In the wake of the Paris climate accord, and faced with the need to reduce carbon emissions, Canada has a lot of work to do. And the construction sector is in a position to play an important role. The industry knows how to build net-zero energy buildings, for example. It knows how to build with wood.
But even with the knowledge we already have and are using, we are going to need all the tools we can get in our pursuit of energy-efficient buildings and durable infrastructure. An important tool will be the Internet of Things, usually shortened to IoT.
I first began writing about things like Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFIDs) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) a decade ago. Those were among the things that allowed the IoT to take its first faltering steps. But the IoT got a huge boost when tech giant Apple launched its iPhone in 2007, followed by its iPad in 2010. Those two devices and the sensors that can be installed in them made it possible to connect to data sources in new and powerful ways, including Wi-Fi. The key, of course, apart from the raw computing power that exists in the "cloud," is cheap sensors. So the IoT is a network of physical objects (things) embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity, which allows the collection and exchange of data. It means that a bridge deck can be checked for corrosion of its rebar from an engineer’s phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. It means sensors throughout a building can keep a precise tab on energy being consumed. Sensors embedded as concrete is being poured can tell us exactly how the curing process is going. Sensors gather and transmit information about the health of a structure by detecting the early formation of tiny cracks, and by measuring such key elements as temperature, moisture, chloride, acidity and carbon dioxide levels — any or all of which might be factors in decreasing structural integrity. All that would allow owners to make critical decisions about operation, maintenance, repair and replacement. The McKinsey Global Institute has done a study that suggests that the mining and construction industries together could be looking at as much as $930 billion a year by 2025 globally from the use of the IoT. Depending upon whose research you read there will be anywhere from 26 billion to more than 30 billion devices wirelessly connected to the IoT by 2020. Each would have its own IP address, which is why there is an urgent push on to adopt an updated naming protocol that allows many more unique addresses than the present protocol does. Canada, sadly, is lagging in the use of IoT devices. The Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation published a list this year, rating countries according to the number of IoT devices online per 100 inhabitants. South Korea is first, with 37.9 devices online per 100 inhabitants. It’s followed by Denmark (32.7), Switzerland (29.0) and the United States (24.9).
Canada is 13th with 11.6 devices online per 100 inhabitants. That puts us just behind the United Kingdom (13.0) and just ahead of Italy (10.2). The IoT could monitor our rural and urban infrastructure like bridges, railway tracks and wind farms. It could assist in environmental protection by monitoring air or water quality, soil conditions, even monitoring the movement of animals within their habitats. The IoT could help us not only build better buildings, but monitor them throughout their useful life. And, in so doing, it could be an important tool for the construction industry to have in a warming world. If you want a good basic introduction to the IoT, MIT Press has published The Internet of Things, by Samuel Greengard. It’s available at bookstores that stock business books, or online from Amazon.
Korky Koroluk is a regular freelance contributor to the Journal of Commerce. Send comments or questions to editor@journalofcommerce.com.
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