Barrett Byrd Associates

Satellite technology currently being tested will allow construction workers on isolated sites to communicate in real time with office based computer networks, reports Mike Walter

Electronic data transfer between construction sites and company offices is set for a marked improvement next year (2005) with the launch of a new satellite communication system called Satconnect. The system will allow site managers to access corporate computer files from day one of a project and should give construction teams in remote locations a fighting chance of establishing good lines of communication with head office.

Satconnect has been created by internet specialist altoHiway and the satellite firms Inmarsat and Stratos. Development of Satconnect followed a discussion about the shortcomings of communication systems with engineering contractor Amalgamated Construction (Amco). Amco explained to altoHiway that construction firms often face difficulties with setting up reliable communication links on new sites or in areas without established telephone lines.

The construction industry is more reliant on IT than ever before, but delays of up to eight weeks in establishing telephone lines on new sites even in urban areas are not uncommon, says altoHiway’s Sales and Marketing Director Chris Wood. These delays, he adds, mean that project managers on site cannot send or receive electronic data using their computers, access the internet, share files or access company software in the early stages of a construction scheme.

Satconnect promises to correct this situation by providing an interim means of communication during the opening weeks of a project, until permanent telephone lines are established. The system can be used by construction firms for such purposes as project management, quantity surveying, on-site purchasing, plant management and the transmission of payroll information.

Site managers on remote rural sites – with no chance at all of high speed communication links being established – can use the satellite communication system to transfer electronic data for the duration of a project. The system can also provide reliable voice and facsimile connections and can link to company telecommunication networks so that a site worker simply becomes another extension on the main switchboard.

“Satconnect can allow site staff to access applications run from an office, such as financial software and project management programmes and give them the ability to view computer aided design drawings,” says Wood. “We believe this technology to be more reliable than current systems including mobile data services such as GPRS and 3G.”

Satconnect uses Inmarsat’s Regional BGAN satellite network and the system can be set up to operate within a few hours. A central hub is attached to a company’s internal switchboard and up to 60 portable network receivers can be dispatched to company sites and moved around as required. A wireless networking capability allows laptop users on site to access their local network.

The effectiveness of the communication system depends on the receiver’s aerial pointing straight at the correct satellite, a fact established following the first in a series of product development trials carried out for altoHiway by Amco this autumn.

A portable network receiver was installed at a site office beside Cottam power station in Nottinghamshire, where Amco is involved in a construction project. Reliable communications could not be established due to the huge cooling tower next to the site office that blocked a clear view of the satellite. Undeterred, Amco decided to try the technology on a rural construction site at Kingairloch in Scotland and the system was found to work very effectively.

Amco Group IT Manager Stuart Fennell conducted tests between the Scottish site and its offices in Barnsley and Tuxford to see whether Satconnect delivered on its promises. “E-mail, fax and Citrix data transfers performed admirably and, although there was a degree of latency with voice, I found the system to be perfectly useable,” he says. “When using a satellite there can be a delay from when a signal is sent to the information being received at the other end. Such delays have been quite apparent when using satellite links in the past,” he adds.

“I wanted to make sure the system was reliable and capable of delivering acceptable data transfer rates. I am happy that the system is effective but there is still scope for improvement.”

Construction companies have tended not to use satellite communication systems to link sites with offices up until now because of problems with reliability and latency, but such reluctance will change if further trials prove successful, says Fennell. “Satconnect will be very welcome at any of our sites that lack basic telecommunications provision. It is not intended to replace fixed lines but it will bridge the gap that sometimes occurs between project start-up and eventual line installation.”

Results of the Amco tests are currently being reviewed by altoHiway and an extensive Proof of Concept trial is set to take place during the spring ahead of a launch later next year (2005).

Chris Wood of altoHiway says: “The launch of Satconnect is likely to prove very significant for the future of construction industry communications. Access to the right information at the right time from anywhere in the country means that business efficiencies should increase significantly when using this system.”

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