New Delhi Construction companies are turning to artificial intelligence to monitor sites to efficiently manage the quality of projects and ensure the safety of both workers and equipment.
While the adoption of AI by construction firms is still at an early stage, industry executives said the technology has helped reduce wastage and theft of resources, track visibility on site, and increase security and efficiency.
Given that there are resource-intensive occupations in the construction of buildings, dams, roads, the waste rate is high. To improve resource utilization, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Tata Projects have turned to emerging technologies. For example, L&T is using image and video analytics to assess the productivity of workers at plants and construction sites.
Anoop Sahai, Head of Corporate Strategy and Special Initiatives, L&T said, “Our project sites, manufacturing base and over 250,000 employees are now digitally connected. This has helped us improve our workforce during the pandemic. 70- 75% of the projects are using AI-enabled digital solutions,” he said.
AI has also provided faster turnaround times for transit mixers, which are used for mixing cement etc. In addition, AI-enabled cameras are helping track workers who are not following proper safety protocols. such as wearing shoes, jackets, helmets and face shields. Sahai said the cameras use computer vision technology to detect disturbances on site and alert project supervisors. It is also important to know how many vehicles entered a construction site and what raw materials they were carrying, said Atul Rai, chief executive of AI solutions provider Stack, which can help avoid theft and wastage.
Rai provides Jarvis, an AI-based software, to Tata projects that allows it to track the movement of vehicles and raw materials, besides protecting workers. In addition to analyzing materials, image analysis using cameras monitor both types of vehicles in construction areas.
L&T, too, has launched similar initiatives using technology to automate Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and vehicle identification models to receive materials at project sites without manual intervention.
Rai said that given that the construction sector mainly uses unorganized labour, with even large companies employing third party workers, it is important to track workers. “In many cases, a contractor may charge for 30 laborers but only 15 people are working. Computer vision tools also help solve this problem.”
On-site cameras use facial recognition software to count the number of workers. This allows companies to take attendance and employ enough workers.
Stack is in talks with two other manufacturing companies to deploy Jarvis, but Rai did not disclose the names. He is also pitching computer vision tools to track progress at a dam construction site. G Sundararaman, Senior Vice President and Head Automation Solutions, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, said, “The use of AI/ML for manufacturing factories, commercial buildings and commercial spaces is coming. “It is not used effectively by firms right now. , but it is growing in some application areas,” he said.
While manufacturing majors are early adopters of AI, Sundararaman said smaller companies are also showing interest.
“They know that remote visibility, remote control and a remote understanding of site performance can help them make better use of their time and resources and grow the business,” he said. However, unlike other technologies, COVID was not the major driver for its use. AI in Construction. Firms felt that projects were facing budget overruns due to huge delays as there were no transparent digital records to identify vulnerabilities. “New technologies will help bring in the level of accountability towards organizations,” Sundararaman said.