Optimizing Construction Processes in Special Foundation Engineering with New Process Documentation Instruments

The optimization of all construction processes rests on the exact recording of data. But until recently, especially in Germany as well as in other places around the world, work processes in special foundation engineering were roughly jotted down by hand. Until now, a reliable and well-founded determination of detailed key performance indicators was only possible with a great deal of effort. If, for example, process times were to be recorded on a bored pile construction site, an additional employee was needed since the operator of the device, in addition to operating his highly complex machine, had no way of documenting his work steps with sufficient accuracy. Today’s special foundation engineering machines allow data to be comprehensively recorded and sent to servers. The article provides an introduction to a system that, on the one hand, enables any construction processes whatsoever to be documented and, on the other hand, reduces the need for manual entries on the part of the machine operator to an absolute minimum. The new concept intelligently couples the machine with a cloud in real time using the latest IT in order to guarantee access to the current data inventory of the equipment at all times. Using the method presented in the article, the machine’s current process is determined on the basis of these data, whereby missing data are requested for manual entry via an alternative communication channel. In order to effectively manage highly dynamic process changes on a typical special foundation site, algorithms and approaches from theoretical computer science have been implemented, which enable dynamic adaptation to such process modifications. In this way, the operating status for suitable processes can be automatically determined under ideal conditions and the data is recorded in full. The concept also involves the realization of cooperative work between operator and (special foundation engineering) machines, enabling interaction between operator and machine, and thus minimizing the effort needed for documentation purposes. The key performance indicators are thus based on measured values (sensor data from special foundation engineering machines). As part of the article, the results and findings from construction site operations are presented and optimization cases are explained.