Automated lay-down yard control system: ALYC

Construction lay-down yards are riddled with inefficiencies due to lack of organization and control. Loss, theft, misplacement, and misidentification of material and equipment are common among many construction projects. This paper introduces the automated lay-down yard control (ALYC) system that gives managers the ability to achieve control over their project’s inventories. The ALYC system combines bar code, computer-aided design (CAD), and recently developed positioning technology to provide a complete inventory-identification and tracking system. The positioning system used in ALYC is called the automated position and control (APAC) system. The APAC system utilizes radio waves to obtain X, Y, and Z coordinates of both moving and stationary objects. This positioning system enables the ALYC inventory-control system to track and accurately locate inventories in an open environment. The ALYC inventory-control system will contribute to reducing the cost of construction projects through the effective management of materials and equipment.