Dualltech

Stuck with a overly complex acronym that may actually slow adoption of a promising technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are not a secret ingredient for driving construction to a brighter, safer and more efficient future—but imaginative use of the devices may be. RFID tags are electronic chips used to identify unique objects. They call out their digital names when interrogated by a signal from a reader device. They have been around for years, but the lightbulbs now are going off about their potential for leveraging data in construction.

Each chip is like a fingerprint. Put it on an object, like a precast component, and assign that fingerprint to the representation of the piece in the data behind your construction plan, and the data becomes attached to a very real object. On a stadium project, Skanska Buildings is using the tags to track precast components through a critical-path supply chain to make sure they are where and when they are needed.

That is pretty good for an electronic gadget most people thought was only good for catching shoplifters. Skanska took the technology a big step further by connecting the "gotcha" moment of reading the tag to critical steps in the construction process, achieving new levels of project performance.

Each time a tag is used to register an event, like the arrival of a critical piece on site or its placement in the structure, there is a date- and time-stamped register of the accomplishment. Productivity is a function of accomplishment over time. Pile up those touch-points and solid metrics for measuring productivity can't be far behind. Such productivity measurements have been something that the industry has been seeking and needing for a long time.

But as fine as that is, there are many new uses for RFID tags in labor applications. While some nay-sayers argue that ID cards using the technology are just another way for bosses to keep tabs on craft and other labor, they can enhance safety, productivity and security. Workers with the cards will have a tough time masquerading as someone else with bogus training and certification credentials. And just as it is critical to have a precast element or concrete delivery when and where needed, so it is with qualified workers. More than 400 projects around the world now are using an RFID-based personnel access system developed in South Korea.

The advances are real, and the U.S. can be an early adopter and investor in the technology. It often takes money to save money, but the returns can be manyfold.