India is one of the fastest-growing nations in the world. The infrastructure development taking place in the country drives this growth. All around us, India is experiencing major infrastructural advancements and transformative projects which will become key success drivers. And the aviation sector could be next in line for the infrastructure transformation.

One of the challenges for the growth of the aviation sector has been providing connectivity to the smaller centres and improving the facilities in locations that have outgrown their current scale. And that’s why modern airports are being planned across the country.

We need modern technologies to fuel this airport boom and build the infrastructure of the future. Some of the best airports worldwide have used advanced innovations like BIM and it’s the right time for India to adopt this best practice to realize the nation’s vision in infrastructure development.

For the benefit of the folks tasked with planning these airports and who happen to read this piece, a bit of explanation first. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a multi-dimensional visual representation of the design beyond the traditional 2D representations. By baking in dimensions of time, project status, and cost, BIM has the ability to bring together various disciplines involved in the planning and design, execution, and maintenance phases of construction projects. BIM is, of course, highly useful for building a structure that involves critical design.

But clearly, this definition is not needed. And that’s what this post is all about.

With a solid focus on innovation and a focus on advanced technology, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has mandated the use of BIM as the design and planning platform for the construction and development of airports.

An airport includes various facility elements that must be constructed. The work includes civil, MEP, landscape, and interiors. Multiple areas need attention like the runway, control tower, and terminal buildings. The focus must be on utility as well as appearance. Hence the design is complex in nature. And the comprehensive model of BIM makes it come together beautifully. The integrated approach of BIM facilitates a better understanding of workflows and facilitates the creation of an effective timeline with negligible errors. And I say this based on our previous experience of having working on the BIM models for the Mumbai International Airport.

Here are some great things I see emerging from this decision of the AAI.

1.      The use of BIM will help enhance collaboration across the entire project from design, creation, and construction to operations and maintenance. BIM will centralize access to the data model and let the project team members at multiple sites leverage the data models regardless of their physical location. This will also let team members see each other’s work and communicate with one another in real-time. BIM will help to better visualize the design for the air terminal for all those involved in the planning and construction. This will help them plan better for upcoming tasks and ensure that the appropriate resources are available in time. This should allow projects to get delivered on time.

2.      Airports cost a lot of money to build. A massive amount of materials and resources are poured into that construction. And, it’s also true that a significant portion of that is wasted. Problems like over-ordering are common. Under-provisioning for key materials is also not unknown. This leads to having to order materials in smaller quantities, with urgent timelines which often costs more. Clearly, efficient estimations of the materials required can help save a pretty penny. And BIM can provide just that efficiency.

3.      The use of BIM will minimize clashes between teams working on different areas like plumbing and electrical. This will help reduce rework and minimize errors. This should result in greater cost consistency, improve plan execution and design optimization. From being able to collaborate in the design, early planning, to construction and operations, BIM can brings together all the pieces of the puzzle. With thousands of people working on the site, communication at scale is important. It will enable everyone to review the master model, see each other’s concerns; conflicting elements; inaccurate or missing structure components, and critical zones, both for coordination and installation. This will help save time as well as money.

4.      BIM will help optimize the upcoming maintenance tasks of the facility by providing a reliable base structure to define management plans. This will make maintenance more proactive, sustained and comprehensive. This could help make airport operations more efficient and trouble-free once launched. This is of critical importance when you consider the sheer volume of moving parts that come together every day in even the smallest airport. This can also help make the ongoing airport operations more energy-efficient and, hence, more environmentally friendly. In fact, this focus on sustainability can be built in right at the design stage by focusing on integrating energy efficiency in the structure.

BIM, when implemented from the first stage makes it simpler to build, transform or reconstruct (a part of) an existing structure.

The decision to utilize BIM will enable better plan and construction efficiency, reduce cost, and could also deliver a more positive impact on the environment. The creation of the nation’s air terminals with the added power of BIM could well set new benchmarks for various upcoming airport infrastructure projects everywhere.

Building Information Modeling has now gained widespread acceptance in representing the information inherent within drawings and plans. But it lacks something at the post-construction and operation stage. Post-construction the model does not represent the structure as a living element, it only represents the as-built form of the building. Even during the construction, the BIM model is only as good as the information provided to it. If the data is late or inaccurate, the model will be too.

In this context, an integration between BIM and IoT could be utilized to have better construction and development monitoring, crisis management, energy management, and ongoing functioning. Let’s explore how this could work.

First, some definitions to set a baseline.

Building Information Modelling (BIM): We all know what BIM is. In our context, let’s assume that BIM includes combining information to create a digital representation of a project. This suggests integrating information from numerous sources and evolving in parallel with the real project over the whole course of events. This evolution would cover design, construction, and development. Of course, BIM adds value across the entire lifecycle of a project by providing coordinated and validated data that everyone can access and share. No need to make the widely accepted case that BIM helps in lowering costs, improving, improving productivity and profitability, saving time, and improving operational management.

Internet of things (IoT): An ongoing revolution of the IT age, IoT is the network of things, with clear component identification, embedded with software intelligence, sensors, and connectivity to a network (usually the internet). IoT focuses on establishing communication between all these devices. The objective of IoT is to enable the far reaches of any ecosystem (like buildings or structures) with the capability of gathering data, sharing it with a platform that can process it and derive intelligent insights, and take actions based on those insights.

