Kiosks with computers and iPads have become just as important as cranes and concrete mixers at construction sites.
This is evident at Ohio State Universityโs $370 million โNorth Residential District Transformationโ โ which will create dormitories, dining halls and a recreation center โ where Messer Construction is putting into use several high-tech construction techniques.
โIn our business, itโs all about coordination, communication and collaboration,โ said Rob Verst, general manager and vice president of Columbus-based Messer, the construction manager for the project.
And this isnโt always easy at a job site as big as the one at Ohio State, where there are about 850 construction workers daily. The project includes 10 new buildings.
โWe have (five) electronic kiosks on site, which are electronic planning tables with computers,โ Verst said.
The projectโs document-control coordinator downloads updated plans and drawings that all the Messer employees and subcontractors have access to in real time.
โThat means zero lag time,โ he said. โEveryoneโs on the same set of music, and this helps us avoid mistakes and accelerate the construction schedule.โ
Many workers also carry iPads to tap into the Latista Field mobile app.
โOur managers and subcontractors can walk around with the Latista on their iPads and take a photo of anything they see that is incomplete or deficient, and it goes into the system and is immediately issued to all parties,โ Verst said.
These unfinished or deficient items are then prioritized and completed.
โAnd over time, it helps us see if there are any trends, and our designers and the client can all see it as well,โ Verst said of the app.
Despite a harsh winter, the North Residential District Transformation project is on schedule and about halfway to completion.
Messer has played the percentages to stay on schedule.
โWe use what we call plan percentage complete,โ Verst said of a computer program that tracks the thousands of tasks necessary to complete the project.
โEvery week, we do a plan percentage complete, and it identifies any tasks that havenโt been completed, and we can determine if theyโre labor-related or material-procurement issues, and then we figure out a way to get back on track,โ he said.
The North Residential District Transformation is the largest building project under construction in central Ohio, according to McGraw-Hill Constructionโs ENR Midwest website.
The project includes seven residential buildings, a dining facility, a residential/dining building and a recreation building, said Ohio State spokesman Daniel Hedman.
โFour residence halls and a dining facility will open at the start of the upcoming academic year, and the rest of the facilities will be completed prior to the fall 2016 semester,โ Hedman said.