Machine control technologies bring in efficiency and productivity to a machine, thus providing economy in machine operation. While control technologies on specific machines are increasingly getting popular, the emerging trend is integrated machine control which helps in communicating with multiple machines at a project site. Monitoring and control technologies are becoming imperative to make the equipment efficient and productive, thus making project execution qualitative, time-bound, and economical. With machine control technologies, it is possible to finish projects faster and with much higher accuracy.

In spite of all these advantages, India is still far behind in using machines with control technologies in projects compared to global average. Barring a few large projects, most of the medium and small projects are using machines without any added monitoring and control features that can save time and money. For any added feature, there is an initial investment needed. However, in the current project bidding practice, contractors are not in favour of investing more money in features such as machine control technologies. In this scenario, it is imperative to change the approach of customers towards accepting new features and technologies. Government needs to change its norms for bidding considering these aspects. The government can also consider giving incentives to those who use these technologies to complete their projects on time with the desired quality. With increased focus on quality and speedy implementation of projects, machine control technologies are going to play a major role in achieving these goals. Technology providers can focus on cost-effective solutions that suit Indian conditions and requirements rather than technologies that are of global standards and price.

Today there are many small and big players, global as well as Indian, in the country who offer control technologies as inbuilt and optional. They provide solutions to the entire gamut of equipment to provide accuracy and efficiency in operation. Since the equipment demand is expected to grow in future with a lot of projects taking off, all the stakeholders of construction industry need to give a fresh thought and a new approach towards machine control technologies that suit Indian conditions.