Bar Code Standardization in Industrial Construction
Today bar coding is the preeminent automatic identification technology. The recent growth in the use of bar code technology is the result of companies applying bar codes on an individual basis to improve efficiency and productivity.
The industrial construction industry is beginning to use automatic identification systems in various construction applications. Benefits can be realized in the areas of tool control, document control, and time and attendance tracking. Research conducted by the Construction Industry Institute has shown that bar codes can provide great benefits in automating a materials management system for a construction project. However, the full benefits of bar codes will be achieved with the development of industry bar code standards.
This paper discusses approaches used by other industries in developing bar code standards and how these approaches can be applied to developing bar code standards for the construction industry. The paper also discusses one methodology for developing construction industry bar code standards. In addition, the findings of research conducted by Texas A&M University to determine the industrial construction industry’s current use of bar codes, potential areas of application, and interest in standardization are presented.
The use of automatic identification technologies, particularly bar code technology, continues to expand in all industries in the United States, including the construction industry. Bar coding is essentially a means of providing rapid, error free data entry into a computer system. When the system is implemented using a portable programmable data terminal, additional benefits in the form of error free data entry at locations remote from the host computer result.
Bar codes are being used internally by many construction related companies. Approximately 60% of the electrical manufacturers, 67% of the pipe, valve, and fitting distributors, and 25% of the instrumentation manufacturers responding to the survey are using bar codes for internal operations. They are using bar codes internally in shipping, receiving, and inventory management. The findings of the surveys indicate that owners, contractors, and construction materials suppliers have identified similar application areas for bar code use. (SD-47, p. 52)
