Real-time Tracking for Intelligent Construction Site Platform in Finland and China: Implementation, Data Analysis and Use Cases

Production control, especially lean construction approaches, has necessitated the needs of eliminating waste onsite. Though the collaborative methods such as Location-Based Management System (LBMS) and Last Planner System (LPS) have proven the improvement of productivities, the process of data collection has still remained manual, which could result in inaccuracy and incompletion. Automatically locating workers has been proposed to enable a method for production control in construction projects onsite. Thus, a platform is sought where an easy and passive tracking system is designed to enhance the production control processes. In recent years, Finland is experiencing crucial transition from traditional production to digitalization formation while China has been a model where massive construction takes place as cities are expanding over the economic booming. The extensive building activities require a smooth and automated tracking system that can control and manage resources onsite to monitor in real time and examine the productivities more efficiently. This paper presents case studies in Finnish and Chinese construction sites where the proposed real-time tracking system was implemented, and the tracking data were analyzed for purposes of operations management. The model combines Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and 3G/4G network as connection methods, and explores the movements and time information of workers onsite, aiming to establish an intelligent construction site platform, which can be used for managing resource flow within lean principles in Finland and China.