Automation is helping construction firms accomplish their most critical business objectives. How does your company’s transformation compare to what other firms are doing?
A study conducted by FMI and Hexagon reveals that more than half of construction leaders (60%) think autonomy will significantly impact four areas:
- Profitability
- Owner satisfaction
- Sustainability
- Market competitiveness
Most firms (84%) already use some form of autonomous technology in their operations, but there are many ways to use AI beyond basic project-management applications like billing and scheduling.
In fact, 78.9% of leaders plan on making additional investments in autonomous technology in the next three years. But just because they’re investing more in AI doesn’t mean they need to reinvent the wheel to do so. They can optimize equipment and processes already at work in the field.
Consider jobsite cameras, for example. Today’s AI-enabled cameras can give your team data they need to discern what’s happening on the jobsite by applying their own intelligence and determining what those numbers and values really mean. Turning data into action helps you improve profitability, owner satisfaction, sustainability and market competitiveness — the four key areas identified by leaders in the study mentioned above.
What’s an AI-Enabled Camera?
AI-enabled jobsite cameras deliver a variety of benefits to construction companies. These cameras connect to an app that uses AI to review the camera’s images, identify trends and chart information so users can understand and act on it in real-time.
While construction cameras capture what’s happening on the jobsite, AI breaks down what’s hidden within these images so that you don’t have to manually review them all, saving valuable time.
Some of today’s AI-enabled cameras even support sustainability efforts, operating through solar power to minimize the amount of energy they require to function.
Here's How You Can Utilize A Camera To Brace For The Future Of Autonomy
Owner Satisfaction & Market Competitiveness
Data gathered by AI cameras gives you valuable information about compliance and responsibility to differentiate your services and secure a spot in the market.
Advanced cameras that chart out activity data can help you focus on the intelligence work best left to humans: You can use your own intelligence to analyze, understand and investigate the data that’s easily served up to you. Your teams can spend time diving into what AI is telling them and developing their analytical skills. When deviations are combined into one dashboard, you’ll be able to quickly spot deviations and review historical performance to see where further investigation may be necessary.
For example, AI-enabled cameras can capture the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as hard hats or safety vests. Then, you can determine if additional safety training is needed.
Being able to generate these kinds of insights creates transparency and trust between you and your clients, giving owners more confidence in your work. This also gives your company an edge over competitors.
As another example, human intelligence can be applied to AI data that’s gathered from different projects so you can see how compliance ratings differ. If you notice a deviation between a current construction project and historical performance, for example, this may signal the need to investigate and determine what’s causing the safety issue.
Profitability
To improve profitability, you can use AI-generated data to determine which projects take your team the longest to complete. From there, you can identify commonalities between these types of projects to figure out why productivity dips — and what can be done to fix it.
As construction cameras capture activity throughout the day, AI can help you understand what’s happening in those images when it comes to work and weather.
For example, the technology can quickly identify when site activity begins and ends, and when activity is interrupted by weather. You can then apply your own intelligence to determine whether your team is logging enough time at the jobsite and compare trends by milestones and across projects to further evaluate what the data reveals. AI information can also help you determine why important project milestones were missed or why a subcontractor’s work can’t be completed by the original deadline.
Because AI can label camera images, they help you save time searching for the information you need in order to make decisions, which further boosts profitability. For example, by searching imagery using the keyword “forklift,” you can quickly identify the arrival and departure of construction equipment and building materials. To verify scheduling or billing, you can determine in a matter of seconds when a forklift arrived and how long it was in use by applying your own intelligence to this data.
You can also ask AI to let you know when a specific piece of equipment arrives to prevent mistakes and rework. For instance, if you want to know when the cement truck shows up, AI can send a real-time alert when it detects an image of that vehicle — and you don’t have to continuously watch for it. You can then monitor the camera’s live feed to make sure the truck heads in the right direction and pours cement in the appropriate place, avoiding rework so you can maintain profitability and timelines.
Meet Your Newest Assistant
Artificial intelligence can be your digital assistant, bringing new value to construction roles and changing how workers spend their time. The powerful combination of AI and human intelligence allows you to accomplish much more than you ever thought possible.
Discover how OxBlue’s construction security cameras help you embrace the combination of AI and human intelligence while improving profitability, owner satisfaction, sustainability and market competitiveness.
