Did you know that theft, vandalism, and arson remain the biggest challenges that construction companies face today?
With valuable materials such as copper, lumber, tools, and machinery left on the construction site, the total amount of materials being stolen ranges between 300 million dollars and 1 billion dollars annually, according to a National Equipment Register report in 2016.
Because of these alarming numbers, most construction companies need to update their tracking of the placement and number of materials released on a construction site.
When it comes to improving their construction inventory, here are the following technologies that they can use. Visit: Walker Handsets
Known Technologies you can use to upgrade your construction asset tracking systemÂ
RFID Tags
RFID tags or radio frequency identification tags are tags that rely on radio frequency to transfer information from the item to the scanner.
The advantage of using one is that it allows a company to have the ability to scan multiple objects and do remote scanning.
The impracticalities that you can get in using RFID tags are that it is expensive to have and maintain, only works for limited types of devices, and require the proper scanning position to recognize the item correctly. For more info Visit: Walker handset
NFC Tags
NFC (Near-Field Communications) tags are similar to RFID tags. But unlike the RFIDs, NFC tags can work on smartphones that support NFC scanning.
The main advantages of using NFCs are that they are easy and convenient to use. The drawback of using NFC tags is that the scanner needs to be closer to the tag to be recognized.
QR codes
A QR code or quick response code is another asset tracking technology that a construction company can use. It is fast, easy to use, low-cost, accurate, and can be read on various scanning devices, including smartphones.
They can simplify their asset tracking by integrating the details of the asset they need to track into the QR code generator they can use to generate QR codes.
GPS
A GPS or Global Positioning System is one of the valuable technologies that construction companies can use to locate the current position of the items being used for tracking. Using the satellites can give you a triangulated estimate of the position of the item.
The drawback of using one is that it can be unreliable in areas where no signal is received by multiple satellites to draw the exact location of the item.
Which technology is best to use for starting construction companies?
Suppose the price and longevity of the asset tracking technology are concerned. In that case, the technology that is best for a starting construction company to use is QR codes (given that the asset tracking system is implemented already).
Using QR codes, these companies can easily register their equipment details into the code and simply use them as a gateway to track the assets being monitored in a project.
Aside from using these 2D barcodes for asset tracking, construction companies can use them in varied ways.
They can use them to store a video of how to use the equipment properly, use a PDF QR code to store the e-certificate of the equipment or keep a digital business card of the construction company in it.
Why use QR codes for construction asset tracking?
Here are the following reasons why QR codes are best for construction asset tracking:
- Can be scanned using a smartphone
- Have a high-error correction rate
- Tracks equipment in real-time
- You can update data
QR codes can serve as a great offline to online tool to avoid getting your construction equipment stolen.
Today, with the latest improvement in technology, construction companies can also tap on the use of a QR code software to create custom QR codes for the equipment that will be used for better tracking and construction inventory.
