International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication ISSN: 2321-8169

Volume: 5 Issue: 6 719 721

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A Model for Various Automated Construction Materials Tracking and
Materials Management

Kalyani Girme
PG student of construction Management at RMD Sinhgad School of Engineering, Warje, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Email Id: kalyanigirme175@gmail.com

Abstract: Verification is very essential particularly in construction projects because the correct quantity of inventory can make sure that all
construction activities are going to be ready to do in keeping with the planned schedules. Inadequate quantity of inventory can lead to job stoppage
attributable to materials needed for conducting the work couldn't be simple at time they're required, waste of labour operating hours, and schedule
delays. Construction materials represent a large portion of the entire cost in construction projects. It may provide description for 50-60% of the total
project cost. As the cost of materials is essential, the management of materials especially at the inventory level are important for the successful
project completion. The tracking and locating of materials in construction jobsites has raise a great uneasiness among construction entities. The on-
site materials tracking and locating are made tough by the use of traditional tracking process which is labour intensive, error-prone, not dependable
and contribute to the increase in construction costs. Thus, this paper provides a re-examination of the existing issues in material tracking of
inventory management process in massive construction projects. The findings exposed that there is a need for more proper technology to be
implemented in construction project in order to smooth the progress of materials tracking process.

Keywords: Automation, Materials management, Monitoring, Inventory management

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I. Introduction It is to ensure that the right quantity and quality of materials

and equipments to be easily specified in a timely manner,
The Construction Industry Institute (CII) (CII 1986) has
obtained at reasonable cost and are available when needed
defined materials management as the planning and
(Bell &Stukhart, 1987). Inventory management in
controlling of all necessary efforts to insure that the correct
construction project could be affected by several factors
quality and quantity of materials and equipment are
such as; inadequate storage space (Sardroud, 2012), over
appropriately specified in a timely manner, are obtained at a
ordering and double handling (Donyavi& Flanagan, 2009);
reasonable cost, and are available when needed. Materials
and incomplete and lack of up-to-date information regarding
management is a system, not the organization responsible
on-site stock (Navon&Berkovich, 2006). The lack and
for performing these tasks (The Business Roundtable 1982).
incomplete of up-to-date information regarding on-site stock
Construction materials management has also been
is caused by the poor tracking and locating of materials in
recognized to include the integrated coordination of
construction sites. Thus, there is a need for a proper
materials takeoff, purchasing, expediting, receiving,
inventory management in order for the materials to be
warehousing and distribution (Bell and Stukhart 1986). It is
tracked and located easily; and without employing
an indispensable part of the project management which can
additional costs. Tracking of materials and components in
be integrated with engineering to provide an end product
construction project is not an easy task. Navon&Berkovich
that meets the clients requirements and is cost effective
(2006) agreed that materials tracking still remain as a big
(Kini 1999). Materials management extends beyond
problem in construction jobsites. The difficulty in tracking
inventory management. It involves: the procurement of
over materials and components is contributed by the large
equipment and materials, inspection and delivery to the job
amounts of materials and components involved in the
site, inventory control and the disposal of surplus material at
development process. Besides that, an on-site material
the time of project completion (Silver 1988). Materials
tracking is also bound with the traditional-manual method
inventory management is important as materials constitute a
(El-Gahzali et al., 2011; Kasim, 2010; Jang &Skibniewski,
large amount in construction costs (Lu et al., 2011).
2008; Navon&Berkovich, 2006), which has several
This is because the poor inventory management can affect limitations. This limitation has made them unsuitable to be
not only to the increase in costs, but also contribute to use in construction projects which demand a prompt action.
schedule and project delays. For large construction projects,
II. Materials and Methods:
the good management and control over inventory is
important. Bar code: A typical bar coding system consists of some
hardware, software and certain infrastructure which may be
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International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication
Volume: 5 Issue: 6
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wired or wireless to connect the hardware to the database
that stores and analyzes the data collected by the system.
The hardware system basically consists of the bar code
scanner and the computer. Figure 3 shows bar coding
system hardware components. A basic bar code scanner
consists of a scanner, a decoder, and a cable which connects
the decoder to the computer. There are different types of
scanners; however, the most useful are the laser scanners.
Some of the scanners have the decoder function
incorporated into a chip within the scanner, thus eliminating
the need for a separate piece of hardware.
GPS: the world Positioning System (GPS) could be a
satellite-based navigation system fashioned by a network of
twenty four satellites placed into the orbit by the U.S.
Department of Defence. The GPS was originally meant for
military applications; however within the Eighties the govt
allowed civilian use of the system. Since then it's used
extensively for variety of civilian functions onto land,
perplexed and within the air. Primarily the GPS helps to
record locations from places on the planet and helps in
navigating to and from those locations (Garmin 2008). GPS
is employed within the air trade for navigation by general
aviation and industrial aircraft; perplexed it's largely used
for navigation by recreational boaters. The land-based
applications of GPS square measure a lot of various.
Surveyors use GPS for a lot of their work, as a result of it
provides wonderful accuracy and radical price savings by
reducing the setup time at the survey web site.
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on future construction projects. The integrated, automated
materials tracking system consisting of active RFID tags,
Reader, GPS and handheld PC was able to collect data about
the materials with reasonable accuracy, identify and track
materials, and locate materials in the supply chain. The
automated system can be integrated with the project
information technology systems and materials management
processes. The automated process is more rapid, more
accurate and less responsible to suffer from communication
and transcription errors than manual reporting. It assists the
managers in making up to date decisions. The managers and
crews know vigorously whats happening with the materials
and therefore will be in enhanced management. It reduces
the total cost of the project by decreasing the number of
missing items and excess of materials. The project risks are
reduced when materials are noticeable, traceable, and
controllable. The automated arrangement ensured the
accessibility of the right materials at the right time. This
helped the materials managers in making short term and
scheduling decisions based on real time information of
materials locations. The system potentially facilitates the
just-in-time deliverance concept, and potentially reduces
several materials moves.
Figure:

RFID: Stand-alone frequency identification (RFID), like bar

cryptography, is additionally an automatic information
assortment (ADC) technology. The term stand-alone
RFID is employed to tell apart this technology from that
prototyped on the comets delineate during this thesis. RFID
may be a generic term used for technologies that use radio
waves to mechanically establish, locate, or track objects or
assets and folks. The foremost common methodology of
identification is to store a serial variety that identifies an
individual or object, and different data on RFID electrical
device or an RFID tag. The RFID tag transmits the References:
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Volume: 5 Issue: 6 719 721
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