With the emergence of big data, there is an increasing demand for quick, easy access to vast quantities of information. This demand spans across all industries, and construction is no exception. This is why the emergence of Indoor Positioning Systems is such an exciting new development. Being able to quickly locate things and people in a building, using tech akin to a GPS system, allows providers to locate people, create models, and gather information in real time.

Aspects of the technology have been around for a while now. As previously mentioned, some work like GPS, whereas others use RFID technology and Wi-Fi.

But the technology is not quite ready for universal implementation. One problem is that different companies use different words to describe similar products. This hinders inter-company compatibility, and thus the overall effectiveness of the technology.

We have compiled a list of some potential uses.

• Being able to track things, for example deliveries, in real time around the jobsite.
• Similarly, being able to accurately pinpoint the location of employees on a jobsite has numerous benefits, not least of which being an increase to the health and safety of your employees.
• Making sure that quality standards have been met, and deal with any issues as and when they arise, in real time.
• Quickly analyse the layout of a structure, without the need for inefficient and slow methods.
• Interact with workflow data on a visual level, to increase overall workplace efficiency.