Improving job site productivity with AI-powered telematics: Teletrac Navman

Intelligent site solutions can cater for the remote management of project sites.

As James French, Construction Solution Specialist at Teletrac Navman writes, adopting AI-powered telematics can improve the chance of sustained success in the infrastructure sector.

The infrastructure sector in Australia is one of the few with declining productivity. A lack of project coordination and low rates of technology and digital adoption are contributing factors. The result? Less profitability and growing insolvency; the industry recorded 28 per cent of total insolvencies at the end of 2021.

The added pressure of supply chain issues and labour shortages caused by the pandemic has increased the lead time in acquiring materials and resulted in surging prices. Having a streamlined, productive job site has never been more important for business success. As a project manager, embracing AI-powered technology and telematics can help improve the functioning of projects from start to finish, easing the burden of overseeing the day-to-day activities and freeing project managers to focus on strategic initiatives.

Here’s how adopting smart solutions can improve job site productivity, giving a company the best chance for long-term success.

Complete visibility to manage productivity remotely

While visibility is essential to ensure a project is operating productively, project managers can’t always be on site. Working in the office or attending meetings is a big part of a project manager’s day-to-day, and personnel can’t be in two places at once. Thankfully, intelligent site and equipment management solutions like Teletrac Navman’s TN360 or Site360 provide a broad overview of a project site, allowing management remotely and in real-time.

Equipment with telematics installed generates large amounts of real-time data. There are many benefits with this, including complete job site visibility and insights into productivity. Project managers can have access to data such as: which machines are on-site? Are they in use? And where are they located? This information frees project managers and other staff to complete day-to-day tasks with the ability to monitor the project remotely.

Real-time data coupled with historical data provides an accurate picture of how the job is progressing. It highlights what, if any, changes need to be made to improve outcomes and meet timelines.

Accurate data sharing between engineers, supervisors and traffic managers can also improve the traffic flow and safety of work sites.

Real-time data from multiple sources to inform decisions

When it comes to informed productive decision-making, real-time data is everything. Telematics can collect live data from multiple sources to give project managers an accurate overview of the entire project at all times of the day.

Traffic management can be automated, reducing the work burden on engineers, supervisors and traffic managers. When sites are becoming congested, alerts can help manage incoming and outgoing vehicles. Data from weigh bridges, onboard mass systems, and other sources can be integrated to provide valuable insights into how trucks are being loaded. Payload systems on wheel loaders and excavators help ensure that the trucks are not overloaded; this data is usually verified as a truck crosses a weighbridge before leaving site.

If, however, trucks are overweight at the weighbridge, this can indicate a problem at the loading dock. Real-time and integrated data help identify these issues, which can quickly be addressed, helping to improve productivity and traffic movement on site.

Access the data that’s important to you

Telematics systems collect incredible volumes of data. There is no requirement to sift through the data to find what you need; business intelligence metrics improve searches by simply querying the data through the smart AI engine. This ensures that only relevant data is provided.

At the same time, managers can give clients accurate, real-time progress updates — and showcasing this valuable service offering can help companies to win future tenders. All this information means operators can better predict projects and be as competitive as possible.

This information can also play a big part in future contracts; with a single source of truth and the ability to compare data from previous projects, bidding on future work is easier and the data more reliable. Based in the cloud, the data can be quickly accessed, and specific information related to individual components of a job is more readily available.

The future of project management

With intelligent technology, project managers have the insights available to help make better decisions to improve productivity and reduce costs, setting companies up for a successful project while giving them a leg-up to win future tenders. It’s the helping hand that operators need to build a productive, resilient, and lucrative construction business — one that’s here for the long haul.

This article was originally published in the August edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.