Introduction
Utility-scale solar construction projects start and break ground with a piling installation. The PV modules are mounted on a steel frame and installed in the ground with steel piles/poles. The poles are the primary supporting structure offering a firm foundation for the entire assembly, so they need to be built precisely as designed. Even a one-centimeter deviation from the accepted tolerance (+/- defined from absolute) can result in large reworks in the next phase of construction. This causes construction delays, and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Construction managers understand that it’s necessary to check the construction quality of poles before proceeding to the next phase of construction.
Challenges
- It is difficult to find pole deviations
- Rework causes unexpected delays, and extended construction timelines
- Manual inspection of each pole on a large construction site is time-consuming and costly
- Errors in manual quality checks result in inaccurate measurements
Solution
Asset™ Construction Quality Monitoring Solution is a powerful, enterprise AI, cloud-based software that helps solar construction companies identify physical deviations from the design. It keeps standard design specification values as the base and summarizes features that are within the required tolerances and those that deviated beyond the tolerance limit.
A few possible deviations that Asset Construction Quality Monitoring can precisely measure:
- Pole to Pole Distance
- Pole to Pole within tracker (P2PIT)
This is the distance between one pole and another within the tracker table. For example: P1 & P2 or P2 & P3 or P4 & P5 or P5 & P6.
Why it is important: To avoid mismatch during MMS installation and to assure alignment of tables as per design.
- Pole to Pole between tracker (P2PBT)
This is the distance between the last pole of the tracker table and the first pole of the subsequent tracker table. For example: P3 & P4 or P6 & P7.
Why it is important: To prevent table misalignment and to assure proper robotic movements throughout the row.
- Pole to Pole within tracker (P2PIT)
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| Parameter | Acronym | Value (w/ tolerance) Units in meters |
| Pole to Pole Distance inside Tracker (P1-P2) | P2PIT | Xxx +/-(Tolerance is important to mark deviations) |
| Pole to Pole Distance between trackers (P3-P4) | P2PBT | Xxx +/-(Tolerance is important to mark deviations) |
P2 PIT & P2 PBT are provided based on the design/planned file.
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- Pitch of Tracker
It is the distance between P1 & P4 or P2 & P5 or P3 & P6. In other words, it is the distance between tracker centerline (between any two trackers)
Why it is important: To prevent shadows on PV modules, which may lead to energy loss and damage to modules in the long run.
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| Parameter | Acronym | Value (w/ tolerance) Units in meters |
| Pitch of Tracker | PoT | Xxx +/-(Tolerance is important to mark deviations) |
- Alignment of pole
This measures the angle between the pole & the ground (checks for 90 degrees) and identifies deviation
Why it is important: To avoid mismatch during MMS Installation and assure proper load displacement.
 |  |
| Parameter | Acronym | Value (w/ tolerance) Units in meters |
| Alignment of Pole | AoP | Xxx +/-(Tolerance is important to mark deviations) |
- Straightness of Pole
Measure straightness between poles in a given tracker and check if all poles are on the 0/180 degree line
Why it is important: To prevent varying pitch between tables, which leads to shadowing that causes energy loss.
| |
| Parameter | Acronym | Value (w/ tolerance) Units in meters |
| Straightness of Pole | SoP | Xxx +/-(Tolerance is important to mark deviations) |
- Height of Pole
This is the distance measured from the top of the pole to the bottom of the pole above ground level.
Why it is important: To prevent excess stress on MMS & Modules due to pile sink or pile height issues.
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- Length of Pile Cap
This is the distance measured from the top of the pile cap to the bottom of the pile cap in the ground.
Why it is important: To prevent depletion in the strength of the pile during higher wind loads.
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Benefits:
- Identify deviations before moving to the next phase, thus avoiding large reworks.
- Assure the ongoing construction is in alignment with the designed layout.
- Rapidly measure parameters of each of the features present at the site at any instant of time.
- Reduce human errors, time and ease quality engineers’ workload.
- Inspect site quality cost-efficiently.
To learn more about leveraging AI for monitoring construction quality or if you have any further questions join our CEO, Bhaskar Raghunathan, and Neelesh Mantri, the Ex. Head – Digital Transformation (SB Energy) for a webinar on Dec 9th.
