Robust machines
Bryant Homes was inspired to use rugged laptops in its site cabins after its experience with office staff damaging regular laptops when they were on the move. It was using paper to make progress reports to head office and manage materials on site, and wanted to introduce IT systems. Bryant also wanted to provide a connection to the company intranet and email for onsite staff.
Robert Ramsay, IT project manager for the Bryant Group, says that as well as surviving the harsh environment and providing computing facilities on site, Bryant is also using rugged laptops as an alternative to site PCs to combat theft. "We don't leave the laptops in the site office overnight, which means we completely cut out the risk of theft," he says.
Bryant tested three models over three months, and the Panasonic M34 came out on top. "The M34 was very reliable, robust and had touch-screen technology, which was an important requirement for us," comments Ramsay. "It also dealt with changing environments, from hot to cold for example, very well. It gives the user a degree of confidence when using them that they are not easy to break."
"The only drawbacks we found were the screen on the M34 was a little bit too small and the pens for using the touch screen disappear easily," he adds. "But on the whole, using the M34 has increased our efficiency."
Rugged hardware can also provide an extra degree of mobility on site and cut out the need for carrying around bundles of paper.
Contractor Opco is using rugged computing for recording defects on a housing development for Westbury Homes in Cardiff, with Symbol's SPT1700 palm-top computer. A spokesman for Opco says: "We've had the Symbol computer for nearly a year. We've been using it for our fault-snagging system [recording defects], before the final handover to Westbury.
"We wanted to give the client and end user a clear record of the defects, and carry out the snagging more efficiently," he adds. "Mobile Computing Systems wrote a piece of software for us to go on the handheld that is very simple to use. It gives you a series of dropdown menus to record the defects, which can be fed into the computer at the site office, instead of having to type it in manually. That information can then be used to print out work sheets for the trades, and the client and end user can have an overview of the defects being fixed."
Multiple applications
And Opco has found the palm computer to be applicable for other parts of the construction process. The spokesman says: "We are using the Symbol computer for other applications, including recording material deliveries and carrying out quality and safety checks. It is small, user-friendly, reliable and robust and has been tested in tough environments. The technology is also simple, which means little training is required and you don't need to have a great understanding of the construction process to use it. We haven't found any drawbacks with it as yet."
Communication on site, especially a large site, is another area where rugged computing can be of use.
Two-way radios, or walkie-talkies, are a popular tool for onsite communication. But on a large project, it may not be financially feasible to supply them to everyone who needs to be in touch with each other. One project manager, who does not wish to be named, is working on an urban development and is looking into using a device that could solve this problem.
"We have been using a particular type of dual radio/mobiles for three months," he says, "but they are quite large and clumsy and not very user-friendly. Sometimes the phone registers as busy when you're not using it and if you put it in your pocket it can be difficult to hear the phone ring."
A great idea
But he adds: "We do need to find another device of this type. Our site is quite large (150m by 150m by 100m), so we need to be able to communicate quickly across a distance. If there is an accident, we want to be able to know about it instantly. The three main trades on our site – crane operators, steelwork and substructure contractors – all have radios with different frequencies. We need a radio that will tune in to all these frequencies so we can be in touch with all of them at the same time. The model we were using wasn't capable of that."
Dual radio/mobile phones are a cross between a walkie-talkie and a mobile phone, and you don't have to be on site to use them, as they use satellites to communicate.
"The access ways across the site are also difficult," the project manager says, "with lots of different disciplines working round each other at the same time, so it can take a long time to get from one side to the other.
"The benefit of using dual radio/mobile phones is that you can take them home and use them for private calls," he continues, "which you can't with a walkie-talkie. The devices are a great idea, but we weren't happy with the performance of the ones we were using and we are looking into using other models."
Source
Construction Manager
