Spatial Mapping Approach to Component Tracking Using RTLS System

There have been several approaches to tracking the position and status of components using RFID tags. Some of these approaches still involve manually embedding status information in the tags. As such, access to real-time information depends on workers motivation and this can affect decision making. Other approaches also involve the use multiple radio frequency identification (RFID) readers on the job site which could be costly. However, opportunities exist for tracking the position and status of components by spatially mapping the job site using real-time location sensing (RTLS) system. The spatially mapped locations could be linked to building information models for automatic real-time position and status update. This paper describes experiments geared towards real-time tracking of tagged components by spatially mapping the job site. RTLS tags were used for tracking the position and status of components from on-site entry to installation. The experiments showed that these RTLS tags were more effective than standard RFID tags for position sensing and for automatically updating the virtual model. This approach also showed significant opportunities for enhancing real-time monitoring with minimal manual effort, which will aid proactive decision making and control. The key benefits of this approach are also highlighted in the paper.