Automation in Construction Industry

Industrial automation is used in a vast variety of sectors. Nowadays, with the increasing demand of customers, high production requirements, high efficiency, fewer errors, and high accuracy, automation is required in almost every industry to fulfill the ever-growing demands. One such industry is the construction industry. It is important that people be aware of the automation that can be used in the construction sector so that maximum optimization can be obtained from it.

In this post, we will learn the various types of automation techniques used in the construction sector.

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Automation in the Construction Industry

We can use some of the automation tools in the construction activities such as robots, driverless automated vehicles, drones, PLC, IoT sensors, etc.

Robots

In construction sites, there are some areas where access to humans is dangerous for life. Suppose there are some pits or areas at inaccessible heights where if a person goes, then he can pose some threat to either himself or the nearby surrounding.

In that case, a robot can prove to be worthy to use. Robots can be programmed to perform certain tasks which a person will perform in the same way, and carry materials to and from the site. Also, robots function with full safety; with real-time information from sensors and location. So, they can perform efficiently in such hazardous areas.

Driverless vehicles

Suppose there are materials that are too heavy to carry, or there are conditions when some laborers are not available for work. This can hamper constructive activities to a large extent if not done after a certain period of time. In this case, automated vehicles without drivers can prove to be a handy option.

They can function without human intervention to carry materials; and these vehicles can be anything like forklifts, trucks, or digging machines. Also, similar to robots, they function with full safety by equipping themselves with high-class sensors, cameras, and tracking path location equipment.

Drones

When you are working in a very large area with a large number of workers, you need some means to supervise them. You cannot go manually every time to sites for monitoring them.

Also, CCTV cameras only cover a certain amount of area; the overall site with minute details cannot be covered with them. So, you will need some devices like drones that will fly over the construction zone and give every minute information about the work going on.

Also, the main advantage of drones is that they can fly over hazardous areas where access is not possible frequently; and give you real-time information about the current situation. The signals from drones can be sent to a SCADA system, which will monitor, track, gather, and manage data collected from it overall.

PLC and VFD Control Panels

PLC panels can be installed for machines that are frequently in use and will require automated control for it. This reduces human intervention and helps to increase production rapidly with less number of errors.

Also, VFDs are majorly used for elevators and lifts; so if they are controlled by PLC, then there will be more safety and efficient control. And as drives nowadays are used for communicating data of the motors too, you will get a proper idea of how the motors are running. This can help you in timely maintenance.

IoT Sensors

Sensors can be installed at various sites in the construction area to gather real-time data and pass it on to PLC and SCADA systems.

You can get various parameters like temperature, humidity, the pressure of any liquid flowing through a process, the flow of the liquid flowing through the process, vibration, gas, etc. This can help in reliably controlling the activities going in around a construction site.

Building Management Design software

There are various software available in the market for automating or making the design process quick. One great example is that you can create 3D models of appearances and designs quickly.

This helps in designing the building quickly and also gives realistic views to the customers, which in turn helps to quickly sell your flats or units. Also, the planning process of all the stakeholders involved like architects, contractors, and planners becomes easier to operate.

Automated Messages, Notifications, and Emails

Use IT automation to automatically send messages, notifications, and emails to the customers and vendors involved. This will help in keeping them updated about the current activities going on and help reduce your time to intervene for socializing every time.

Also, accounting teams can make use of automated document management software to perform their tasks quickly and help in resolving and managing finances easily.

In this way, we saw the various types of automation technologies which can be used in construction industries.

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