Team #5 // LiveSite
Executive Summery
80% of construction projects are over budget, do not respect the initial deadlines, and suffer from quality issues. Decades of IT innovation have not solve this problem because the industry has failed to adopt them into its practices. The aim of our solution is to overcome these problems by taking full advantage of the digitalization of the higher ups in construction, by giving digital tool to the low man on the totem pole. Instead of just another planning system, using the mobile application to collect data right at the source (on-site) from the workers themselves allows continuous quality control even remotely. This will improve the synchronization of the different tasks and dramatically reduces reworking costs.
Problem
We are addressing the challenge of making the construction industry more digital.
After some research and feedback from Kemp & Lauritzen A/S we found that softwares already exist now, but nobody uses it. One main reason is that there are too complicated.
Construction building requires a high collaboration between many subcontractors, their team and the owner. Its complexity comes from the fact that construction is at the beginning a very abstract idea and project that has to be implemented in sometimes very complex and unpredictable real life. Most of the mistake in the construction process come from a poor synchronization: too many subcontractors start working on their task without being sure that the previous task has been completed.
Few quality control check during the process sometimes leads to a partial demolition of the building due to a task covered without review from the quality control check. The lack of an optimized quality control check causes delays, unsafe or unregulated, and furthermore unsustainable building practices.
Target user / Customer
Our Target Customer is Contractors. We want them to buy our product and instill it into their Quality Control Process and have the key users being Foreman, Quality Control, and Schedule Specialist.
Your solution and how the concept is feasible
Our solution to making Construction Digital is to insert a Phone application onto the work site for foreman to report on progress and potential problems. This is then turned into a quality control document and a schedule update to the various digital platforms.
According to a specialist 90% of the task can be quality checked using a picture. The last 10% are required to be on field but may be also controlled by the use of a video. It all starts for a constatation, nowadays, there is almost nothing that a picture can’t tell than a person on a field can. Also, construction field is one of the last that is staying really opaque, in a big data and artificial intelligence world, why is there almost no data recorded during the construction period?
Our solution would offer to all the stakeholders a full transparency on the entire processus. It is the key of a full trust and a way to empower as much as we can everyone.
Our solution is based on multiple project phase:
- Using a continuous and real-time application which will facilitate the task of the quality control manager
- On top of this application, developing machine learning on collected data. Machine Learning will enable the release of the quality control manager from these time-consuming and boring checks. It should be understand here that these checks are only a smart part of the quality control manager job, our solution doesn’t take away a job, it makes it more attractive.
AN EASY APPLICATION PERSONALISED FOR EACH USERS
The team manager view
The main reason why no software is used on the field is because it is always too complicated. Our solution provides a easy application, self-teaching that will be used directly in the field.
Each task handle by the team will have a quality control check through this application. The manager will record progress of each task minimum two times per day. He records progress by taking a picture, sets a percentage of the work done with comment. That’s it. This record is then sent by the software to the quality control manager who gives feedback on it.
A task could be either validated and if the work is done at 100%, sent to the project manager for an update of the time schedule or unvalidated which involves a comment of the quality control manager. This task will then be fixed as quickly as the feedback of the quality control manager is received in the field.
The quality control manager view
The quality control manager will then receive a task to verify as the day goes on. Our application will be easy and fast, such that he could be the most efficient as possible.
Each task that has to be controlled will appear on his list, he will access the picture, the progress grade, the eventual comment and information on the task such as location and requirements…
In order, he will proceed through them and give feedback. At each control, a notification on the application will be send back to the foreman to attest a good job or to notify of issues. In case an issue is detected, a feedback is required, which the team manager will be able to fix quickly. The quality control manager can see the history of pictures and comments of each task of needed.
THIS DOUBLE VIEW APPLICATION RECORDS DATA WHICH WILL BE INCORPORATED TO A WIDER INTERFACE
This interface is accessible by the quality control manager to have an overview on the history for each task, by the owner, the subcontractor and the workers. A track of these controls and picture could help a better sharing of responsibility along the construction process.
This interface provide a simple searching by the feature of their choice (location, task name, subcontractors …)
GO FURTHER WITH MACHINE LEARNING
By training our model on the database recorded by our application, we will be able to automatically control tasks and send the corresponding feedback. The measure of our output errors will be evaluated based on the feedback given by the quality control manager.
Furthermore our application will be used on different field, more our data will become relevant and our model accurate. Artificial intelligence is one of the most efficient and recent method used nowadays in anomalies detection. In all type of sciences, this constitutes a very powerful tool in order to transform experience and data into reliable conclusion.
