Field Frequency: Students Test Equipment-Tracking Technology, Present Research Findings

While many college seniors were preparing for final exams, wrapping up the semester — for a group of university students from The University of Alabama — meant presenting the findings from a research project on technology used in the field to management at Brasfield & Gorrie.

A program unique to the Culverhouse College of Commerce, STEM Path to the MBA allows undergraduates in engineering, science and mathematics to learn business skills and take an early track to earning an MBA. Each year, students in the STEM Path to the MBA program work on projects with local companies. Brasfield & Gorrie teamed with Jovix by Atlas RFID Solutions to offer students the opportunity to apply technological applications in a construction environment.

During the spring semester, the students visited B&G Equipment and Supply to test equipment-tracking systems. This technology is designed to help monitor logistics, and track parts and equipment on active construction jobsites.

“Radio-frequency identification technology could be beneficial to large-scale projects,” said Brasfield & Gorrie Regional General Superintendent Jack Carter. “For a jobsite spanning several hundred acres, an RFID system could be valuable in tracking and finding the massive amount of materials needed to complete the job.”

Key findings from the research project included:

• Software needs to be user friendly
• Software needs to be mobile
• RFID locating software can increase jobsite productivity by 10 percent
• Proper jobsite setup is key to RFID success
• RFID tracking yields better construction schedules

Additionally, the students completed a second project testing a monitoring system able to detect the probability of equipment failure. Cranes were used to test the monitoring system. This predictive analysis is expected to help prevent schedule delays due to the breakdown and repair of major equipment on construction projects.

According to Brasfield & Gorrie Regional Director of Virtual Design and Construction Russ Gibbs, these projects expose students to technology careers in construction. “The construction industry today isn’t what it was 10 years ago. We are currently identifying and using innovative solutions and these students are on the forefront of what’s to come,” Gibbs said.