Construction
project workers often have to deal with dynamic parts, controlling all elements
crucial to project success. To ensure smooth operation through connected construction sites, BIM
engineers create a structured workflow, integrating data at various stages
of construction and ensuring the availability of apt information to stakeholders.
Connected construction sites facilitate collaborating people, processes, and
information using Augmented Reality (AR), VR (Virtual Reality), AI (Artificial
Intelligence), robotics, and wearables. IoT technologies,
integrated with AI, enable predictive logistics to enhance workers’ safety
during the construction process and optimize inventory for reducing wastage and
other costs. Computer visions allow instant support and guidance, connecting
construction sites to the main office. Such solutions let managers make faster and
more informed decision making as per real-time data.
Construction
Reinvented – Technologies Shaping the World:
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Robotics
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Automation
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3D Printing
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Autonomous Vehicles
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
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Virtual & Augmented Reality
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Operational
Challenges Addressed through Connected Construction Technology:
The technology could be a savior for an
industry, infamous for delays and cost overruns. Construction happens to be the
largest industry in the world, comprising 13% of the global GDP. And while
construction projects are the most visible and concrete signs of economic
progress, other statistics don't reflect its dominant position. Productivity
growth in construction has resulted in 1% over the last 20 years, and earnings
and taxes still hover around 5%, as per McKinsey.
The operational
challenges addressed through connected construction technology unify project
elements, automate processes, and enable streamlined functioning. The
full-surround connectivity is poised to transform the construction industry.
Now everyone is on the same page starting from feasibility and design to
handover and operations. To take an instance by sitting in Washington DC, you
can visualize what’s happening in Houston. Further, you can monitor various elements
using the command center of connected construction.
Connecting
the Disconnected Chord:
Through a wide array of software and mobile
applications, construction companies manage all project elements, from design
and scheduling to project management. Contractors face the challenge of
handling several standalone tools that don't contribute to an integrated vision
of the workflow. This is difficult to manage, but siloed setup requires
repetitive data entry, preventing compartmentalized data from informing the
bigger picture. While dealing with a
patchwork, companies keep up with managing different systems - all
administrating things without sharing data. Technology managers are greatly
interested in finding a way for tools to talk to one another or in adopting a
single platform, encompassing all functions in a single system. Shifting to
this direction minimizes overhead, reduces risk and provides flexibility in
data management and use enabling improved communication among stakeholders.
Connected
Construction – An Ecosystem of Connected Jobsite:
Connected construction is actually an
ecosystem of connected job sites, workers and machines that improve operational
efficiency and safety for a smart and connected future job site. In a connected
construction environment, technology facilitates communication and enhances
visibility and control of processes during the design and construction. Sensors
and tags connect job sites, machines, and workers, enabling real-time
visibility and analytical capabilities. Such technologies facilitate connection
among machines in several locations, enabling collaboration among work sites,
and improved oversight of worker safety. Connected construction components
encompass asset tracking, synced time clocks, computer vision, augmented and
virtual reality, real-time data analytics, as well as predictive maintenance.
All such elements are integrated to support centralized decision-making and project
management.
The connected network never sleeps, providing an
invariable stream of information and analytics for guiding project management.
The single platform has capabilities to span across different phases of
construction, supporting design, planning, and construction process in-field or
in-office, and also during handover and commissioning phases when facilities
are handed over to facilities management. To take an instance is the drone
technology for conducting feasibility assessment of construction sites in remote
locations. Drones map sites and transfer digital photography for 3D model
creation of a project. Through drones, there are minimized resources on the
ground, reducing construction costs. Working with the connected technologies
help on-site and off-site facilities get connected.
6 Benefits
of Connected Construction:
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Data Analytics
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Collaboration
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Real-Time Visibility of Projects
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Worker Safety
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Dynamic Work Planning
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Connected Asset/Equipment
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How connected
construction is transforming the AEC industry?
Connected construction establishes the AEC industry
for a new era of robust collaboration,
transparency and control, as well as data-driven decision-making. These changes
affect the day-to-day operations of the companies and shift the entire approach
to create and manage construction projects in several ways. Whether its risk
minimization, quality enhanced collaboration or providing certainty around time,
connected construction is an automated process. And novel avenues for applying
technology become apparent as workflows proceed in new ways.
Invest in
Digital to Realize Value Throughout Project Lifecycle:
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Design, Financing & Procurement
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Construction
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Facility Operations & Asset Management
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Decommissioning
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Connected
Construction Ecosystem Building for the Future:
Construction happens to be the biggest
industry, accountable for 13% of Gross Domestic Product and employing 7% of the
workforce. However, it tends to be conservative and is slow to adopt new technologies.
To enhance productivity and efficiency construction embraces and leverages
digital and data better than before, expanding across the value chain. As per
the report provided by McKinsey’s Reinventing Construction, construction has
seen about a 1% increase in productivity growth in the last two decades.
