June 25, 2009

BIM gives jolt to radio frequency identification tag interest

The first time I wrote about RFIDs was back in 2004, when a few construction people had begun to realize how handy these little devices could be.

There were a few demonstrations of their uses, a few presentations at industry events in the United States, but mostly, nothing. A couple of years later there was another flurry of interest then nothing.

Now though, an organized push is about to begin to stimulate interest in RFIDs, to demonstrate the many uses they can be put to, and try to bring them into the mainstream of the construction industry.

RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification, still an emerging technology, but one that has already proven useful in many ways in other industries. It’s a form of wireless communication that automatically sends data so you don’t have to collect them manually. Those data can be anything from location to quantity, to vibration, to maintenance schedules.

An RFID tag is a radio-frequency transponder, which sends data to a transceiver, or “reader.” The information is then sent to a central server where it is organized and fed into software systems that do such things as project management, inventory management, and equipment management.

After a couple of years of relative quiet, RFIDs are sparking interest again — in part because of the growth of Building Information Management (BIM) systems, and in part because of our growing realization that remote monitoring of structures must be an integral part of any life-cycle management system.

The continental construction industry has slowly started to use RFIDs for tracking tools and equipment, where they are, when they’re due for maintenance, when they’re replaced — stuff like that. They are also used for tracking explosives, hazardous materials, even people. BIM software is being used to determine the exact location of such elements as precast panels and steel beams, or anything else that has been tagged with RFID.

RFIDs can send sensor data from construction sites when pouring concrete, for example, to help the user track temperatures, especially in cold-weather pours.

So if RFIDs can do all these things, why don’t we hear more about them?

Well, we’re going to. Because early this month a non-profit group was formed to help get the message out. It’s called the RFID in Construction Consortium, and its purpose is to establish and promote educational programs aimed at many areas in the construction industry around the world. It will also develop best-practice guides, and support the development of standards for RFIDs in construction.

In time, the organization will develop workshops to be offered to construction firms. It will also gather the results of work that has been done in the last two or three years, and hopes to have a report ready for publication by the end of this year.

The consortium is headed by Jose Faria, a professor in the department of construction management at Florida International University.

He said in an interview when the consortium was announced that the group will also issue white papers and journal articles relating to RFID’s construction applications. He also said he expects that regional chapters of the organization will be spun off to operate in Europe, South America and Asia.

But everything about the consortium is still new, including its website. You’ll find it at www.rfidinconstruction.org but so far it’s pretty skeletal.

In the months ahead, though, a lot of content will be added that will, before much longer, help designers and builders make RFID a part of many business operations.

Some of the most interesting work on RFIDs has been done, so far, in Germany. I’ll come back to some early results of the German work next week.

Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@dailycommercialnews.com

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