According to Apple Insider, construction company Rogers-O’Brien saves an estimated $1.8 million per year through the use of iPads on the job site. The iPads enable workers both on the job site and in the office to have access to a shared drive with up-to-date and synchronized documents. The elimination of physical drafts and paper copies reduces error and the mistakes that are sourced from outdated documents. Rogers-O’Brien’s success story showcases how integrating technology on the construction site can increase efficiency and save substantial amounts of money.
Using technology on the job site is a growing trend. In 2012, 41% of respondents to JBKnowledge’s Construction Technology Report said mobile capabilities were “not very important.” In 2017, that number dropped to 17% while 40% respondents said mobile capabilities were “very important.”
Data and image copyright JBKnowledge, Inc.
The nature of construction and any collaborative effort requires productive communication. The applications accessible through mobile devices are useful to the construction sector by linking agents in real-time and enabling effective and coherent collaboration.
Dodge Data & Analytics conducted a survey with 153 different companies and nearly half said that the employment of technology on construction sites has increased the volume of quality data that can be obtained and utilized on-site. 89% of construction firms surveyed use mobile devices on the job site to cut costs and streamline processes. According to the statistics that Dodge collected, both the access to project data and the enhanced communication available through mobile apps were the most valued benefits to the work field. These two factors save time and money by reducing stall time, redundancy, and rework.
COMMAND Center™ for iOS is an app that can help contractors save time and money. COMMAND Center™ measures internal concrete temperatures and uses the maturity method to assess concrete strength gain.
Typically, in-situ strength estimation is achieved through accordance with standard test methods which involve flexural or compressive tests of beam or cylinder specimens. Waiting to assess whether concrete pours have reached the desired strength level takes time and is a slow-down in the work flow.
However, these specimens are not consistently indicative of the actual concrete subject. Assuming that concrete in the field gains strength at the same rate as test specimens is not always the case and poses a risk to both life and material property.
Prolonging wait time may be unnecessary if adequate strength has already been achieved. Maturity testing addresses this guesswork and can prove if on-site concrete has achieved required strength and whether or not formwork removal and load application is feasible.
COMMAND Center™ for iOS uses wireless data transmission to retrieve sensor data and report on concrete temperature and maturation. By monitoring maturity and strength, teams are able to improve construction methods and accelerate construction schedules. COMMAND Center™ collects temperature data, calculates maturity, and provides strength estimations within the app. All this data can be immediately and easily shared and accessed by both field and office workers. The immediate and continuous collection of data ensures that the maturity of the concrete is understood and helps determine whether or not construction can proceed. The fact that data can be viewed, analyzed, and shared in real-time reduces wait time and ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding the concrete’s temperature and strength.
COMMAND Center™ software is free, and for firms that already use iOS devices in the field, there is no need to invest in costly maturity readers. See how our customers are using COMMAND Center™ to save millions of dollars and hours of construction time.
