IoT Explained
04 August 2025
Reading Time: 6 mins
Eseye
IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists
LinkedInThe construction industry has remained somewhat resistant to digital transformation, favoring more traditional tried-and-tested approaches over the perceived risks of new technology. However, there is a growing acknowledgement of the transformative opportunities afforded by IoT in terms of efficiency and safety on smart construction sites.
According to McKinsey, the construction sector remains one of the world’s largest industries and has significant potential for growth. In 2023, $13tn worth of gross annual output – 7% of global gross output – was devoted to construction projects, and by 2040, the industry could grow 70%.
This is something of a rose-tinted outlook however, as construction firms are struggling to deliver today’s project pipeline and need to find ways to increase productivity and essentially do more with fewer resources. Enter IoT.
Benefits of IoT in smart construction
With the expected increase in the number and complexity of construction projects, the construction industry is faced with significant challenges, from productivity issues and poor-quality control to the health and safety of workers. But technologies such as IoT, robotics, automation, and mechanization offer increasingly mature solutions and opportunities for improvement in sustainable construction practices.
Considering the IoT ecosystem as made up of hardware, software, and services components, Global Market Insights estimates that the software segment held over 49% of the market share in the construction sector in 2023, including data analytics platforms, management systems, and application software. Rather than the IoT devices themselves, which consist of an array of sensors, these applications and software are essential for extracting value from IoT, through real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and integration with other systems to help construction firms optimize operations and improve decision-making.
In terms of IoT application, the project management segment was the market leader, according to Global Market Insights, with around 26% share of the construction market in 2023.
Related to the point above about increasing efficiency, project management applications have a significant role to play in the oversight of construction projects. IoT sensors can relay real-time data on various project aspects, such as equipment status and site conditions, delivering actionable insights and enhancing decision-making, helping to keep projects on schedule and within budget while improving overall project visibility and control.
IoT can also improve resource management by offering detailed insights into the usage and efficiency of materials, machinery, and labor through advanced IoT solutions.
According to Berg Insight, the global installed base of active construction equipment OEM telematics systems reached 6.8 million units in 2023 and is forecasted to reach 12.1 million units in 2028. OEM telematics systems are today commonly factory installed as standard at least for heavier machines and increasingly also for compact equipment, from trucks, excavators, dozers, to backhoes.
Additionally, the off-highway vehicle market, which includes various vehicles used in the construction, mining, agriculture and forestry sectors and includes telematics for remote monitoring and management of fleets of machinery, had a global installed base of 8.8 million units in 2023 and is forecasted to reach 16.1 million units worldwide in 2028.
A major trend among the human workforce is the growing use of smart sensors and wearables on construction sites to monitor personal equipment performance, environmental conditions, and worker health. IoT-enabled wearables track workers’ vitals and alert them to potential hazards or unsafe conditions on the job site, enhancing overall site safety.
Together, all these insights from IoT systems help reduce waste, lower costs, ensure effective resource utilization, and optimize productivity, leading to more efficient project execution.
IoT applications in smart construction
Asset tracking
IoT sensors can be attached to equipment, vehicles, materials, even humans, to track their location and movement using IoT technologies. This helps prevent loss or theft and optimizes equipment and resource utilization.
Worker safety
Wearables such as smart helmets or hard hats, goggles or clothing, can monitor worker location, vital signs, and environmental conditions. Management software can then alert workers to potential hazards or notify supervisors of accidents.
Environmental monitoring
IoT sensors can monitor temperature, humidity, noise levels, and air quality, ensuring a safe and working environment and compliance with regulations.
Concrete curing sensors
Embedded in freshly poured concrete, IoT sensors can measure moisture and hardness in concrete and trigger automated water spraying if needed.
Equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance
IoT sensors can monitor the performance of construction machinery, vehicles, and equipment, predicting potential breakdowns and ensuring timely maintenance schedules.
Drones and cameras
High-definition cameras mounted on drones can be used to inspect work and give viewpoints not easily available to monitor progress.
Smart scaffolding
Scaffolding is essential in construction and smart scaffolding systems are equipped with sensors to monitor their own stability and safety in real-time. These systems can detect changes in wind speed, vibrations, and weight distribution, alerting workers to potential hazards.
Waste management
Smart sensors can track waste generation and optimize waste collection routes, as well as reduce environmental impact.
Construction site management: BIMs and Digital Twins
IoT is a core element of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and Digital Twins in construction, to provide real-time updates on project progress, as well as assist in the planning, design, and capabilities of buildings.
BIM is a form of digital twin and uses software to create an intelligent model of a building to assist with engineering the structure before it becomes a physical building, showcasing the benefits of IoT in the construction industry. This can help architects and engineers understand all physical and functional aspects of the construction process and detect issues before committing to construction.
During the building process, IoT sensors detect progress, changes, and issues and replicate these factors into the digital twin where their effects can be modelled and responded to accordingly.
Digital twins essentially link real-world objects and their digital representations. They are also useful after the construction process in the design and performance of smart buildings, allowing project managers to continue visualizing, modeling, analyzing, simulating, and planning.
In construction, the building is the product, and with new builds the usefulness of IoT doesn’t stop when the doors open. IoT-enabled smart technologies are factored in to deployment to manage the building’s entire lifecycle and operation.
Smart buildings use building-wide connected systems, devices, and automation to improve efficiency, safety, and comfort for the building owner/manager and the occupants. This IT managed network infrastructure typically encompasses HVAC, lighting, alarms and security and may extend to more specific innovations depending on the venue’s use case.
Integration of IoT in smart buildings plays a crucial role in the management of properties and transforms traditional buildings into intelligent structures capable of dynamically and efficiently meeting occupancy needs and environmental challenges.
Challenges to adoption of IoT in smart construction
As we identified in the intro, perhaps resistance to change within the construction sector is the biggest barrier to IoT adoption. Many stakeholders in construction are married to traditional methods, and there is a lack of technical knowledge along with perceived risks associated with new technologies like IoT systems.
IoT connectivity challenges for smart construction
To this point, the integration of IoT in construction historically faced numerous technical challenges, including limited device connectivity and a lack of interoperability between different technologies.
But now there is a wide range of LPWA and cellular technologies delivering close to 100% connectivity to choose from, even in remote, temporary, or otherwise challenging environments.
Eseye’s AnyNet SMARTconnect gives IoT devices the intelligence to swap to another network if connectivity drops, and future-proofs the device by allowing new networks and operators to be easily introduced. It also provides the building blocks to enable connectivity applets with access to multiple RATs – for example cellular, Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN and satellite.
Meanwhile, Hera – our range of specialist IoT edge hardware – meets your evolving IoT needs for ruggedness and reliability.
The hardware and software is underpinned by Eseye’s Infinity IoT Platform, connectivity management software that gives operators oversight and control of the entire smart device estate from a single pane of glass. This makes it possible to optimize connectivity for each device, as well as provide full-lifecycle management.
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