10 Trending Construction Technologies - 2022
The construction industry has identified the requirement of advanced technology in order to work efficiently, collaboratively and thus adopting the latest technology to improvise the entire construction workflow. Although the process is slow as compared to other industries.
A report?by?MCKINSEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE?said?in 2015 that?“large projects typically take?20% longer to finish than scheduled?and are up to 80% over budget. 98%?of megaprojects become delayed?or over budget. 77% of?megaprojects around the globe are?40% or more behind schedule.”
10 Trending construction technologies you need to know about to run your business in the AEC industry. We have described these advanced technologies to stay updated in 2022.
BIM and Digital Twin
BIM is the most popular terminology in the Building Construction Industry. The technology is utilized to prepare digital for new construction and renovation building construction projects.
Most of us are already aware of the abbreviation of BIM, its Building Information Modeling/Modelling.
The process of preparing a data-rich 3-dimensional virtual representation of a building structure, utilizing several BIM software such as Revit, Navisworks, etc. is known as Building Information Modeling. The 3D BIM model or, the digital twin of a building structure contains every possible information required for a flawless construction process. Project stakeholders, architects, engineers, contractors, and sub-contractors work collaboratively in the virtual world. Multi-disciplinary design change, modification, and updation take place on a real-time basis that helps project teams to make informed decisions.
Benefits:
?3D Visualization: Data-rich 3D visualization of any building model in the digital platform exhibits the concept or, design of an architect. Project stakeholders can easily make an informed decision at the very early designing stage that accelerates the project execution process.
?Accessibility: BIM 3D models and related data are accessible from any electronic devices, at any point of time by the project teams and stakeholders. The easy accessibility helps in understanding project requirements and taking immediate action.
?Realtime Update: BIM-based digital twins are prepared in a single cloud-based real-time environment therefore the design changes, modifications, reviews, and remarks take place on the real-time basis.
?Documentation: The cloud-based BIM server collates all the project related data and stores it permanently. These data are further used for facility management, maintenance, and operations post-handover stage. Moreover, the stored data can also be utilized for similar projects, to plan, estimate project budget and other related risks that need to be considered before executing a project.
?Collaboration: The digital twin technology collaborates with project teams and stakeholders therefore the collaboration amongst the design team and field teams help in mitigating onsite risk, miscommunication, and expensive construction design changes. Real-time collaboration helps in monitoring project progression.?
Collaborative Software Tools
COVID-19 had made us realize to work collaboratively in the virtual environment and therefore the collaborative software tools are in trend in the AEC Industry.
There are multiple software packages are available now in the construction industry that allows project stakeholders, architects, engineers, contractors, and sub-contractors to work collaboratively in the virtual world. From the conceptual designing stage to the planning, construction, and maintenance stage these software tools allow the project team to work coordinating multi-disciplinary models and documents. In the digital virtual world, it allows connecting workflow, multi-disciplinary teams, and data at every stage of a building lifecycle.
Autodesk Construction Cloud, BIM collaborate Pro, etc. are examples of cloud-based collaborative software tool packages.
Benefits:
?Document Management:?Cloud-based document management system allows to store, collaborate and manage design projects.
?Design Collaboration:?The centralized BIM Collaboration service enables sharing of designed packages (RVT. IFC etc.), comparing changes on models concerning the older version, assigning issues, markups for review, and tracking project progression with respect to timeline.
?Model Coordination:?Virtual Model Coordination service ensures automatic multi-trade clash detection, and evaluates constructability in Sandboxed folders.
Robotics & Drones
Drones integrated with robotics changing the scenario of the construction industry. The advanced technology of robots modernizing the construction processes and drones are helping construction workers to identify project progression by comparing it with project planning and designing. On one hand, Robots are mitigating onsite risk by efficiently working along with construction staffs and other hand drones are capturing data of high-rise multi-story complex buildings, where the physical presence of humans is highly risky. Robotics is resulting efficient designing and planning, whereas unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) capture any data from any location in the form of point clouds or, just photographs.
Benefits
?Transporting Building Materials: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Robots are utilized to efficiently deliver building components in less time compared with humans, therefore, construction workers can concentrate on other works that cannot be performed by robots and drones. This improves productivity on the construction site.
?Surveying and Building Inspection: Drones are utilized for surveying and inspection purposes as drones can reach and collect data from any of the locations of building construction where the human presence can be dangerous.
?Efficient Project Planning: Drones are sent to the new construction site to collect data on the site situation. This data helps contractors to efficiently and accurately plan the construction process considering all related risks and preventive options.
