IoT-enabled cross-border logistics for prefabrication construction

Abstract

Prefabrication construction has been widely promoted worldwide in recent years since it could greatly reduce the cost, time, defects, and safety risks during the construction processes. Its benefits have already been recognized by Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), and has applied it in the construction of public rental housing. Cross-Border logistics, which is responsible for delivering prefabrication components produced in mainland China to the construction site located in Hong Kong, plays an important role in the whole construction process. However, the isolation of information and lack of real-time data makes the logistics process inefficient, which would further affect the on-site construction process. Internet of Things (IoT) would be an effective solution for solving the problem, as it could provide real-time traceability and visualization for the whole logistics process. In this research, an IoT-enabled platform has been built based on the cutting-edge information technologies such as cloud computing, RFID, and etc. A pilot application has also been given to verify the effectiveness of our platform based on a real construction project in Hong Kong.