Leading with "Codes" to Make Smart Construction Sites Smarter

Original: https://cli.im/article/detail/1890

Recently, two buildings in Plot A-6 of the CuiZhai Rental Housing project in the Jinan Start-up Area completed their main structural topping-out, marking the project's entry into the secondary construction phase. Since construction began, progress has been rapid, with 14 buildings rising east of the CuiZhai bus hub. According to sources from PowerChina Municipal Construction Group Shandong Engineering Co., Ltd., the project's safe and efficient progress is largely attributed to the support of smart construction site technologies.

Customized Personnel Codes

At the Plot A-6 construction site, QR codes are ubiquitous—not only at the entrance for safety notifications but also throughout the site. They can be found on tower cranes, distribution boxes, and more.

These QR codes are deployed across various aspects of the project, including personnel management, temporary electricity use, and special equipment. Currently, the project has established a QR code management platform that aggregates multiple data points from the construction site.

"With numerous personnel on-site and multiple labor teams often working simultaneously, effective management can be challenging," said Li Dongming, project manager of Plot A-6. As high-risk work in the engineering industry, construction management also faces various difficulties.

To address this, the project team customized exclusive badges for all construction personnel. While the front of these badges resembles ordinary work cards, the back features a QR code. "Scanning the code reveals detailed personal information, including safety education records, personal health files, and work credentials," Li explained.

To ensure the effective implementation of the badge system, the project team also established the "On-site Safety Management Measures." Violations are recorded in the badge information, and individuals with three or more infractions will have their badges revoked, be barred from the site, and added to the project's labor blacklist. The project team continues to enhance badge information by adding health codes, travel history, nucleic acid test reports, and vaccination status to strengthen safety management.

Convenient Temporary Electricity Codes

"Using QR codes is much more convenient than pen and paper. Paper records often get damaged within half a month, and handwriting becomes blurry over time," said a site manager during a safety inspection. Temporary electricity use, being a frequent activity on-site, requires meticulous attention to prevent accidents.

To prevent electrical accidents, the project team assigned numbers and QR codes to all distribution boxes on-site. Electricians can scan the codes to record inspections and access temporary electricity construction plans and safety technical disclosures.

Scanning a QR code on a distribution box in the project's first work area reveals that its operational status was updated at 8 a.m. that day, with inspection records and responsible personnel information clearly displayed. The code also provides access to temporary electricity construction plans and safety technical disclosure documents.

"Inspection times and locations are time-sensitive and cannot be altered by electricians, which enhances project control and serves as a deterrent," Li noted. Replacing traditional paper records with QR code technology significantly increases information storage capacity, prevents data loss, facilitates queries, and ensures accountability. This transparency allows everyone to monitor and supervise, greatly improving efficiency.

Transparent Equipment Codes

The Plot A-6 construction site currently operates 14 tower cranes and 4 construction elevators, each equipped with its own "ID card."

Tower cranes and construction elevators are critical equipment in construction projects. To prevent illegal installation or use without proper registration and inspection, which could lead to safety hazards, QR codes are used to ensure transparency. Scanning a code provides access to equipment information, registration details, third-party inspection reports, and operator certifications, ensuring that only authorized personnel operate the equipment.

The project team plans to further enrich the information database by adding inspection records, fault logs, maintenance records, and保养 records to the QR codes, gradually advancing toward "informationalized, intelligent, and scientific" site management.

"Traditional management methods are no longer sufficient to meet current demands. Leveraging the convenience and simplicity of QR codes to achieve informatization and data-driven processes is a trend of the times, and promoting smart construction site platforms is an inevitable choice," Li stated. The next step for the Plot A-6 project is to accelerate the construction of smart sites, aiming to create a model project that achieves "paperless office work," "data-driven operations," and "data visualization." This will upgrade construction management methods, enhance safety, and achieve refined management.

Source: WeChat Public Platform "Jinan New and Old Kinetic Energy Conversion Start-up Area" [《Together Toward the Future ㉑ || Leading with "Codes" to Make Smart Construction Sites Smarter》](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/aRl44fO52Anv13DXMcv0sw "《Together Toward the Future ㉑ || Leading with "Codes" to Make Smart Construction Sites Smarter》")