Areas of IoT application within the construction industry
Title: Application of Internet of Things (IoT) in Construction Industry
Background of Research:
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system that is interrelated with computing, mechanical as well as digital machines, people and objects, along with providing a unique identifier (Elghaish et al. 2020). The construction industry undertakes work processes that are conducted in real-time, and the projects that are undertaken by them can maximize efficacy with the application of IoT. Thus, this research shall evaluate the different elements relevant to the application of IoT across the construction industry.
Business Problem:
The construction industry is facing different issues in respect to keeping track of the supplies, equipment and levels of the projects that are undertaken by them (Gamil et al. 2020). For any construction project, it is the foremost essential aspect to track the tools that are being utilized by the project along with the equipment and the workers responsible for accomplishing the activities of the project.
Research Justification:
With the application of IoT, the existing construction industry shall gain the benefit of tracking the tools and equipment of the construction projects. In addition to this, the workers and the tasks undertaken by them will be monitored effectively with the help of IoT. Therefore, with the help of this research, the application of IoT into the construction industry will be evaluated in an effective as well as efficient manner.
Research Aims and Objectives:
The primary aim of this research is to carry out evaluation of the different aspects of IoT applications within the construction industry.
The objectives of this research are,
- To effectively evaluate the application of IoT within the construction industry.
- To efficiently identify multiple benefits of IoT within the construction industry.
- To analyze the challenges that are posed at the construction industry at the time of implementing IoT.
Research Questions:
The questions directly relevant to this research are as under,
RQ1: What are the areas of IoT application within the construction industry?
RQ2: What benefits are gained by the construction industry with the application of IoT?
RQ3: What are the challenges faced by the existing construction industry during the implementation of IoT?
Limitations and Scope of Research:
The limitations of this particular research are that the research will identify the specific implementation of IoT within the construction industry rather than any other industry such as education, healthcare, agriculture, finance and several others.
The scope of the research is carry out efficient identification of the IoT application within the chosen industry and further identify the different aspects associated with the same. The benefits, challenges and areas associated with IoT shall be identified by the research.
Conceptual and Theoretical Framework:
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
(Source: Created by Author)
A conceptual framework can be utilized as one of the essential elements along with a figurative aspect, which provides the illustrations in order to link the different variables that will be undertaken for studying in the research (Varpio et al. 2020). Therefore, during this research of studying the application of IoT, the different aspects associated with the concept related to IoT along with the key findings of the construction industry will be done. In addition to this, the benefits of IoT for the construction industry as well as challenges that are faced by the construction sector during IoT application will be identified. The context of the research will be further aligned with the theoretical perspectives by the inclusion of present theories, which must match with the acceptance and development of technology. The above figure further displays the pictorial form of the elements that will be discussed in the research.
Benefits of IoT for the construction sector
Paul, Naik and Bagal (2020) highlighted the associated application of IoT in multiple areas of the construction sector in the form of different elements. The author stated that different kinds of sensors could undertake the processes of activation within a condition that is pre-decided, and the same can be further utilized for boosting the efficiency of management in different types of situations for setting and at the same time generating alarms. As mentioned in the literature, the construction projects are said to be bound with targets as well as deadlines. With the help of IoT mode, efficiency and readiness can be enabled, and as a result, the same, productivity of the construction industry can be improved (Oke and Arowoiya 2021). IoT asserts that people must be provided with less time for menial work, and in return for the same, they must be provided with additional time for communicating with the stakeholders of a project and generating innovative ideas for improving the delivery as well as customer satisfaction.
According to the viewpoints of Ismail, Bandi and Maaz (2018), construction processes that are undertaken in the construction industry requires material supply adequate for the purpose of ensuring that the project moves in a smooth manner. Thus, the author contradicted and stated that the late supply in terms of materials at the construction site could take place due to the scheduling of the activities and resources by the human in a poor manner. Therefore, with the help of IoT, the processes related to the supply unit can be improved and fitted with the assistance of a sensor, and as a result of the same, the quantity will be determined in an automatic manner along with automation of ordering processes.
However, Ghosh, Edwards and Hosseini (2020) focused upon maintenance areas that will be affected by the IoT application in the construction sector. The author stated that the consumption of fuel, as well as power, will result in wastage of the construction element in case the same is not managed in an effective manner, and as a result of the same, the actual cost of the project can exceed due to resource wastage. Therefore, the author mentioned in the literature that IoT can initiate the real-time availability of information and therefore, the status associated with every asset of the project can be known. The field sensors that can be gained by IoT helps in the prevention of wastage problems and assists in the monitoring of material conditions (Chen et al. 2020). The other areas of application that has been mentioned by the author involve the safety as well as security that can be achieved with the help of IoT application within the construction industry.
Benefits of IoT in the Construction Industry:
Oke, Arowoiya and Akomolafe (2022) mentioned the different benefits that can be achieved by the construction industry with the IoT application. The safety of workers is considered one of the major issues at construction sites. Therefore, IoT helps in reducing the risks associated with safety at sites because of the real-time tracking devices that are initiated by IoT along with the detector chips installed in heavy machined available at the construction site. Furthermore, during energy situations in the construction industry, alerts can be sent to workers making use of IoT devices in order to safeguard themselves from unexpected situation occurrences.
Challenges faced by the construction industry during IoT application
In contradiction, Mahmud, Assan and Islam (2018) stated about the resource management as well as budgeting benefit that can be achieved by a helping hand from IoT within the construction sector. Adhering to the project budget is considered one of the prime issues in the chosen industry. There are circumstances when the resources are not being managed in a proper manner as per their value. Thus, IoT benefits the real-time owners of construction projects in tracking and at the same time generating the plan related to complex budgeting. In addition to this, the cost of the project can be reduced with the help of IoT because the same provides with the benefit of keeping track and making plans for ensuring that the project gets delivered within the estimated time and the equipment, as well as resources, are also provided to the project within time as and when required.
