Construction Quantity Tracking to Improve Project Monitoring and Control

Today’s construction projects involve hundreds of measurable elements.

And, once a project is underway, contractors or project managers are responsible for tracking the progress.

Construction quantity tracking involves tracking of these measurable elements, such as earthwork volumes, concrete poured, steel installed, materials delivered, and work completed per activity, to measure the progress on-site.

Construction quantity tracking and quantity takeoff are two different things.

While both deal with quantities, both of these occur at different construction stages, serving different purposes.

Quantity Takeoff vs Construction Quantity Tracking

The process of quantity takeoff provides the quantity of material required at each construction stage.

A quantity takeoff document usually includes the required amount of concrete, tons of steel, and the quantity of materials for various building elements.

Quantity takeoff happens before construction, whereas quantity tracking occurs on-site during the construction. Here are the key differences between the two processes:

Quantity Takeoff	Quantity Tracking
Happens before construction.	Happens during construction.
Calculates the estimated quantities of material & Labor work.	Measures the construction progress on-site, including installations, earthwork, and every other area.
It is critical for estimation, tendering, procurement & budget planning.	Is a continuous or periodic process, critical for generating progress reports & productivity analysis.
Is prepared from design drawings and BIM models.	Is prepared by scanning and measuring on-site work.

In simple words, quantity tracking and quantity takeoff are linked but serve different purposes.

Takeoff provides data about how much job needs to be done, with the materials required, whereas quantity tracking provides data about how much of that work is done on-site, along with the amount of resources used.

Why is Quantity Tracking Critical in Construction Projects?

Modern construction projects are schedule-focused, where any deviations may cost thousands of dollars.

This can be solved with constant monitoring of site progress, followed by analyzing specific project metrics. The analysis gives professionals data about how certain systems are draining resources, where there are coordination gaps, and any unadherence to the project timeline.

Professionals utilize construction management platforms like Procore or Autodesk for real-time tracking of materials and labor. Tracking quantities provides a metric that contractors can use to course-correct when needed.

In the construction industry, projects go beyond just finishing a structure. The industry views it as a complete system, where the conclusion comes at how efficiently the project was constructed without losing money on reworks.

Modern industry benchmarks suggest the use of barcode scanners, QR codes, or RFID tags for instantaneous, accurate tracking of material delivery, storage, and installation.

Areas that Benefit from Effective Quantity Tracking

Measure project progress: Quantity tracking helps project managers compare the planned activities with the installed quantities on site. Installed quantities are the actual amounts of materials and resources used during construction, providing a basis for assessing project progress.

Determine true work percentage: Modern construction quantity tracking software provides project managers with precise statistics to measure on-site team performance. Unlike traditional visual inspections, this goes several steps ahead, with readily available insights to act upon. Tracking materials in one place can save time with mobile time card features that suggest material quantities based on daily production.

Evaluate productivity: Construction firms across the globe are competing hard to stay ahead of the curve. Clients are also prioritizing organizations that measure and improve their baseline productivity on a periodic basis. Construction quantity tracking involves the productivity analysis of the workforce and equipment on-site in accordance with every date.

Track material consumption: Professionals can integrate BIM models with the quantity tracing software to track and manage material utilization and promote effective resource management. Tracking quantities allows project managers to match measured units with field timecards to gain insight into crew productivity. It also helps them detect deviations from the original plan that might lower project quality. Through this, they will be able to detect wastages, shortages, and productivity rates.

Now, with these advantages, there are limitations in this approach. Let’s look at those:

Limitations of Construction Quantity Tracking

The adoption of digital tools and model-based workflows has earned value quantity tracking a lot. However, there are still some practical limitations that construction projects face across the sectors. These are:

Fragmented data from different systems

Construction projects are now executed with multiple digital tools dedicated to every area of the project.

There are tools for modeling, project management, and field data collection tools. While recognized firms use a suite of this software from the same provider, which makes data integration easier.

But most of the firms still use different software applications that work in separate data environments. These data sets include project schedule, cost management, procurement information, and modeling data.

All of these need to be synchronized before an organization can expect any meaningful result from construction quantity tracking.

Dependence on Accurate Digital Models

Contemporary construction material tracking software use data from BIM models or digital twins for monitoring progress.

These need to be updated regularly and kept in alignment with the actual structure.

There should not be any inconsistencies between modeled quantities and actual site conditions. However, organizations can eliminate this by taking the challenge of maintaining model consistency throughout the project.

High Implementation Costs

If an organization is willing to implement advanced construction quantity tracking, it must consider the investment first.

The basic equipment to execute the process includes drones, scanners, licensed software platforms, training project teams, and data processing units.

For large-scale projects, the count for the drones, scanners, and data processing units will increase.

Additionally, investment in Digital Twins further enhances an organization’s capabilities for construction quantity tracking.
As we talked about, the investment scope is significant, but here is what it offers.

Real-time Monitoring Through Digital Twin Technology

Digital twins are exact digital replicas of construction projects or assets created with collected as-built data.

When we say live, the digital twin model continuously updates itself with data captured from the actual site.

Unlike static models, where periodic snapshots are integrated to reflect the actual building condition, digital twins evolve as the project progresses. Hence, professionals can use it to track consumption of items against unit prices and monitor costs accurately in real-time.

This allows teams to visualize complex projects more accurately and analyze construction effort in real-time.
Digital twins can integrate data from multiple sources, which helps professionals perform quantity tracking at a deeper level.

However, the investment hurdle still remains, as regular updation of digital twin models requires drone surveys, LiDAR scanning, and Internet of Things sensors; prominent examples of expensive technologies.

Benefits of Digital Twins in Construction Quantity Tracking

Construction quantity tracking evolves when it is integrated with Digital twins. It provides several benefits, including:

• Real-time progress monitoring
• Improved accuracy in quantity measurements
• Faster decision-making
• Enhanced project transparency and communication
• Accurate production analysis
• Improved safety practices

These benefits will drive the future of construction quantity tracking toward automated and real-time monitoring solutions.

The Future of Construction Quantity Tracking

As the AECO landscape gets more competitive for the construction firms, quantity tracking will be critical to project success. It helps the industry prioritize efficient and productive construction for a firm grasp of the competitive landscape. Firms with a history of delivering projects faster and with greater cost efficiency will win projects effortlessly. Furthermore, emerging technologies like digital twins, AI-driven analytics, and advanced site scanning tools will redefine the quantity tracking process. This will drive broader acceptance for real-time construction monitoring approaches, leaving behind traditional construction quantity tracking methods.

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