Although digitalization within the construction and infrastructure industries has been in progress, COVID-19 has spurred digital acceleration. Firms digitized their processes to ensure business and/or project continuity, and guarantee employee safety and productivity.

Productivity, communication, product traceability, worker safety, on-time completion, all-time low margin of profit, and unsatisfied customers are some of the common challenges that construction firms face in their projects and each of these aspects must be digitalized seamlessly for the transformation effort to be successful.

The introduction of digital solutions like IoT-enabled applications, RFID trackers, QR-code scanners, quality pursuit apps, and internet apps (thanks to digital transformation services) have begun to impact the trade, and construction consultants have begun to shift their focus to future technologies that will help them to extend profit and client satisfaction. However, the pace of change is still slow.

Why digital technologies aren’t more widely adopted in the construction industry

Company projects often fail because key players are unsure of what “digital technology” is. There seem to be four main reasons why digital transformation is especially tough within the industry.

1. Decentralization- Federal agencies usually fund larger engineering and construction ventures, whereas smaller units inside the project follow their own procedures. As a result, ventures are often decentralized. Individual ventures are administered at locations that are remote from the company’s headquarters. Moreover, few sites contribute to teaching staff new ways to figure out the way to use advanced technology.
2. Instability- Construction projects are inherently transient. This suggests that every project is exclusive, necessitating the formation of new groups on every occasion, notably for contractors with a high personnel turnover. Transparency at the project and company levels makes it troublesome for E&C companies and their sub-consultants and subcontractors to ascertain new ways of operating and develop capabilities that may be carried over from project to project.
3. Productivity loss – Too many resources and tools are needed for a project, and the absence of real-time data significantly lowers overall productivity. There is always a chance of data mismatch or inaccuracy when updating each process’s data manually. With such a poor system in place, monitoring and measuring the performance of humans and equipment is a nightmare for any project manager. However, due to a lack of data, executives are unable to obtain precise information regarding costs, resources used, and the status of projects.
4. Fragmentation – Typically, construction projects are scattered across the value chain, with specialists specializing in one or a few disciplines. Each step of the value chain involves multiple layers of contractors and subcontractors. Because construction contracts are often short-term and combative, implementing digital solutions across a project necessitates coordinating changes among organizations, which is a challenging task.

Effective solutions to implement digital technology in the construction industry

1. App for mobile devices- The workforce can perform tasks like equipment checklists, raw materials involved, tools used, and project status data to the immediate reporting head on the go thanks to enterprise mobile applications that digitalize complex processes. This saves them time and motivates them to work harder and deliver better results.
2. RFID tags or QR codes- RFID or QR-code scanners are used to track the movement of materials. Asset tracking with these systems makes it easier to identify materials in inventory and project zones, as well as allows employees to monitor, track, and use assets wisely for any project. This, in turn, saves the company time and money.
3. Monitoring tools and equipment: Incorporating IoT technology permits following what tools your company already has on-spot. That reduces the time necessary to seek for various lost and misplaced things and therefore the cash to pay for replacements. Also, because of GPS trackers with IoT-enabled sensors, you can track the placement of the vehicle fleet and position landscaping instrumentation correctly. At the same time, IoT solutions facilitate monitoring the performance knowledge of machines and vehicles, which enhances your ability to take care of them effectively and repair them quickly.
4. EHS management system- Using EHS (Environment, health, and safety management) to assist your workforce will allow them to quickly identify machine defects and incidents and raise observations and potential threats in the project zone. Employee motivation will improve as capturing and responding to environmental safety challenges becomes more seamless, resulting in increased productivity.
5. Augmented reality (AR) – Augmented reality is used for multiple reasons at completely different stages of your project. Typically, firms within the housing industry implement AR for designing and modifying homes, automating measurements, providing onsite project data, enhancing team collaboration, and conducting safety coaching. Construction corporations use specific 3D modeling computer codes for manufacturing interactive models of homes and present them to their customers.

Conclusion

Digital transformation services can go a long way in improving quality, cutting costs, improving safety, reducing risks, and increasing profits as the construction business in India continues to evolve and the need to usher in innovations at all levels of business processes becomes imperative. The silver lining is that with increasing Internet penetration and rapid technological advancement in India, now is an excellent time for construction companies to accelerate their digital transformation.

