The Use of Smart Chip Technology in the Electrical Contracting Industry

The identification and tracking of the installation status of electrical equipment and bulk material of a facility under construction are time consuming and man-hour intensive activities. Traditionally, a manual approach has been used to count and check delivered electrical materials. This process consumes time and is prone to errors. Additional time is used to physically locate materials and tools when needed for construction. Furthermore when materials are actually installed, additional time is incurred by both the contractor and owner to verify its installation and update the project's statusing reports. The objective of the proposed research is to examine how the electrical contracting industry can use smart chip technology to effectively manage jobsite equipment and materials. Smart chips, which can be installed on objects, provide information about the equipment or material's owner, installation, operation, maintenance, and relational data nom the in-situ environment The research will specifically examine the use of three type of smart chip technologies in the electrical contracting industry: Bar Code, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS). The Final products nom this research will include publications that provide guidelines for, assessments of, and strategies to use smart chips in the management of jobsite equipment and materials. The research will also motivate smart chip manufacturers to design smart chip technologies for the electrical contracting industry.