When some tradies arrive at the job site next week, they might be in for a surprise as they welcome their newest colleague for the first time.
Under a foot tall, unable to walk, and known to be a bit heartless, you’d be excused to think this new upstarter is about as much help as a paper hard hat.
But despite those drawbacks this team member is set to increase layout productivity tenfold.
All without even being a qualified tradie…or even a qualified human.
Known as the HP SitePrint, this futuristic piece of tech signals a new dawn for the type of workers that can be found on Aussie job sites.
Essentially a construction layout robot, the two-wheeled tech is set to transform how building site layouts get managed and made.
Already booming in popularity across the US, Canada and Europe, HP SitePrint uses autonomous robotics technology to reduce layout and labour costs, saving time and money to print complex site markings and manage job communication.
The rugged and portable robot is designed to operate in all construction site conditions and can deliver up to 10 times the productivity of manual surveying and layout techniques.
Site layout digitisation
HP SitePrint service advisor Juame Homs, told Build-it the robot will radically improve productivity when it comes to the layout process by digitising what has long been a manual and time-consuming task.
“HP site print is like a printer with wheels; what you are essentially automating is the site marking on the floor,” he explained to Build-it.
“Building construction layout is a process traditionally done manually with workers required to mark all the layout of the building plans with chalk lines and markers.”
“It’s up to 10 times faster depending on the application the robot has been requested to do and the amount of information needed to be displayed.”
Already awarded in the Innovative Product Award’s 2023 Expert’s Choice for Disruptive Innovations category, the HPSitePrint comes at a cost of around $80,000.
However, with errors accounting for around 3 per cent of build costs, Juames explains that by reducing layout mistakes, projects can save on the need to make unnecessary redos.
“With this solution, we are automating this process, making it faster with fewer mistakes with a robot but also making it cheaper for the build,” he told Build-it.
“Traditionally, this communication would be done by sharing files and drawings, and there can be lots of mistakes due to different versions or because some tradies are using the wrong version.”
“With the project margins of many building and construction projects being so tiny, any single mistake can ruin the project, which is why applying technology like this is becoming so important.”
The all-in-one construction layout management device uses a range of cloud-based tools for users to submit and prepare jobs to be printed, as well as manage the fleet and track usage.
It then navigates the job floor using preloaded plans and robotic sensors. It marks layout plans, instructions, and details using various inks that are specific to different surfaces, environmental conditions, and durability requirements.
The surface doesn’t need to be clean, working in a range of environmental conditions, including layers of dust by varying ink volume and print velocity.
Customer Service Manager at surveying solution specialist Aptella, Mitchell Laughlin, says the robotic tech will also help free up workers previously preoccupied with layout tasks.
“We’ve got a lot of issues with skilled labour shortage, surveyors being tied up and whatnot, so it’s about making our service trades more capable by in-housing their work,” he told Build-it.
“More builders are taking on the survey components of the project now, too, so it can also really benefit them.”