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“The healthcare industry is in the midst of a technological transformation with the goal of improving patient care, and IT needs to be ready to support this progression.” By Susan Biddle, Sr. Director of Healthcare, Fortinet.

During the past decades, many healthcare organizations have incorporated digital technologies into their operational sectors. However, they frequently adopted a fragmented strategy for many initiatives, such as installing electronic health record (EHR) systems, developing apps, and experimenting with disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), while holding a conventional approach in their treatment procedures and consumer engagement. Only recently have we begun to see technology being leveraged to deliver accurate, user-friendly solutions that are supported by reliable data.

Thus, emerging technology is ushering in a new wave of developments in healthcare fundamentally changing the ways of patient consultations, diagnosis, and treatment procedures. The digital era opens the scope of rendering remote health check-ups and treatments. Over the years, the healthcare sector has undergone some transformational changes in the areas of technology usage. However, the transition in the healthcare domain was happening considerably at a slower pace as compared to the other industries until the pandemic struck the overnight service response to telemedicine, monitoring the health remotely. This indeed turned out as a convenient and safer way to manage health issues not only during the COVID 19 times but also times in general. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate there are 1.7 million hospital-acquired infections annually, which lead to 99,000 deaths. 

Key technology drivers to bring change in the healthcare practices.

Remote Patient Monitoring

RPM is essentially the use of interconnected electronic tools to record patient health and medical information in one place, which is then examined by a clinician remotely. RPM enables practitioners to monitor patients in-between clinic visits or when in-person care is not feasible. It can be used to treat both acute and chronic diseases. RPM involves the use of many different kinds of equipment, including blood glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, weight measuring scales, oximeters, heart monitors, and much more. Moreover, other types of RPM include wearables like Fitbits and smartwatches that are designed to collect the data of users’ personal health and exercise. These are useful to track user’s overall health conditions and treat long-term diseases. This practice is becoming so beneficial that 88% of healthcare providers had invested in or were evaluating adding RPM to their practice. In addition to removing time and geographical restrictions, this technology has also increased patient awareness of and engagement in the treatment process.

Artificial Intelligence

The application of AI in medical health has had it substantiate share of debate considering the fact that the use of AI in medical practices can literally be a matter of life and death. Numerous instances have shown how AI has the ability to help physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in their day-to-day job. To briefly state some of the benefits, AI in healthcare can improve the overall treatment outcome, improve people’s wellbeing, provide accurate data for diagnosis, and so on. By analyzing huge data collected from public sectors and other standard sources, AI can help predict the spread of many contagious diseases. In fact, AI has the potential to be a key component of the global public health effort in the fight against pandemics and epidemics.

Furthermore, AI can help to resolve mental illness by detecting behavioral signs of anxiety and depression with over 90% accuracy.  Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) backed by artificial intelligence can help people suffering from neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, or spinal cord injury. In conditions when the patient is unable to communicate, BCIs acquire brain signals, analyze them, and translate them into commands that are relayed to output devices. Such technology terms that once seemed like jargon are becoming today’s imperative for solving health issues.

Digital Therapeutics (DTx)

Nowadays, we are capable of monitoring our health easily with the help of various apps, mobile devices, sensors, virtual reality, IoT, and other tools. Digital therapeutics, one of the most popular trends in the mobile health (mHealth) domain, implies the confluence of software and healthcare to deliver better clinical outcomes. It’s a user-empowering technology that provides customized health services enabling users to monitor and prevent health problems. There is a fair possibility that DTx helps in curing some of the complex ailments like Alzheimer’s, insomnia, type II diabetes, congestive heart failure, depression, etc.

Conclusion

Currently, the healthcare industry is at the pinnacle of success in terms of technological expertise. The pathbreaking developments brought about by advanced technologies are going to positively impact millions of lives across the globe. Going onwards there is an ample hope of finding cures for many untreated ailments. Most importantly, the healthcare sector is also experiencing a transformation in its approach of giving care. Physicians are showing more openness and faith in relying upon information about patients gathered from DIY devices. As a result, there has been a tremendous improvement in patient engagement with the care provider and the treatment process.

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