By Mihir Somalwar, Innovation Lead, Diverge, Hensel Phelps

Hensel Phelps, a leading construction corporation and the largest aviation contractor in the United States, is utilizing Track3D to integrate its AI-powered platform into its operations. This platform offers advanced capabilities in photo documentation, progress tracking, deviation detection, safety and more, aiming to enhance construction efficiency and deliver complex projects on time.

Managing large-scale, complex projects with tight schedules requires meticulous progress-tracking across various trades such as electrical, mechanical, drywall and plumbing. This typically involves time-intensive site walks susceptible to errors and subjectivity. According to field engineers Zachary Clausing and Reginald Casseus at one of Hensel Phelps’s large data center projects, “It consumes a significant amount of our time and effort to manually track every aspect of the project. Measuring each pipe, duct and piece of drywall across extensive jobsites and monitoring progress from one inspection to the next is impractical, necessitating estimations.”

To enhance this process, Hensel Phelps decided to partner with Track3D to use its AI technology. This innovative platform utilizes jobsite photos from 360-degree cameras, lidars, drones and other sources. Track3D’s AI precisely identifies installed elements like drywall and plumbing and calculates their installation progress over time, providing accurate progress reports for each trade. This automated analysis includes trend charts that indicate whether installations are on schedule, enabling proactive resource allocation and early anomaly detection. Consequently, project teams can preemptively address potential delays rather than reacting after issues arise.

Nicholas Schnabel, project superintendent at a major data center project in Phoenix, attests to the impact: “Track3D provides an easy, repeatable and accurate way to validate installations in the field, ensuring transparency in progress tracking and saving critical hours for my team. This helps me to proactively allocate resources where they are most needed to optimize operations and incentivize timely performance from project teams.”

While several other competing solutions exist in the market, Hensel Phelps chose to streamline operations by standardizing on one platform. This decision reduces tech stack complexity, eliminates data silos and optimizes expenditure across the enterprise.

Thai Nguyen, director of innovation at Diverge, Hensel Phelps’ corporate venture capital and innovation arm, emphasizes the strategic partnership: “Our collaboration with Track3D represents a pivotal step toward revolutionizing construction practices. By integrating advanced AI and data analytics, we are not only enhancing project efficiency  but also setting new standards for innovation in the industry. This partnership underscores our commitment to leveraging cutting- edge technologies that drive sustainable growth and deliver exceptional value to our clients.”

Track3D’s detailed production tracking and scheduling reports provide an additional verification layer for monitoring installation progress. This supports the efficiency of processing payments to trade partners based on verified completion milestones. Precise data analytics help validate the progress of each trade faster, supporting timely compensation for workers and strengthening partnerships with trade partners.

In addition to progress monitoring, Track3D is advancing in deviation detection by comparing lidar scan data with BIM models to ensure precise installations within specified tolerances. This capability allows for early identification and rectification of anomalies, thereby reducing the risk of larger issues arising.

Hensel Phelps is exploring ways to leverage Track3D’s insights alongside other cutting-edge solutions to boost productivity. For example, integrating Internet of Things sensors embedded in hard hats from other innovative startups enables real-time and anonymized tracking of worker movements. By merging this data with Track3D’s progress-tracking capabilities, we can monitor both installed elements and assess manpower efficiency. Additionally, combining this with IoT sensors on workers provides detailed insights into activities such as walking distances on site, helping identify issues like inconveniently located facilities such as portable restrooms.

Worker safety remains a core value for Hensel Phelps. As the company expands its use of Track3D, it is looking at potentially utilizing it as one of several tools to proactively identify issues such as safety protocol breaches, adding an additional layer of protection. This approach underscores Hensel Phelps’ commitment to the safety of its people and trade partners. This initiative not only aims to potentially reduce accidents but also strives to improve overall project efficiency, ensuring that every individual returns home safely at the end of each day.

Hensel Phelps is actively piloting and testing advanced robotics for autonomous reality capture and analysis in construction projects,​​​​​​​ integrating these technologies with Track3D. Mihir Somalwar, innovation lead at Hensel Phelps, underscores the proactive approach: “We continuously evaluate advanced robotics solutions for reliable autonomous reality capture. By automating these mundane, repetitive and time-
consuming tasks with a fleet of human-controlled robots, we   can redirect our focus. This allows our teams to oversee robot operations and prioritize higher-value tasks, rather than spending time conducting site walks with a camera.”

Through innovation and strategic partnerships, Hensel Phelps sets a benchmark for efficient, safe and data-driven construction practices, leading the industry toward enhanced efficiency and safety. Its collaboration with Track3D and innovative startups harnesses AI, robotics and IoT to improve project management, prioritize worker safety and ensure sustainable growth. These efforts drive continuous improvement in construction practices, integrating cutting-edge technologies to deliver exceptional value and optimized operational performance to clients.