Some technologies deliver tangible value for
the construction sector. Building information modeling allows construction
companies to create 3D
BIM models, including cost and resource savings, enhanced efficiency,
shortened project lifecycles, improved communication, project coordination as
well as prefabrication and modularization. BIM uses historical data and
predictions for facilitating companies to plan and forecast accurately in ways
not possible through traditional blueprints.
Role
of Digital Technologies in Making Construction More Connected:
IOT
Sensors Playing a Big Role: The Internet of Things (IoT) has started playing a significant role in
construction, with IoT-connected devices and sensors increasing productivity,
operational efficiency and site safety. Sensors enable improved site
visibility, improving productivity throughout the construction project
lifecycle. Instances of IoT solutions in construction include unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV), autonomous trucks, wearables and IoT sensors in concrete during
casting to gauge compressive strength. IoT facilitates the construction process
and beyond from design, manufacturing, engineering and procurement, to facility
operations and maintenance.
Augmenting
Reality Finding its Niche: AR simulated scenarios provide
construction workers with a safe training environment and virtual walkthrough
of the project site, allowing safe monitoring of work progress.
Robots
in Construction Gaining Momentum: Robots traverses construction site for
checking the status of building components on ongoing projects. Their data
collection helps to analyze and identify potential problems at an initial
stage. Usually, the robots used throughout the construction workflow are long-armed,
laying bricks quicker than human workers. They use data for predicting
fluctuations on-site in real-time like movements from vibrations or wind.
Robotics in construction is expected to be worth $7.9 billion by 2027.
5G Mobile
Connectivity with Ultra-Fast Speed: 5G mobile connectivity has the
potential of taking digital transformation to the next level. It enables
“augmented workers,” who are equipped with BIM, AR and other tools to help them
be more informed and more productive on sites. 5G’s ultra-fast speeds and low
latency empower new solutions like building visualization, real-time design
display and instant access to on-site data.
Dynamic
Construction Ecosystem - Data Driving Visibility & Efficiency:
Connected construction creates a dynamic,
ecosystem empowered by data and analytics. Every project is different, or a
unique prototype, developed by consultants, contractors and other suppliers who
never worked together again. The
construction ecosystem thus comprises different procurement systems responsible
for different elements of the building project. As soon as you move past
first-tier suppliers like the design consultants working directly for the
client, the ecosystem splits into various contractors, who have supply chains
of subcontractors and specialist suppliers.
Complex projects extend down the supply chain to numerous suppliers, where project
management at the top of the chain has less visibility. Inaccuracy of budget
and subcontractor scheduling are the prime reasons for delay in the construction
projects. Building projects usually
take 20% longer to complete than the original schedule and could be about 80%
over budget.
Connected
Construction Site – Dashboard Enabling a Scheme to be Monitored:
A connected construction site helps you
explore the rise of connectivity and its impact on the construction sector. This
reveals how teams around the globe are leveraging the full potential of
connectivity and transforming schemes, bringing people together. Consolidating
real-time digital information into the powerful dashboard and dramatically
improving productivity, the connected world provides a fundamental impact on
culture and way of life. The “connected construction site” serves people
in the most useful way. They bring people and the various elements of digital
information about a construction project into one place and act as a powerful
dashboard, enabling a scheme to be monitored, coordinated and controlled. A
single source of truth gets created through a reliable connection to real-time
project data that drastically reduces the time spent on information or checking
the correct information. The centralized, cloud-based dashboard connected site
helps to pull in data from every aspect of a project. The correct drawings or
3D data from a building information model can be placed into the hands of
everyone who need to access them, irrespective of where they are, while version
comparison and overlay tools enable easy interrogation.
Win with
Connected Construction and Build the Future:
There’s always a rate of change experienced by
the world but they are not likely to be slow.
Connected construction sites are now effectively turning the sector into
a platform for technological innovation and substantial improvements are being
made to IT infrastructure in developed nations around the world. 5G
connectivity is already landing in some markets, including the UK and unlocking
new levels of site efficiency. Heavy equipment manufacturers continue to
innovate, where we see connectivity enabling machines to be operated remotely
from different countries. Such progress is particularly advantageous for
high-risk activities or sites facing extreme weather conditions. Connected
sites would accelerate the rise of autonomous vehicles. Data collected from
autonomous construction vehicles and wearable technology across a project team
could be leveraged for providing trend-level overviews of incidents with team
productivity, performance or site weather conditions. This enhanced level of
intelligence around building stock helps to improve building support while
reducing the impact on the climate. Starting from uniting teams, catalyzing productivity to breaking down
silos, there’s the rise of new technologies and transforming the way of
delivery of the built world. It is
evident that the age of the connected construction site has dawned, and the buildings
we all live our lives shape cultures and govern the impact of the planet, set
to be improved dramatically.
Priorities
& Future Vision for the Success of Connected Construction:
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Think Big
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Start Small
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Scale Fast
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