WHERE WE’RE HEADED: A LOOK INTO HOW TECHNOLOGY TRENDS APPLY TO ROAD BUILDING ORBA Convention 2015 #ORBAconvention

LAUREN HASEGAWA Co-Founder, Bridgit

Lauren is a Structural Engineering graduate with a background in concrete restoration. As a young engineer, Lauren has always had an interest in how new technologies can improve efficiency and productivity on construction projects. With this passion, she founded Bridgit, a mobile and web communication platform for the construction industry in 2012. Bridgit focuses on developing mobile-first solutions that can help relieve on-site pain points, such as deficiency management. Lauren is an active m e n t o r t o y o u n g w o m e n i n engineering and a frequent speaker at local and national industry events focused on construction innovation.

Technology is evolving at an exponential rate

It took less than 40 years to go from the first PC

to the first iPad

… and just 4 years to go from the first iPad to

Google Glass

We need to pay attention to emerging trends in

technology

LET’S TALK ABOUT… 1.  Paperless Jobsites Finally Being

Attainable

2.  Massive Improvements in Site Photography / Video Options

3.  The Internet of Things Hitting our

Roads

1. PAPERLESS JOBSITES ARE FINALLY ATTAINABLE

•  Dynamic documents. Notes and updates recorded on paper cannot be searched, duplicated or properly digitized

•  Data opportunities. Everyone is talking about “big data” sets these days. With paper, you essentially have no data.

•  Enhanced sharing & communication. Digital documents can be shared, updated and accessed in the click of a button. This makes communication much easier, especially on large projects.

Why Paperless?

•  It’s fairly impossible to go paperless without leveraging cloud-based document storage

•  Cloud-based document storage allows you to work on live documents (no versioning required) and share permissions as required

TREND ALERT: Cloud-based Document Storage

Ex: Custom File Hierarchy and Permissions

Storing documents, photos and files in the cloud can be done using an enterprise system like Egnyte, SharePoint, Box or simpler solutions such as Google Drive and Dropbox.

Using the Cloud – Storage Options

When you’re working towards going paperless, the hardware you have available on-site is key.

•  Rugged and durable

•  Large screen sizes

•  Enough hardware to go around

The Proper Hardware is Key

Some processes will need specific software solutions in order to thrive in a paperless environment.

In road building, the following areas are great targets for mobile apps since they are done on the go:

•  Safety checklists

•  Material and equipment tracking

•  Timesheets

•  Inspection checklists

TREND ALERT: Mobile Apps

Going paperless is best done as a gradual process. You can start small and still see big results! •  Use the cloud to share. Start by analyzing everything that gets

printed and identifying if there are any opportunities to share this information over email or as a file stored in the could instead of printing

•  Invest in proper hardware. Often times, screen size is the biggest reason that documents need to exist as a hard copy instead of digital. Better hardware such as TV screens or tablets can help here

•  Research the software options / mobile apps. Identify opportunities to use software instead of manual processes and begin investigating effective solutions

Going Paperless: Where to Start?

2. MASSIVE IMPROVEMENTS IN SITE PHOTOGRAPHY / VIDEO OPTIONS

Site photography is about to become more important

than ever

Site photography is used in three basic situations:

1.  Pre-construction for surveying of terrain, environmental issues, etc.

2.  Construction progress photography

3.  Maintenance management

The Current State of Site Photography

The options for high quality aerial images have been historically expensive and cumbersome.

•  Satellites

•  Helicopters

•  LiDar Maps

The Current State of Site Photography

The photos are then manually reviewed by field engineers and compared

with separate models / specifications

While helpful for the time being, field engineers agree that these processes are:

•  Highly subjective as they are based on one field engineer’s judgment or experience

•  Tedious as they require manual effort

•  Difficult to scale, again, due to their manual nature

How Current Photography is Failing Us

•  Making photography less manual via the use of drones and UAVs (more on that later!)

•  Using systems to automatically map together series’ of individual photos and match them to a model

•  Using these model overlays to identify deviations from the plan or damages

Where Site Photography is Headed

How would you take this photo?

