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Construction and Technology 2001

October 25, 2001

In the field, wearable computers will change how work is done

  • Get data instantly. Check drawings on the fly. The benefits of wearables will be myriad, and efforts are now under way to produce them.
    • By BARBARA NEWLAND and CLARE OWINGS
    Special to the Journal

    Picture this: Inspectors are looking over a newly constructed building before it has been commissioned. Using wearable computers, they review suggestions and pull up site drawings and related documents for their final inspection report, which they e-mail back to the project team by wireless remote.


    "We need to be able to access data, drawings, and other information on demand remotely at the construction site. Wearable computers will allow us to do this."

    --Jim Porter,
    DuPont Co.

    Welcome to the future. Similar tools are already in use in the aerospace industry. They are also in the sights of the chemical plant construction, operations and maintenance industry.

    Now these technologies need to be adapted to the construction industry.

    Once that happens, onsite construction workers, engineers and inspectors will have the technology, applications and the real-time data at their fingertips to do their jobs more quickly. As a result, the way work is done will change dramatically.

    FIATECH, a research and development consortium of industry owners, operators and suppliers launched a two-year initiative in May to introduce wearable computers to the construction industry. The idea behind the initiative is simple — to seamlessly integrate hardware and software into lightweight, portable, secure, safe and effective wearable-computer systems for construction, operations and maintenance field personnel.

    What is FIATECH?
    FIATECH — Fully Integrated and Automated Technology — was created in 1999 by the Construction Industry Institute. Its mission is to develop, deploy and commercialize technologies that accelerate the integration and automation of the construction industry. Members include major industry owners, operators and information technology suppliers. Information on the research and development consortium, its projects, and details on the “In Your Face Computing for Construction, Operations and Maintenance” workshop can be found at www.fiatech.org.

    Since then, work has progressed at a steady pace, taking care to ensure that current work, business and operational practices form the foundation of the initiative.

    Bringing wearables to reality

    Wearable computers typically include a microprocessor, memory, voice recognition, hard drive, head-mounted display with microphone, video-output adapter, handheld mouse and wrist-worn keyboard.

    The hardware must be accessible, lightweight and easy to use, and capable of withstanding all types of weather and environmental conditions. Equally important are screens that can be viewed in any type of lighting, shockproof cases for the computer, lightweight and rechargeable batteries, and a host of other functions and ergonomic features.

    With the right mix of hardware and software, wearable computers will become commonplace.

    Potential applications in the field are numerous, and the benefits of wearable computers are clear: access to critical safety information and updated documentation and diagrams, decreased work-cycle time, more up time and less rework. Such improvements will not only revolutionize the work processes for the capital projects and facilities industry, but will also dramatically affect the safety and economics at the site.

    At a recent FIATECH workshop, Carnegie Mellon demonstrated the use of wearable computers for conducting yearly vehicle inspections on trucks in Germany. Oxford Technologies shared examples of eliminating paper processes and multiple data-entry activities, which resulted in the reduction of personnel. Command Technology said it used wearables in aircraft tracking, which ultimately reduced product research by two-thirds, with much of that time spent looking up parts documentation and service bulletins.

    Wearables in the field
    Here’s an example of how a wearable computer might be used in the field. Say, during a mechanical inspection, an inspector notices that an instrument may have been installed improperly.

    Using his wearable computer, he pulls up the engineering drawing and checks whether the orientation is correct. Moving on, he checks whether the correct fittings were used and that the installation was accurate.

    The inspector concludes the installation was done improperly and notes this in his checklist. He then e-mails a change order to construction, requesting the reinstallation of the instrument the way it was designed in the engineering plans. He includes the design instrument number, the line and P&I drawing number. The inspector then updates his checklist, noting that construction has been contacted.

    “We understand that nearly 60 percent of an engineer’s time is spent researching and accessing data which is now largely dependent on paper,” said Jim Porter, vice president and operations chief engineer at the DuPont Co. “In today’s competitive environment, we need to be able to access data, drawings, and other information on demand remotely at the construction site. Wearable computers will allow us to do this.”

    Next steps

    To make wearable computers a reality in the daily life of a worker, the FIATECH project team will first record the activities of people in the field to understand how their work is done and how it can be enhanced with a wearable computer. Equally important, the team will document current business practices to enable site and home office integration to be smooth and effective. Industry requirements must be discussed with technology suppliers to ensure a commercially viable solution.

    The key to the project’s success is the continued building of research and industrial partnerships among users and suppliers. Using the past six months as a measure of success, the interest level is high, the partnerships are forming and the work has begun.

    In the next few months, the “In Your Face Computing for Construction, Operations and Maintenance” project will have created a project plan and begun several wearable-computer pilot projects.

    This initiative has captured the interest and the energies of the capital projects and facilities industry, which is moving forward quickly to produce demonstrable pilots. The projects will be monitored closely, and a final report on each pilot will be presented at a future FIATECH meeting. Stay tuned.

    Clare Owings is an engineering project manager at the DuPont Co., a member of the FIATECH research and development consortium. She can be reached at clare.m.owings-1@usa.dupont.com. Barbara Newland leads marketing and membership activities for FIATECH. She can be reached at bnewland@fiatech.org.


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