The construction industry is booming. After taking a hit in the pandemic’s early stages in 2020, it’s now surpassed pre-pandemic GDP levels. Total construction spending reached record-high levels in mid-2021, contributing more than $20 billion quarterly to the economy. And although many firms are still struggling with workforce shortages leading to project delays, the construction outlook remains exceptionally strong.
As the post-pandemic surge of building activity continues to climb, our teams at Pivot International are delivering connected (smart) construction solutions to help companies worldwide capitalize on this rapidly expanding market. Pivot’s diverse suite of digital technologies and extensive experience in IoT and sensors make us the go-to partner for smart construction solutions that optimize the value chain.
The Profit Potential of Connected Construction Solutions
The industry landscape is assuming new contours as engineering firms, contractors, and other stakeholders across the value chain recognize the profit potential of deploying IoT construction solutions. These solutions deliver a single platform that integrates people, processes, equipment, and job sites. This, in turn, provides unprecedented visibility into the complex interrelationships between these variables, revealing otherwise unseen opportunities to drive efficiency across the value chain. Armed with this data, companies can easily identify areas of improvement, reduce downtime, and more effectively manage asset utilization and operations.
Applications for Connected Construction Solutions
These solutions are now available in everything from building information management (BIM) to digital supply networks, prefabrication, modular construction, asset tracking, and equipment performance. For instance, IoT sensors can be easily attached to cranes, articulated trucks, backhoes, boom lifts, dozers, and other devices to provide live data and site visibility. Applications of smart construction solutions also include this custom control panel that Pivot’s subsidiary, MCC Electronics, created. It features vinyl overlay, LED indicators and switches, and joystick controllers for easy operation in an extended bucket or platform.
Regardless of the application, IoT and sensor-enabled technologies deployed through digital twinning, predictive maintenance, and other approaches represent the state-of-the-art in value chain optimization for the construction industry. Construction executives are increasingly investing in these solutions and emerging technologies that draw their power from advanced analytics. Investment in these areas is increasingly being supplemented by investment in command centers and control towers. These assets provide enhanced levels of visibility necessary for dramatically eliminating drag across an integrated portfolio of projects.
Front-End Applications That Help Companies Scale
As connected construction keeps pace with broader trends in Industry 4.0, data, analytics, and user-based insights will prove increasingly critical. Moreover, connected construction promises to help companies reap benefits that extend beyond making the critical move from solving problems reactively to solving them predictively. (Or avoiding them altogether.) Smart construction solutions are also being powerfully deployed at the front end of projects. By driving the integration of modularization and prefabrication into design and build processes, firms can better scale their build and sourcing capabilities. This approach has much in common with DFM (Design For Manufacture), a Pivot specialty that integrates and optimizes the design, engineering, and manufacturing phases of new product development to ensure scalable production.
A Boon to DBOOM
The end-to-end operations of companies embracing the DBOOM model (Design-Build-Operate-OwnMaintain) are well-supported by smart construction solutions that drive down costs and reduce project emissions — not only during design and build but during actual operation. For instance, Pivot created this HVAC sensor control network that measures the temperature in large buildings and maintains it to preset parameters.
Connected construction solutions will continue to represent areas of peak investment over the next several years as companies connect, integrate, and automate their operations to optimize the value chain. As digital evolution marches ever closer to achieving critical mass, company leaders will increasingly reap the benefits of data-informed approaches to driving growth.
Looking for a Proven Partner to Help You Develop a Connected Construction Solution?
Pivot brings a half-century of advanced NPD expertise across fourteen industries and six markets and an internationally award-winning portfolio of smart products. With 320,000 square feet of manufacturing capability worldwide (including domestic options in the American Midwest), we will collaborate closely with your team to help you develop and successfully launch your innovation. If you’d like to learn more about we can support your company’s growth, contact us today!
