prove to be an excellent way of releasing BIM from

the experts’ clutches and out to the rest of the jobsite -

decreasing the need to communicate 3D intentions with 2D

tools.

The concept is to use the GPS already in a device to sync

location data to a BIM model. In doing so, the user would have

the ability to see the 3D virtual view of the construction

overlaid on the real-world view of the jobsite with the click of a

button. While the GPS mapping capabilities in AR aren’t

currently sophisticated enough to do this well on a detailed

level (within walls, etc.), the technology is advancing rapidly

and we predict that this will be a reality in the near future.

A good area to keep an eye on is technologies that make BIM

data easier to manipulate for non-BIM experts via one-click

options and user-friendly design.


3. Near-field communications (NFC) to gain popularity on-site NFC, or near-field communications is a secure form of data

exchange that allows data to be transferred from physical tags

to NFC enabled devices. The technology is frequently

discussed in relation to mobile payments (tap to pay and pay

from your phone).

NFC is a specialized subset within the family of RFID (radio-

frequency identification) technology. RFID technologies have

seen some interesting applications in the construction

industry, but as NFC begins to emerge as the more ubiquitous

form of data exchange we can expect to see a lot from the

technology in the future. The real push for NFC comes from

the fact that in September 2014, Apple released the

technology as a part of all new iPhones - now making it

available across iPhone, Android and Windows devices.

In terms of applications on-site, here are some ideas of where

we can expect to see growth for NFC in construction.

Prefabrication and materials: NFC can be used to track

prefabricated sections of large structures as they arrive on-

site. Tracking these prefabricated materials can help quickly

identify if an incorrect section has been delivered, or if parts

are missing prior to installation - saving time and labour costs.

The same can be done for other materials deliveries.


Equipment management: NFC can be used to track inventory

and equipment on-site. With a quick scan, employees will

know when the equipment was last inspected or certified, and

more.

Workforce management and safety: NFC tags placed on

hardhats make it simple for project manager and supervisors

to track each worker entering and leaving a site. In terms of

safety, these NFC tags would allow quick access to

information about workers safety accreditations and can be

used in the instance of tracking people during site

evacuations.

Deficiency management: Currently, tags are often placed

around a site to indicate deficiencies. If these tags used NFC

technology then a simple scan could pull up more information

about what needs to be corrected in the identified location.

The beauty of NFC is that the reader is already incorporated

into most smartphones so no additional scanning devices are

required.


4. Truly paperless jobsites

We are moving towards truly paperless jobsites where

drawings, punch lists and change orders are shared from the

jobsite to the office using a suite of integrated cloud-based

applications. While paperless is not synonymous with the

cloud, the two must work hand in hand in order to achieve a

working system.

Simply deploying one or multiple cloud solutions does not

equal going paperless. The key to a truly paperless jobsite, or

even just a paperless process, is complete adoption of the

software. When software lacks adoption then the process

generally becomes fragmented with portions being completed

within the software and portions being left untracked and

managed via scattered paperwork and unrecorded notes -

defeating the purpose of cloud-based paperless solutions.

Here is a list of things to consider when thinking about going

paperless:

Wi-Fi strength: The Wi-Fi strength required to download and

manipulate large .pdf files is a lot more than that required to

simply send and receive emails. If this process isn’t fast, then

people will resort back to paper-based habits like large-format

plans.

Devices: Certain devices may limit accessibility to some cloud-

based applications. Before purchasing a cloud-based solution,


ensure that it will either be compatible with everyone’s

devices (if using a bring-your-own-device policy) or that your

team is equipped with the proper devices.

Time management: Often times, there is a misconception that

paperless solutions don’t need organization. It is important to

still train teams to take time to label, organize and save files

properly to the cloud. A little bit of time goes a long way.


IT’S WHERE WE’RE HEADED…

Each time a new technology is introduced to the world, it may

have relevant applications in the construction industry. It is by

examining emerging technologies and assessing their merit

within the industry that we are able to continue the process of

innovation. What seems like a stretch of the imagination today,

may well be the reality of tomorrow.

For updates on emerging technologies and how they relate to

construction sign up for the Bridgit e-Newsletter here.

Have a question? We’re always happy to chat construction

innovation.

Get in touch at [email protected]

http://learn.gobridgit.com/get-updates


GLOSSARY3 Augmented reality: Augmented reality is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.

Google Glass: Google Glass is a type of wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display. Google developed it with the mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format. Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands. Google started selling Google Glass to qualified "Glass Explorers" in the US on April 15, 2013 for a limited period for $1,500, before it became available to the public on May 15, 2014 for the same price.

Near-field Communication: Near-field communication is a set of standards for smartphones and other mobile devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimeters. Current NFC systems use a radio frequency of 13.56 MHz, corresponding to a wavelength of 22.11 m.

Phablet: A phablet is a class of mobile device designed to combine or straddle the functions of a smartphone and tablet. The word Phablet is a portmanteau of the words phone and tablet. Phablets typically have screens that measure between 5.3 to 6.9 inches, which complement screen-intensive activity such as mobile web browsing and multimedia viewing. Phablets may also include software optimized for an integral self-storing stylus to facilitate sketching, note taking and annotation.

Radio-frequency identification: Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication via electromagnetic waves to exchange data between a terminal and an electronic tag attached to an object, for the purpose of identification and tracking. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

Smartglasses: Smartglasses or smart glasses or Digital Eye Glass or Personal Imaging System is a wearable computer that adds information onto reality or actually helps people see better. Typically this is achieved through an optical head-mounted display or computerized internet-connected glasses with transparent heads-up display or augmented reality overlay that has the capability of reflecting projected digital images as well as allowing the user to see through it, or see better with it.

3 All definitions from Freebase.com


ABOUT BRIDGIT We started building Bridgit in December

2012 with one question:

“How can we help improve efficiency on-site?”

Since then, hours of qualitative research on construction sites

across North America has led to the development of Closeout-

the industry’s first cloud-based punch list management tool of

its kind. A strict focus on simplicity and usability has allowed

our company to stay focused on remedying one construction

industry pain point at a time, without the clutter of a catchall

software solution. We know your teams will love using

Closeout and you will love the improved efficiency, cost

savings and quality control that

Or visit www.gobridgit.com to learn more

http://learn.gobridgit.com/demo

where we’re headed · phablet - another made up word that has now made its way into the oxford...

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