Arslan, Ulubeyli and Kazaz (2019) mentioned the remote management benefit that can be achieved by IoT on a daily basis. IoT can provide the facility of managing the workers daily in a remote manner along with gaining access for evaluating the construction site. The access is as clear as a real-time view with the help of IoT. The real-time movement of the workers can be further gained by the project manager or the owner with the help of IoT. The author further stated that equipment such as drones that are enabled by IoT could be utilized for the purpose of gaining a safety analysis of the construction site. Therefore, the benefit of analyzing the progress of the construction site is gained.
Challenges faced by the Construction Industry during Application of IoT:
According to the viewpoint of Kiu, Chia and Wong (2020), there are different challenges that are faced by the firms belonging to the construction sector at the time of implementing the IoT. The high cost related to the investment of IoT is regarded as one of the major challenges for the industry. The author stated that implementation of IoT comes along with huge costs if the same needs to be implemented in a proper manner.
However, Chung et al. (2020) contradicted by stating that security challenges are major for any construction industry with the implementation of IoT. The process of putting data of the construction industry, such as a record of equipment and workers on online platforms with the utilization of IoT, can be dangerous in case of any sort of data breach. Hackers have the potential of leaking data of construction industries from online platforms that utilize IoT. Three types of data are at risk with the utilization of IoT, such as data in use, data at rest and data in flight. Therefore, the main challenge, which is faced by the construction industry is to ensure that data are safeguarded at the time of implementing IoT (Kim, Lee and Kim 2020). Different measures can be utilized for the purpose of ensuring the safeguard of crucial information.
Therefore, the above section has highlighted the different applications of IoT along with the benefits that can be gained by the construction industry with the implementation of IoT. In addition to this, the challenges occurring within the construction industry during the implementation of IoT has been identified. All the aspects have been identified with respect to the perspectives as well as viewpoints of different authors.
Conceptual Framework
Research Strategy and Approach:
The research approach is of different kinds, such as inductive and deductive. The inductive approach mainly undertakes the process of developing a theory for the purpose of analyzing relevant aspects of research (Vadstein et al. 2018). The deductive approach, on the other hand, undertakes measures for the purpose of evaluating the existing theory in order to gain relevant information about the research problem. Therefore, in order to undertake this research, a deductive research approach will be used by evaluating existing theories relevant to the research.
The research philosophy is also of different types such as positivism, interpretivism, realism and pragmatism. The pragmatism research philosophy undertakes the acceptance of concepts that are relevant to the context of research for supporting research actions (Rodrigues et al. 2021). The realism research philosophy is dependent upon the idea related to reality from human perspectives. In the interpretivism research philosophy, researchers undertake measures for interpreting elements related to study by integrating human interest. In the positivism research philosophy, factual data related to research are gathered by observations (Widdersheim 2018). Thus, positivism research philosophy shall be undertaken for this study as the data will be collected and further interpreted.
The research strategy that shall be utilized for this study is primary research. The primary research is conducted directly in the source of information, and as a result, the information is achieved from the primary source.
Data Collection Method:
The process of data collection is of two significant types primary as well as secondary data collection (Huynh et al. 2018). The primary data collection is a method that will be utilized in this research, and the data shall be gained directly from the data source by conducting the survey. All the data that shall be gained during the survey will be on the basis of the research questions. The collected data will be further analyzed for gaining appropriate findings for the research.
Population and Sampling:
The population who will be surveyed is the different employees of the construction industry and the construction projects. The sampling techniques which will be utilized for this research is both non-probability and, at the same time, probability sampling technique. On the other hand, the existing simple random sampling method shall also be utilized in order to gain perspectives and ideas on the topic in a better manner. Around 65 employees of the different construction industries with different occupations shall be surveyed. They shall participate in the survey for providing their perspective about the asked survey questions.
Data Analysis:
There is a shared existence of two primary techniques for performing data analysis, quantitative as well as qualitative data analysis techniques. Quantitative data analysis shall be conducted for the data that shall be collected through the conduction of primary research in the form of a survey (Shi et al. 2018). Quantitative data analysis is said to be the analysis of data that are based upon the number. In order words, it can be stated that quantitative data analysis undertakes initiatives for the purpose of converting data either into numbers or graphical format without leading to any change in the actual value. The data that shall be collected during the survey will be transformed into the pictorial format by converting the numeric or the percentage values of the data in the form of a graph. The data that will be gathered shall be directly related to the research topic and the questions of the research.
Theoretical Perspectives
The research will be conducted in such a manner that it follows all the ethical guidelines in a strict manner. Thus, it will be ensured that ethical guidelines are taken into consideration during the execution of the research. At the time of collecting primary data through a survey, it shall be ensured that none of the participants is forced for the purpose of taking part in the survey. The participants will not take part in the survey against their will. There shall not be any sort of symbol as well as logo of any particular company into the survey form that shall be provided to the participants as the same can lead to an advertisement. Therefore, all possible measures will be undertaken for assuring that the research is conducted only for academic purposes rather than any advertising purpose. The data that has been gained through the research works of other authors have been added with the help of citation in order to avoid any kind of plagiarism problem (Bobrovskij 2018). Therefore, reference is considered as one of the essential aspects for the research works that will be utilized in this research for gaining relevant data. Thus, no activity will be undertaken in a way that will violate the norms as well as regulations associated with the guidelines of ethics.
Figure 2: Gantt chart
(Source: Created by Author)
References:
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