Four unique value propositions
- Ease of Use: The starting point of any tool is to be adapted to the users.
- Continuous quality control: A real-time overview on what is happening on the field is the main step to avoid mistake and delays. By a continuous following of the construction process, we minimize the environment impact, improving safety and we are saving cost and time to all people concern by the project.
- Intuitive Database of Documentation: Through our service, we will collect data which can be used in multiple purpose such as applying Machine Learning to facilitate quality manager job or sharing responsibilities between subcontractors in a better way.
- A subcontractor feedback system: Positive and negative feedback are the basics to every learning and approvement.
Financials
Our business model would be to create a subscription service for a niche market of contractors to buy and let their subcontractors use. This revenue would be of varying price depending on the amount of users and the amount of data eventually stored by the contractor on our systems. We would have a customer relationship of personal assistance. Our main partners would be investors and contracting companies, as well as the download platform (google play/app store). Our main costs would lie in the app development/maintenance and employee salary. Our key resources being UX design, AI implementation, business understanding, and IT knowledge amongst the founders. We would reach our customers through word of mouth and digital marketing.
Impact
Our project is here to help and support the construction building process. The efficiency of the process is the key element, we have to do it well and fast. It is about the place where we live, we work, our kids learn and our families gather. A building has to be safe and inspires trust, it is absolutely necessary to have the certainty that each element, even complex, is fulfilling the required safety demand.
Our solution would create a more efficient construction site, therefore reducing the average of 80% overrun on all construction sites. LiveSite has been conceived to impact as much as possible the construction process, to modernize it, to bring us into the digital age.
This application would have an important impact on the quantity of material used during the construction process. Building and rebuilding some elements is really costly and wasteful in material. Indeed, it is quite ordinary to do so once unconformities have been detected: by reducing the number of mistakes in the process, the quantity of material can be reduced. A solid knowledge of the building leads to a better optimization and maintenance operation if needed and an eased evolution into a more sustainable building in the future. Finally, it also facilitates the recycling of materials from destroyed buildings.
By implementing this solution, we are taking a step toward in the sustainability of our cities.
Link for more information
- Walkthrough with iKontrol application (appendix)
- Interview on construction site (appendix)
- Sustainable Development sustainabledevelopment
- Statistics construction-industry-statistics-to-improve-productivity
Team
Emma Lanctuit (Computer Science): When I saw the I-Ox challenge, I have been attracted by the process : Two days for building a team and find together a solution to one problem. I found in the restricted time the challenge I was looking for. I wanted to show myself how far we can go by brainstorming in a such short time and how important it is to have multiple points of view from different backgrounds. In addition, I was impressed by our team, our collaboration and our listening to each other. I really have the feeling that there is a part of each of us in the solution we are presenting to you today. I learned a lot during this weekend, met really nice people and I’m convinced that we haven’t only come up with an idea but also with a nice and sustainable relationship between all of us.
Johannes Reiche (Artificial Intelligence and Data Science): The prospect of working with some talented people with different skill sets was a great motivation for participating in Oi-X. I wanted to challenge myself by working with the construction sector which i didn’t have any knowledge of beforehand. Furthermore, i was interested to see if my skill sets in data science and AI could be a part of the solution.
Juliette Vincent ( Civil Engineer): Belonging to a team, and building all together a project has improved my communication skills and taught me in what extend listening to people is beneficial for the project. I have discovered some other aspects of civil engineering: the reality on the field. Working with my team made me realize that it is possible to create a real and valuable project, and I didn’t know that it would be possible in such a short time. Finally, having the opportunity of talking with professional of the construction sectors as equals is also a very rewarding experience.
Kristine Fisker ( Design and Innovation): I wanted to test the methods I have learned for project management and idea generation together with people from very different backgrounds, to practice how to make a productive process where everybody feels heard. Oi-X didn’t disappoint, and it’s a long time since I’ve learned so much. My specialties are user interaction, idea generation, graphic design, and user experience design.
Durant Mangum ( Industrial Engineering and Management): When I approached this development weekend, I was motivated by the opportunity to grow as a person, to challenge myself, and to make friends. Academically, I am fascinated by the various ways people manage projects, specifically in construction. I would like to translate this into the renewable energy sector to move the world forward and away from our fossil fuel addiction.
Group Members
List full name and e-mails (preferably not your student e-mail)
- Durant Mangum – durant.mangum@gmail.com
- Emma Lanctuit – emmalanctuit@hotmail.fr
- Johannes Boe Reiche – johannesreiche@hotmail.com
- Kristine Fisker – kristinefisker@gmail.com
- Juliette Vincent – juliette.victoire.vincent@gmail.com