+

Some companies in the civil construction space have already begun to experiment with drone enabled photography •  Taking aerial imagery of a site prior to construction and

integrating the model over top

•  Digitizing graphical terrain of an area for construction and bringing that into the model

•  Surveying areas, quantity takeoffs and analyzing environmental issues

TREND ALERT: Drone / UAV Photography

In addition to simple photography or video, imaging technology is advancing at a rapid pace.

We will soon have

commercial access to

options like 360

degree video.

Taking Drone Photography a Step Further

How would you take this photo?

Yes, however the Canadian regulations regarding unmanned aerial vehicles are always changing. Transport Canada unveiled new guidelines in the Fall of 2014 which essentially say:

•  Follow the rules set out in the Canadian Aviation Regulations

•  Respect the Criminal Code as well as the federal, provincial and territorial laws related to trespassing and privacy

Are Drones / UAVs Legal?

Researchers at the University of Illinois are working on a solution that will do this using drones, plus it will allow images to be mapped to the original plans to identify deviations

They are testing with:

•  Turner

•  Zachry Construction

•  University of Illinois

Capturing Construction Progress Using Autonomous Vision-Based Systems

Definition - What is 4D?

The 4th dimension represents time. 4D involves being able to see a location as it

looked in the past, present and future (model overlay)

This system will enable users to align a set of photographs with 4D building models to allow for new modes of construction-site interaction.

TREND ALERT: 4D Building Models

If you are interested in testing aerial video via drones on your next project, here are the initial steps to take:

1.  Identify a project and contact Transport Canada to confirm aerial regulations in that area

2.  Secure Transport Canada Insurance and Liability Insurance

3.  Secure Transport Canada flight permit (currently 10+week wait after insurance is purchased)

4.  Determine if you are going to invest or outsource (recommendation is to outsource for initial trials)

5.  Set goals for your first trial (what information do you 100% want to capture)

6.  Examine footage and identify future opportunities

Drones in Canada: Where to Start?

Recommendations provided by:

3. THE INTERNET OF THINGS IS HITTING OUR ROADS

Definition - What does Internet of Things (IoT)

mean?

Everyday objects that are connected to the internet and are able to identify

themselves to other devices.

IoT AT HOME nest Thermostat

IoT AT HOME Roomba Vacuum

IoT AT WORK IFTTT work automation

IoT ON-SITE See Control

IoT ON-SITE Smart Structures

•  Embed intelligence into the elements that make up a bridge foundation

•  Sensors are embedded directly into the concrete

•  Enable real-time testing of all foundation elements

The UK’s A14 becomes the first “smart” road with Interconnected

Network of sensors

•  Automated toll charge payments

•  Monitoring for road traffic patterns

•  Adaptive speed limit setting

•  Direct communication with drivers

•  RFID tags inserted intro pre cast concreted (Smart Structures)

•  Communication between roads and drivers regarding traffic patterns, weather conditions , etc.

•  Traffic pattern tracking and real-time reactions from the roads

TREND ALERT: IoT Technologies embedded into our roads

•  Start playing around with simple IoT integration services like IFTTT to automate things in your day to day. Ex: Automatically upload photos taken on your phone to Google drive (great for site photos!)

•  Ideate on how these same types of relationships would make sense on-site. Ex: Would it be better to upload these photos to another location?

•  From there, you can contact various IOT technology providers to learn more about their solutions, or platforms for building customizations for your company

IoT: Where to Start?

Solutions are all around us.

It’s time to start the conversation.

•  Stay informed

•  Encourage discussion

•  Identify problems and seek solutions

•  Be open-minded, but stay critical

•  Support evolving industry initiatives related to technology

What seems like a stretch of the imagination today, may

well be the reality of tomorrow.

Finally, some punch list therapy. Use Closeout to easily manage your punch lists in real-time from your mobile phone or computer. Watch the overview video or request a 1:1 demo to see how Closeout can give your team some much deserved punch list therapy.

Lauren Hasegawa Co-Founder, Bridgit

lauren@gobridgit.com

www.gobridgit.com

Thank you.