Custom blockchain system for construction process management
Project overview
Duration
5 months, 800+ hours
Methodology
Agile
Technologies
- Blockchain: Hyperledger Fabric, Smart Contracts based on Golang, Solidity, Open-Zeppelin;
- Android: Java, Volley, Gson, Paho MQTT, FCM, Instabug, TestFairy; Backend: Java 8, Spring boot, Jooq, AWS, web3j, PostgreSQL;
- Web: NodeJS, Angular 6, HTML, SCSS, TypeScript
Project Team
- 1 BA
- 1 PM
- 2 blockchain developers
- 1 front-end developer
- 2 Android developers
Objective
Smartym Pro had a task to integrate Hyperledger Fabric framework into a global blockchain-based construction monitoring tool. The main objective was to enable monitoring objects construction process in real-time and provide the rights for specifically authorized people to approve or reject the materials’ statuses and thus control the milestone planning as well as construction stages completion.
The system must preserve the integrity of all data and its full history, that will be impossible to fake, change or delete.
Business tasks
- Enable full construction history traceability and transparency, including the statuses of supply chain process for every material of construction, for each construction stage;
- Enable intuitive visual “roadmapping” data representation;
- Create reliable storage for construction documents in Blockchain network.
Technical tasks
- Create a custom blockchain, basing on Hyperledger Fabric framework;
- The system must be scalable (e.g. there must be no problems when including new nodes to the network);
- Create several user classes, each with different access settings;
- Integrate the ability to scan RFID tags and enter them directly into the system;
- Create smart contracts, that will check the construction progress and see when the construction stage is over according to specified conditions.
Solution
We’ve developed a comprehensive Hyperledger-based solution for speeding up the construction audit process by automating milestone planning. The system had to resolve common issues that are faced by both developers and constructors: mutual trust, compliance with the contract’s terms and conditions, fast critical situation handling. We integrated smart contracts into the system to help establish reliable relationships between all the legal entities involved in the construction process, enabled custom RFID tags ID generation and recognition with the help of RFID scanner in mobile app and introduced real-time construction monitoring tools: statuses for every material and component used (from shipment to utilization), traceable and transparent history (all the data is being stored in the Blockchain network and all the modifications and changes can be traced).
Challenges
System logic
The project has a high level of technical and logical complexity. One of the most difficult parts for the members of our development team was to understand the logic of the system, and therefore develop trigger mechanisms for smart contracts according to a complex supply chain logic;
RFID tags scanning and processing
We had to use a third-party application for RFID tags recognition and integrate its features in our custom blockchain, so that the network stored the RFID tags data and the statuses of their approvals/rejections.
The app involves the following features
Hyperledger data storage
- Users data: all the data obtained during the stages of registration, KYC and verification;
- Construction objects data: verification data, object construction stages, materials data – title, quantity, RFID tags;
- Construction project’s documentation storage: building permits, licenses, project financing schedule, project implementation schedule, roadmap are being stored in Blockchain. It is tamper-proof and transparent: all the actions executed with the documents can be easily traced in Blockchain network.
Mobile app with the ability to update statuses for every component or material
- Integration with RFID tag scanner.
Checking the progress of construction stages with the help of smart-contracts:
- The stage is considered completed once all the materials listed for this stage are approved by all the authorized users;
- Once the stage’s completion is approved, the smart contract is triggered, and it unlocks the assets needed for the next construction stage’s financing.
Traceable supply chain statuses from the moment of shipment until the fact of the installation.
Results of the work done
We have delivered an MVP Hyperledger-based product that corresponds to our customer’s needs and expectations. We presented a system, that is fully transparent, tamper-proof, comfortable and intuitive to use. In perspective, we are planning to implement integration with Building Information Modeling (BIM) mechanics in order to make construction process monitoring even more visual and traceable. All the components marked with RFID tags will be presented on the 3D model, the users of the system will be able to monitor even more information about the construction process, thus enabling better construction management process and preventing possible scams. For example, interested parties will be able to monitor the installation of every construction component step-by-step.
In perspective, we are planning to implement integration with Building Information Modeling (BIM) mechanics in order to make construction process monitoring even more visual and traceable. All the components marked with RFID tags will be presented on the 3D model, the users of the system will be able to monitor even more information about the construction process, thus enabling better construction management process and preventing possible scams. For example, interested parties will be able to monitor the installation of every construction component step-by-step.
