Construction industry has exerted influence on art and economics on a similar scale. Market forecasts fueled by newfound and emerging construction consumer nations puts its value at 15 trillion dollars for the year 2025.

The industry seeks an integrated change focusing on governance, people and technology that will deliver the desired performance. The KPMG construction surveys report 2017 identifies, 1) overconfidence 2) lack of consistency and 3) the ‘human factor’ as the reasons that render construction project controls as ineffective.

It further suggests that having safeguards against hazards (like guardrails) or technology (analytical software) aren’t enough. Without adequate planning (and possibly insights) dictating methodical implementation even the best and most valuable strategies may become useless.

Scaffolding – The framework for trusted ‘builds’

Scaffolding is an integral part of modern day builds. Extensive and overwhelming project-based constructions are becoming a norm. Scaffolds provide the safety and confidence of executing dangerous work at height operations. Such projects require several tons of scaffolding over the duration of construction activity. Such an exercise has to be planned via thorough requirement and technical analysis.

Such exercises help in deciding the type(s) of scaffold to be used and an estimate of their quantity. However, within build projects of different sizes, a project company faces some clear-cut problems when it comes to scaffold material requisition, deployment and inventory maintenance.

In short, scaffolding management for a project build becomes an area of concern. From raising request for scaffolding material to its vetting, finalization and approval is just one part of the story.

The second and often forgotten part is how the material post-use is dismantled and sent back to the central repository. The same scaffold that was recently used, dismantled and dispatched to central repository for storage, could’ve been re-used, within the original site’s vicinity. However, due to lack of appropriate notifications and/or information available, the opportunity to save on time, costs and assets, is missed.

Scaffolding Management Software

Scaffolding Management Software (SMS) offers the capability to iron out such issues. It can not only provide the insights but also serve as a real-time planning tool for scaffolding operations, leaving room for planned error free scaffolding management. One of America’s oldest and the most respected construction project organization has been successfully employing Scaffolding management system to streamline and make its scaffolding operations, intelligent.

Some of the unique features that simplify and reinforce scaffolding lifecycle are:

• Image capture and annotation tools help generate realistic scaffolding material requirements while reducing time consumed.
• Live data feeds with floor maps present the status of scaffolding material, their inspection tags along with their statuses on modification and uptime.
• Insights delivered through dashboard include material deployment and use. Calculating productivity in terms of man and material “hours” spent on site assisting in the build.
• Key performance indicators such as scaffold erection and dismantle time along with inventory management in-detail.

Such insights and planning tools are exactly what is required to ease the burden of delays and time-productivity setbacks. Construction sites need to function like clockwork and this also pertains to all the safety aspects.

Scaffolding management system documents scaffolding inspection tags, total weight of scaffold deployed and its condition. All of this without spending precious time in going to site and reporting back. Instead the scaffolding cycle encompassed into Scaffolding management system provides real-time updates. This in turn helps the construction project planners and scaffolders gather a better ‘sense’ of site activity, as it unfolds.

Due to its availability across hand-held devices, site engineers and planners can use it just like any other tool in their tool-belt. Except, that Scaffolding management system offers them a complete view of scaffolding lifecycle thus enabling transparency and ensuring safer working.

The digital records generated over the duration of construction also serve as insights. Not only for this project but for the future ones as bottlenecks and efficiencies get mapped.

Overall, Scaffolding management system is a valuable proposition especially due to the consistency and confidence it can deliver to scaffolding operations. But more importantly, the ‘human factor’ of error prone or negligent biases in operations can be minimized though its use.