An architecture research team at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) developed a blockchain-based system to remotely track the quality of construction of student residences, according to a press release.
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Fast facts
- The system, named E-Inspection 2.0, helps manage construction quality inspection documents, making sure construction site photos and back-and-forth signed inspection files are all “accountable, traceable and immutable,” the press release said.
- The blockchain-based system is also used to record temperature, humidity, vibration, and location data collected by sensors to track the transportation of building modules and determine whether they have been damaged by moisture or other environmental factors, HKU said.
- The system has been applied to the university’s new dormitory project, the Wong Chuk Hang student residence, which adopted the modular integrated construction (MiC) technique, the press release said.
- Under the technique, about 1,000 building blocks were assembled in a factory in the Guangdong Province of mainland China, and transported to the construction site in Hong Kong for stacking up to a whole building.
- A border lockdown and other measures during the Covid-19 pandemic prevented quality inspectors from accessing the plant in Guangdong, prompting the adoption of the blockchain system for remote quality inspection.
- The student residence is one of the 27 MiC buildings in Hong Kong.
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