Connected crane: Spie batignolles and the start-up CAD.42 sign a 3-year partnership contract

Lasting 3 years, this partnership concerns the co-development of new services for construction sites, based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology fed by data captured on the cranes of the Spie batignolles projects.

For Alexis Hermet: “This partnership responds to our ongoing quest for solutions to optimize our machinery and our processes to improve productivity, logistics and planning. »

For Jean-Philippe Panaget: “This partnership is both an opportunity to massively enrich the database used by our artificial intelligence algorithms, but also to co-construct tomorrow's services for construction sites, and price methods/studies. »

A partnership formalized after two years of fruitful collaboration

In its search for solutions to optimize the operation of its cranes, Spie batignolles requested, at the start of 2021, the know-how of the start-up CAD.42, an expert in sensors on cranes and mobile machinery.

As part of a POC (Proof of Concept), a first site in the construction branch of Spie batignolles was equipped with a box connected to the cloud, designed by CAD.42, in order to monitor the use of the crane.

This integrated 3 technologies:

• Geolocation sensor to measure in real time all movements of a crane during a day.
• Dynamometer, a technology for measuring the weight lifted
• Technology for visual identification of crane loads (panel form, concrete bucket, prefabricated beam, etc.).

The crossing of these 3 sensors made it possible to collect valuable data on the operation of the crane and to identify developments to be initiated, in particular the link with the BIM 4D (planning) or the development of dashboards.

New constructive methods to increase productivity

As part of the partnership, a project team has been set up, bringing together employees from both Spie batignolles and CAD.42.

The protocol provides for the acquisition by Spie batignolles of additional smart boxes with the aim of massifying the data feeding the AI ​​technology. In particular, they are equipped with photographic cells supplying an exhaustive photo library, one of the main objectives being, in the long term, the recognition of all the materials and equipment lifted by the crane. These boxes will be deployed on several construction sites led by the Group throughout France.

The project team will then be responsible for analyzing the data received by each of the equipped cranes, using the daily reports from the crane, and jointly advancing this solution. This work will make it possible to perfect the operation and co-develop new functionalities.

The “win-win” partnership aims both to benefit Spie batignolles, by improving its productivity, and to support the startup CAD.42 to train and improve its solution.

For Alexis Hermet: “It's the crane that sets the pace of a construction site. However, we do not currently use instant data from the crane to measure the performance and productivity of a site. Our collaboration with CAD.42 aims to better understand the operation of our cranes thanks to particularly precise cross-data. This will allow us to optimize its use, such as reducing empty travel times, or even performing automated chrono-analyses. The productivity dashboards will be valuable decision-making tools for our work and continuous improvement managers in order to define and make our standards and unit time libraries more reliable. »

Beyond construction, tests with connected boxes are already underway for additional uses such as crane interference management at Spie batignolles foundations and Spie batignolles civil engineering.