6 Construction Innovations Taking over Legacy Practices

The construction industry has used traditional headlamps for a long time. Construction firms are now adopting innovatively designed hands-free headlamps with numerous extra features.

Construction Tech Review | Thursday, August 22, 2019

Various technological innovations are injecting productivity, efficiency, and work safety into construction practices. The industry heads towards the smarter era!

FREMONT, CA: Technology has advanced at a rapid pace. Just like every other industry, the construction industry has seen numerous developments to equipment, practices, and operational processes. All of the developments can easily be attributed to the growing technological prowess of construction companies. Several innovative application of modern technologies has disrupted age-old models of construction, enhanced productivity, improved safety, and ensured reduced wastage and costs. Although the adoption of disruptive new technology has come about slowly, the industry is now looking forward to large-scale transformations with far-reaching implications. Some innovations that are already making a difference are listed below.

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• Modern Headlamps

The construction industry has used traditional headlamps for a long time. Construction firms are now adopting innovatively designed hands-free headlamps with numerous extra features. These make construction workers visible at night, thereby increasing safety. These come with rechargeable batteries and provide workers with 360-degree visibility during work. A significant addition to the list of safety wearables, these lights are making working at night conveniently.

• Smart Clothing

Smart and customized clothing for construction workers is a significant development. These wearables not only provide high levels of safety but also empower workers to do their jobs better and faster. Working in construction sites means, one can be exposed to unpredictable factors. Smart and responsive clothing can help workers adjust in accordance with their surrounding, as these are programmed to vary with individual body temperatures. Other wearables like gloves have been designed to detect exposure to hazardous or toxic substances so that workers are alerted and avoid any mishaps.

• Smart Glasses

Safety glasses have always been crucial at work sites. Now, these glasses have evolved to become smarter and have incorporated many advanced features relevant to the construction industry. The smart glasses come with cameras embedded in them, have wifi access, and can take several kinds of measurements in real-time. Sometimes, earbuds and microphones are also added to them to make them a comprehensive set. The gadget has safety implications and also improves the quality of communication and coordination.

• Construction Drones

Drones have now become mainstream and have found application across many sectors. The construction industry has also adopted drones to gather valuable information at the work sites. The information has a lot of use. Sometimes, it is meant for the creation of site plans, contour maps, site surveys, and at other times, it is used to gain visibility into real-time monitoring of construction progress. The drones are agile and capture details rapidly from the best angles. In the near future, construction firms will be seen deploying intelligent and autonomous drones that will gather data for advanced analytics.

• Intelligent Measurement Devices

Although automatic measurements have been a part of construction work for some time now, there have been many recent innovations. A combination of hardware and software is allowing workers to carry out convenient measurements even at hard-to-reach places. Many of these devices are portable and can be mounted on a smartphone or a tablet. With seamless connectivity and critical data capturing abilities, measurements and estimations are highly accurate and error-free.

• Smart Helmets

Smart helmets are a convenient tool for construction workers. The helmets have integrated features that allow timely access to information. With these helmets, workers can gain visibility, record videos, conduct mapping, and undertake navigation. Thus, along with the basic criteria of safety, these helmets are improvised to be of much more value.

Technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and robotics have many potential applications in the construction industry. Adopting the right combination can help the industry optimize productivity and minimize expenses.

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