?Effective Safety Management: Drones are beneficial for site surveillance and help in acquiring safety measures when required.
Green and Innovative Materials
Green and innovative materials in the construction industry are such products that are utilized to build green and sustainable buildings. The term green building is a popularly known term that means such a building that is designed, constructed, and operated to reduce or mitigate negative impacts on our natural environment and climate. These buildings improve the quality of life by preserving natural resources to protect the earth.
There are various types of green and innovative construction materials have been introduced in the AEC industry.
3D Printing
3D printing is the computer-aided consecutive layering of elements to develop a 3-dimensional shape. Initially, it was used for prototyping and for manufacturing geometrically complex materials. 3D printing in construction (c3DP/3DCP) implies multiple technologies that use 3D printing as an essential process to fabricate construction or, building materials. Utilizing the automated technology facilitates faster and ease of construction, lower costs, increased accuracy, enables DIY construction, greater integration of function, and mitigates wastage.
Benefits:
?Encouraging Speedy Construction Process: The advanced technology facilitates a significantly faster timeline as compared to the traditional construction process, which takes more than a month and sometimes years to complete the construction of a commercial building. AEC professionals can save 60% time and 80% labor cost by outsourcing projects with 3D construction printing services.
?Reducing Material Wastage: The additive manufacturing process of 3D printing allows using the only exact amount of material necessary for structure creation. Other waste-reducing processes and building methodologies such as lean construction and prefabrication along with 3D printing technology empower the construction process in such a way that produces almost no-waste building.
?Providing Design Freedom to Architects: 3D printing offers design freedom and allows architects to develop a complex design that can be labor-intensive, more expensive or, unachievable using the conventional construction process.
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?Diminishing Labor Loss: 3D printing in construction helps in reducing the chances of worker injuries and loss of life by incorporating automated and more programmable construction processes.
Virtual Reality
The trending construction technology of virtual reality is utilized to represent concepts, ideas, 3-dimensional BIM models in the virtual environment using various VR software, VR-enabled headsets, glasses, etc. The technology is helpful for designers, architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, and building owners to visualize the upcoming construction process and dream project in the real-like virtual world.
Benefits:
?Saves Time in Designing: The VR experience reduces the time spent on model or, design revision as the preconstruction stage takes place in the Common Data Environment and all the project stakeholders can visualize design change on a real-time basis.
?Reusabilty of the Same Model: The technology enables users to utilize the initial model created by the architect to modify, update and make it clash-free by removing constructability issues.
?On-site Risk Mitigation: VR safety training ensures no risk of the on-site physical presence of construction professionals by allowing the process virtually with VR simulation and interacting with construction objects, equipment, and other features.
?Enhanced Team Collaboration: The digital VR platform encourages better collaboration amongst multi-disciplinary project teams by offering designing, modeling, planning, and project management process in a single cloud-based virtual platform.
?Better Cost Estimation: The elaborated virtual representation of a building ensures exact estimation of the building materials and thus improvises cost management process
?Concept Visualization: The efficient BIM model representation integrated with VR technology accelerates the chances of winning projects in the bidding stage as it clearly reflects the concept design of an Architect, Designer, and Engineer.
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is a technology that brings digitalized elements and objects into the user’s real world. The technology is powered by multiple digital platforms such as headsets, mobile applications, and smart devices that overlay computer-generated elements in the real environment. AR in the AEC industry involves inserting a BIM 3D model of a concept design into the real existing environment using just a mobile device and the 3D digital representation.
The benefits are enormous to be utilized.
Benefits:
?Better Visualization of Project: Visualization and project demonstration using AR technology results in a better understanding of the concept of an Architect or, a Designer to the project stakeholders. That encourages the chances of winning more projects.
?Improved Design Analysis: Design analysis using AR walkthrough helps in identifying clashes and other constructability issues during the preconstruction stage. Project owners easily can make informed-decision far before the construction process.
?Greater Collaboration: The technology enables real-time collaboration amongst project teams and stakeholders that further removes the chances of miscommunication or, delayed design change.
?On-site Risk Mitigation: AR application in mobile devices scans labels or, tags located in a specific location or objects. These labels are further used to develop text or 3D models enabling communication of safety or, risk information that mitigates onsite risk during construction.
Prefabrication
Prefabrication is widely accepted and a trending construction process in the AEC industry. The modern construction process is based on assembling various components of a structure to the construction site. Modular construction or, prefabrication process contains several benefits that help construction professionals to execute and deliver building projects within budget and on time.
