The results of the project, which took place on a major London construction site over a period of two months, could radically improve cost-efficiencies and the management of vehicles, tools and equipment on large sites nationwide. The trial is the first of its type in the sector and was prompted by the increasingly urgent need for monitoring the location and condition of construction assets in transit around sites.
Ross Hall, CEO BT Auto-ID Services, said: “The findings of this trial are highly significant and could lead to a complete transformation in the way the entire construction industry tracks its assets in the future.
“In the past it has proven difficult to track assets around large construction sites. The ever changing environment is hindered further by limited or no access to power or wired communications. By combining advanced wireless technologies with long battery life, we are able to increase asset visibility and reduce installation, integration, and reconfiguration times, leading to faster deployment and redeployment, resulting in reduced operational costs for our customer.”
BT was supported by asset-tracking specialist OxLoc in the project. Based on pioneering global positioning system (GPS) technology for location, global system for mobile communication (GSM) for data communication and ultra long-range active RFID for asset identification and monitoring, the resulting system had a self-contained battery source, which can be installed within 15 minutes and is capable of supporting a range of sensors to control and monitor asset condition.
Keith Dobson, CEO of OxLoc, said: “Construction companies are continually challenged with ensuring that expensive assets are secure and have maximum utilisation. Construction sites, with their multiple contractors and ever-changing environments, pose multiple risks including theft, misplacement, and unauthorised use of equipment. After the successful demonstration of this trial we are now in discussions to enable roll-out of the solution later in 2006.”
Quelle: Publictechnology, 30.03.2006
