Applications for Bar Code Technology in Construction

We have a lot of tasks in construction that could benefit from some automation. Perhaps the most tedious of all is the collection and recording of data. That data could be the time someone started work, when they took their breaks and when they quit working, along with the GPS coordinates of where they were on the jobsite each time that data was collected. It could also be the number of nails at the jobsite, along with the GPS coordinates of where they were, at noon on any given day so an order could be placed that would result in more nails where needed by the start of work the next day.

On many job sites those kinds of data collection and entry items either never get collected and entered, or they are a day late and a dollar short. The result is the data is pretty much useless for anything other than reacting to something. Efficiency can go up if we can be proactive and that means getting the data in time to actually do something that prevents a problem. And we all know that in construction we spend way too much time solving problems when we ought to be building things.

So, here's something that will make you want to go out in the parking lot and do handstands. There's no reason today that your lead carpenter couldn't punch the clock using his cell phone. You have a barcode on the wall at the jobsite, he scans it with his barcode scanner, the data, including the GPS coordinates, is time-stamped by the phone, transferred wirelessly to your computer in the office where it is automatically recorded in a time sheet.

Or, your super takes a tour of the site and using her cell phone scans bar codes on certain materials in particular worksite locations. She adds a quantity and presses the send button. The volume of material at that time and at that location is recorded on a data sheet at your computer, and if you have it set up really well those items having quantities that are at a lower level than a predefined threshold are rolled into a master order of materials from all job sites. At 3 pm you push the send button, the materials order goes in, and the materials are at the sites before the beginning of the next workday. There are no "we ran out of" excuses the next day, the job moves forward at amazing speeds, and you are a hero.

read more