Benefits:
?Waste Reduction: The eco-friendly modular construction process mitigates material wastage as the building components are fabricated in the manufacturing site far before the on-site construction process takes place.
?Cost Saving: Prefabricated building construction results in financial savings. It may seem that the customized fabricated material cost would cross the project budget but in reality, the manufacturer provides a discounted rate for bulk product supply. Therefore, the overall pricing never crosses the budget.
?Reduced Manpower Requirement: Prefabrication reduces the requirement of more labor as a result few genuine workforces can complete the construction process in less time.
?Flexibility: The flexibility of modular construction is amazing. Any constructed model, building component, and structure can be relocated and reassembled to any location at any point of time. This significantly reduces the requirement of raw material and hence save time and money
?Enhanced Productivity: Since the building components are completed in the manufacturing site that eliminates the chances of sufferings due to noise, pollution, waste, and other common irritants. Therefore the absence of unnecessary distractions and interference enhances productivity and streamlines the construction process.
?Risk Mitigation: The risks associated with moisture, environmental hazards, and dirt are diminished as the sub-assemblies are created in a factory-controlled environment utilizing dry materials.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the trending technology term revolutionizing the construction industry. AI integrated with BIM fastening the entire project execution process starting from the conceptual design stage. The technology of AI is already adopted by most of the industries however the AEC industry is still reluctant to adopt it. The construction industry can be benefited from the enormous advantages of AI and revolutionize the construction process.
Benefits:
?Efficient Project Management: 3D lasers canning data of existing building environment compared with any old construction project data powered by AI automates the project planning process on a real-time basis. At the same time, the technology helps in analyzing dimensions, material, location, and cost in real-time which results in accurate and efficient project plan management.
?Optimized Building Model: Machine learning, another form of AI, is used in software integrated with BIM, to prepare a clash-free optimized generative model during the preconstruction stage. The technology scout all possible solutions to generate a well-coordinated BIM model.
?Diminishes the chances of Labor Loss: AI-powered drones capture data from the construction site and analyze the activity of construction workers. Whenever it identifies any safety hazards immediately generate risk alerts so that the team can hold construction work and call for a safety briefing in order to mitigate labor loss and enhance site safety.
?Saves Time on Repetitive Works: So many repetitive tasks like bricklaying, pouring concrete, demolition, and welding can be performed by AI-powered robots that minimize the requirement of labors but efficiently complete the task within schedule. Moreover, autonomous or semi-autonomous bulldozers perform excavation and prepare Jobsite for construction with the help of human programmers following projects specifications. This saves a lot of time and therefore diminishes the chances of budget overrun.
?Introduced Precise Designing Process: The manual process of designing would have taken weeks to proceed further for planning and construction. AI integrated with BIM has diminished the manual construction process and replaced it with a software-based precise designing process.
?Aiding in Prefabrication Process: The manufacturer utilizes AI-powered robots to generate accurate building materials to be assembled in job sites for easy installation. The technology is fastening the manufacturing and construction process.
Mobility and Wearables
Mobility?and?wearables?are other?trending technology?terms that brought a revolution in the construction process. There are several?advanced technologies?and software that have been introduced in the oldest business industry to customize and improvise the construction process to gain positive outcomes. Some examples of wearables are?smart glass?(AR Lens),?safety vests,?exoskeletons, smart personal protective equipment (PPE), Smart GPS-enabled wearables, emergency alerts, etc. Mobility and wearable technology gained popularity in the?AEC industry?due to the?covid19 pandemic?situation.
Final Thought
The Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry can avail the enormous benefit of the advanced technologies that are revolutionizing the construction industry. In the initial stage of adoption, it may take time to train existing construction professionals but in the long run, it must be fruitful for the industry. The most delinquent technology associated with updated software and latest workflow the architects, designers, engineers, modelers, and drafters can efficiently execute the preconstruction stage and further support general contractors, sub-contractors, surveyors, and facility managers to work collaboratively throughout the building lifecycle.
The BIM service providers in the USA are the fast adopters of the cutting-edge technology of 3D BIM modeling and digital twins by using collaborative software toolsets and therefore helping the construction industry to save time and money. MEP contractors and engineers, architects, structural contractors and engineers, and any AEC business owner can outsource their requirements to the experienced and skilled AEC professionals to efficiently wrap up the preconstruction stage to accelerate the construction process.