Digital solutions are also catching on at the construction site: PERI, an international manufacturer of formwork and scaffolding technology, is supplementing its digital offering with an Internet of Things (IoT) solution from Deutsche Telekom. Formwork is equipped with a tracker. Deutsche Telekom and SYFIT supply the digitally recorded data to PERI. In this way, the formwork can be located anywhere and managed digitally.
Digital solution instead of “man-machine” interface
On a construction site, formwork serves as surrounds for the concrete that will later form the building wall. Coordinating formwork for construction sites is challenging: it is erected according to requirements, filled with flowing concrete, dismantled again after the concrete has hardened and used elsewhere. Until now, PERI recorded and processed this data in a cumbersome way via the “man-machine” interface. In the future, the management of the formwork will be largely fully automated via the IoT solution from SYFIT and Deutsche Telekom.
Robust digital technology
In accordance with the harsh conditions of a construction site, the tracker is shockproof, waterproof and resistant to chemical substances. Shutterings on the construction or storage sites are found by the digital solution with up to one meter accuracy. SYFIT uses its BLE tracking solution (BLE: Bluetooth low energy) for this purpose. The device from the telecom partner retrieves its tracking data via existing Wi-Fi networks on the construction sites, for example. If the formwork is shipped over further distances, Telekom’s low-cost tracker predicts the delivery time or sends the storage location. In addition to Narrow Band IoT, Deutsche Telekom’s LTE-M and 2G networks are also used. Depending on the application, the data is stored in the Open Telekom Cloud, Deutsche Telekom’s cloud of things and the AYE-OT-Box of SYFIT. PERI accesses this via a service interface and administers the data on a customer-specific basis.
Find components faster
PERI sells and rents formwork. The tracking system from SYFIT and Deutsche Telekom significantly simplifies inventory and warehouse management. Due to the better overview of free resources and their locations, deliveries can be coordinated more easily. Even delivery routes are shortened to some extent. In addition, the solution also serves to protect against theft.
“Finding components in the construction yards, on the transport routes and across construction sites is difficult and is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Our goal was to solve this problem. Right from the start, we were convinced by the comprehensive and coherent concept, which we were able to tailor and optimise even better to our products through targeted further development measures,” says Wolfgang Span, responsible for digital solutions in the area of “identification & tracking” at PERI. “The almost collegial, cross-company collaboration has led us to a result that we can offer our customers without reservations.”
“Digitisation in companies can often start on a small scale and still have an enormous impact”, says Dennis Nikles, CEO of Deutsche Telekom IoT GmbH. “PERI is the best example of this. By combining two tracking solutions on our Narrow Band IoT machine and sensor network, PERI is sustainably improving its service to its end customers and can thus achieve a significant competitive advantage.”
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow_OR @jcIoTnow
