9. March 2018
Yes we scan! QR code – location recognition in black and white
Location? The larger the building complex, the more room for speculation. Defects can be localised using QR codes created in mydocma MM.
“Practice should be the result of thought, not the other way round”. This wise saying by Hermann Hesse aptly summarises what makes our think tank tick: With a focus on suitability for everyday use and usability, QR codes were recently the result of our careful deliberations in order to master a problem that occurs all too frequently in construction projects. Tens of floors, endless corridors and countless rooms that look the same. You’re travelling to inspect defects, carry out an acceptance inspection or deal with a warranty claim and sooner or later you’re confronted with the question: “Where are we right now?”. With QR codes, the location can now be easily determined by scanning – a user-friendly and economical method.
Localisation at eye level
GPS does not work in multi-storey buildings. There is a lack of infrastructure for WLAN networks on the construction site. RFID as a complex transmitter-receiver system is too expensive and “machine vision”, e.g. with Google’s Tango project, is not yet mature enough. The advantages of using QR codes for localisation, on the other hand, are obvious in the truest sense of the word: once the code labels created in docma MM’s new room report have been attached to all the door frames of a building at visual height, all it takes is a few clicks on a mobile phone or tablet and the stored room data is available for scanning.
No in-depth background knowledge of the underlying technology is required from the user; decoding – known as “mobile tagging” in technical jargon – is straightforward using apps, of which there are plenty available for free download. All you have to do is point the camera of your mobile device at the QR code to read it – and you’re done! The room is then set automatically in docma®MM, so there is no need to search manually in the structure lists. All in all, an absolute gain for quality assurance! Defects can be recorded, processed and tracked even faster on site. And on top of that, the susceptibility to errors is zero!
The QR code stickers with the corresponding room coding are created directly from docma®MM via an integrated report.
Defect management to go
QR code location recognition is a new function that makes mobile defect management even more effective. It not only facilitates the recording of construction defects, but also the follow-up inspection to a considerable extent, as all reported defects in a room are displayed immediately. The entire work process is accelerated, which should benefit facility management as well as construction. We are delighted to have once again fulfilled the purpose of optimising software. After all, as the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset correctly stated: “Technology is the endeavour to save effort.”
