Digital traceability of material and work quality in construction via IoT sensors and distributed ledger technologies with an emphasis on immutability of work logs and interaction transparency

Abstract

The study addresses data fragmentation and insufficient transparency of quality control in construction by proposing a model for digital traceability of materials and works based on the synergy of IoT sensors and distributed ledger technologies(DLT), with a focus on the immutability of logs and automated event verification. The aim is to quantitatively assess the effect of moving from discrete paper-based control to continuous objective monitoring and consensus-based data recording that minimizes the risk of errors and disputes. The methodology includes the development of a three-tier platform: the IoT layer(embedded concrete temperature/humidity sensors with LoRaWAN, RFID tags and mobile readers for material batches), the processing layer(gateways, anomaly filtering, normalization), and a permissioned DLT based on Hyperledger Fabric with smart contracts that verify compliance with SNiP/GOST and contractual conditions before committing transactions; the empirical base is a pilot on three projects(residential complex, industrial shop, transport facility) and a control group, with statistical testing via descriptive statistics, correlation–regression analysis, and the t-test to evaluate the significance of differences. The results show dramatic improvements: the mean deviation of curing temperature decreases from 3,14 °C to 0,53 °C, critical violations from 11,7 to 1,9 per 1,000 m³, and detection time from 8,45 h to 0,12 h; at incoming material inspection, document checking time is reduced from 25,5 to 1,3 minutes, the share of detected nonconformities rises from 1,82% to 4,15% due to automated verification, and labor input falls from 42,5 to 2,2 person-hours per 100 batches, The immutable digital work log shortens dispute resolution time from 14,5 to 0,8 days, eliminates data discrepancy incidents(from 21,3 to 0 per 1,000 records), and reduces administrative costs from 7,8% to 1,2% of engineering and technical personnel payroll. The composite effect is a reduction in direct defect-correction costs by an average of 4,7% of project value and a projected 8-11% shortening of construction duration by eliminating downtime and transactional losses. Conclusion: integrating IoT and DLT creates a trusted lifecycle «digital trail», shifts control from reactive to proactive, and is economically justified for scaling, with further integration into BIM and predictive analytics.