Many a times while managing construction projects, the things may go off the track due to lack of proper surveillance of the job-sites. According to the Project Management Institute, nearly 15% of the construction projects fail completely.
Even among those that succeed, approximately half of them fail to fulfil the commitments on time, 43% suffer from over budget and 32% fall short in some aspects of product delivery. Thus, proper planning of time, money and material remains the three hurdles that prevent a project from becoming a success. So, what is the way out?
‘Progress Tracking’ is your answer!
Yes, you heard it right. Although it might sound too simple a means to achieve a successful project, but progress tracking is all that you need to bring the ball to your court.
Progress tracking is nothing but the way to provide a record on development of your project, either monthly, weekly or on a daily basis. This helps all the concerned stakeholders to keep a track of the schedules, check the costs involved, and analyze the productivity of the team as a whole. It gives the owner a holistic view of how his project is progressing, that enables him to ideate about the actions to be taken in the times to come. Progress tracking may involve something as simple as manually inspecting the progress of a wall to keeping a track of the minutest error on each floor of a building.
What is the traditional method of progress tracking used in the construction industry and what are its lacunas?
Traditionally, progress tracking in many construction jobsites is conducted through manual construction photography. Generally, the Project Engineers or Field Engineers walk down the site, click pictures of the progress of the project manually and note down the approximate percentage of the work completed after making certain calculations in their head. These observations and calculations are then entered into the Excel and eventually uploaded in scheduling software.
However, this traditional method of progress tracking has inherent loopholes. The four major loopholes are:
Cumbersome & Time-taking
The entire process from manually walking down the jobsite, to clicking pictures, to manual documentation requires a lot of time, often days, that makes it impossible for the remote stakeholders to have an instant site visibility of the current jobsite condition.
Requires More Manpower
Progress tracking of the construction jobsite through manual means require a huge manpower which otherwise could be utilized for higher ROI tasks.
Inaccuracy
Manual tracking of construction jobsite progress is generally inaccurate since it is based on manual calculations. Inaccurate calculations hamper further project planning, which is one of the prime reasons for project delays and over-budgeting.
Human Prejudice and Biasness
There are ample chances of lack of rationality on the part of the employees while performing manual progress tracking, which may lead to false reporting.
How does AI leverage Construction Jobsite Progress Tracking?
Automated Progress Tracking is a method that uses technologies like AI and vision intelligence for construction jobsite progress tracking with instant and quick calculations through low human intervention. Generally, automated progress tracking makes use of 360° photo documentation technology in order to have a detailed record of the project and to have a real-time video data analysis. Automated Progress Tracking helps to generate quick and accurate calculations of the entire jobsite progress, work rates, installed quantities, and the estimates of completion dates, thus ensuring better transparency in the workflow and avoiding rework in the construction jobsite.
What are the advantages of Automated Progress Tacking?
Automated Progress Tracking has several advantages over the traditional method of progress tracking that could be understood from the following points:
Error-free and accurate progress tracking
Instant and automated visual documentation
Increases efficiency and safety in the construction jobsite
Saves time and labour
Enables the remote stakeholders to have an instant site visibility
Enables the stakeholders to achieve trend-oriented reports
Brings better transparency in the workflow
Prevents rework
What is viAct’s Construction Site Progress Tracking Module?
Looking into the importance of holistic tracking of the construction jobsite progress and the various lacunas inherent in the process of manual progress tracking, viAct has developed its smart Construction Site Progress Tracking Module. This smart AI & computer vision enabled module is well trained and tested to track the progress status of different works, such as concrete, rebar, formwork, on an everyday basis.
Moreover, viAct’s recent integration with Autodesk Forge® and Autodesk Construction Cloud® has further enabled the clients to view their construction site in a 3D space. This integration has resulted in a cloud-based digital twin that provides complete 3D monitoring capabilities, that facilitates a holistic tracking of the jobsite, starting from the first brick to the last breath. In addition to this, post-integration the clients have an additional benefit of comparing day-to-day status of their jobsite with the planned design to detect any incorrect installation and thereby take immediate mitigation measures before it is too late.
Thus, viAct’s scenario-based AI is the perfect solution to keep the construction jobsite progress on track and to ensure on-time project completion.