BIM integration with IoT -the possibilities:

Integrating BIM with IoT nodes could provide various advantages, some of which are listed below:

1. More efficient BIM:  One of the most significant values of using BIM is collaboration. But there are some obstacles influencing the ability to collaborate with project teams, one of which is closed data. Limiting access to data that should be shared, makes BIM processes difficult to streamline. Integration with IoT could make BIM processes more effective by providing them with a steady stream of reliable information.

2. Ubiquitous Monitoring: The building elements can be considered as “things” that provide data about their own state. Through ubiquitous monitoring, the information about the building elements can be provided continuously, even in an emergency situation. This can have wide implications, including in safety and project communications.

3. Resource Management: BIM has tremendous utility in resource planning and tracking. Material estimates can be made much more efficiently by turning to BIM models. BY combining that estimate with IoT, the BIM models can also get ongoing feedback about resource usage in real-time. This will help fine-tune the models and make them even more effective at predicting the material requirements. This will also help control material wastage and loss from the site and provide a much more accurate record of utilization.

4. Client-Independent Architecture: As construction becomes more tech-focused, the project sites start depending more on software applications. In that ecosystem, the data acquired from BIM models can be displayed, visualized, and analyzed by any application. This information can be immeasurably enriched by integrating with IoT. The information gathered from the IoT nodes such as temperature, humidity, state of the building, information regarding danger of fire and flood, and the state of air conditioning systems and elevators and escalators can be made available for interested parties regardless of their operating system and the software they use. This can bridge the key technologies for acquiring and presenting real-time structured data.

5. Human–Building Interaction: By integrating IoT nodes with BIM, the structures can provide information about their state. This information can either be provided continuously or on request. The provision of data on demand by the structure elements, when integrated with the IoT can prove advantages. There are significant benefits in Facilities Management. This can help drive up the efficiency of maintenance activities by making them pre-emptive or proactive. This concept, when implemented, can help shift buildings to becoming automated or intelligent buildings.

Building Information Modelling has already reformed the construction industry. The core element in BIM is data and having a collaborative connection between each part of the project. That suggests that the way to evolve BIM is to make it a real-time information model. This could be done by utilizing IOT nodes to provide BIM with more updated and complete information. The BIM + IoT combination could usher in the next construction revolution.

India is transforming. It stands on the cusp of significant change: a change that will lead to unprecedented financial development with radical improvements. India is among the fastest developing economies of the world. India’s hyper-growth has led to an optimistic population with needs that have extended the resources of the nation to its limit.

The largest of these needs to be fixed is infrastructure. Most agree that bridging India’s infrastructure gap can be the catalyst for a massive economic and development leap.

The construction industry not only drives substantial economic potential but is also a huge part of that economy. It is also among the most significant employment providers.

However, over the years, some difficulties have limited the growth and development prospects of the construction industry in India. I’ve already made the point that physical infrastructure directly affects the growth and overall development of an economy. It’s clear therefore that the prevailing issues impacting the infrastructure sector must be addressed.

Some of the biggest challenges faced by India in the field of construction include:

1)   Lack of skilled workforce: The surge in construction projects has added to the woes of ever-increasing demand for employment in the industry. The drawback of the shortage of skilled labour is that it not only affects your output and ability to meet deadlines, but it also puts the folks on the construction site at risk as compromises are made and corners cut.

2)   Project Complexity: Modern construction and development projects are getting more demanding, both in terms of design and functionality. Today’s smart building demand more modern materials, sustainable building practices, and room for technological extensions in the future.

3)   Cost of materials: The supply of construction materials is always constrained, and this pushes up the price. Poor estimates of material requirements, inefficient ordering, pilferage, and material wastage all add up to further drive up the costs. This is a significant problem in a sector where the margins have historically always been slim.

4)   Technology Adoption: Technology has the potential to be a significant differentiator in the construction industry today. This is especially true with global investors investing in India. Technologically efficient builders are attracting collaborations in the higher end and organizations that follow traditional methods are falling behind. Elements like Virtual Reality, AI, and, even, BIM are helping drive that change today, both in the commercial and housing sector. But a resistance to change and a fear of the unknown still holds back many from adopting the power of technology.

5)   Other issues: For a sector this complex, the interface with a variety of local and federal government agencies adds a certain complexity that is challenging to address. There is a crucial need to improve transparency. The reduction of regulatory uncertainty and approval delays is essential. Creating a system for single-window clearance for approvals of infrastructure projects is a valid request of the construction sector. The sector cannot modernize if the government bodies that commission the work fail to adopt change.

However, this scenario is changing slowly but steadily. And much more needs to be done.

To foster the emergence of world-class practices in the sector, India needs to invest more in research and development (R&D). Government sector support is crucial in this area. Especially in creating a pool of employable talent to drive tomorrow’s construction sectors.

On the cash flow side, in recent years, some steps have been taken by the Indian government to address some concerns. Credit enhancement helps, to a degree. The formation of infrastructure investment funds like REITs which take contributions from many investors and utilize the funding for a large number of framework ventures are also providing some funding avenues. But finance is always a bit of a chicken and egg story. As the sector does well, money comes in. As things stall, the money tends to dry up too. The only sustainable strategy would be to use money wisely!

Of course, to really develop our infrastructure, the government needs to review issues of budget allocation, tax strategy, monetary incentives, and the synergistic participation of the private sector and public-private partnerships (PPPs). But structural fixes aside there’s a lot that’s in our own hands too.

On the part of the construction companies, we need to be open to adopting more technology. We must become more data-driven and nimble. Employing technology solutions like BIM to encourage better planning, drive better resource estimates and utilization tracking, and effective collaboration should be an obvious first step. In fact, I have appealed to the powers that be that they must make the use of BIM mandatory for public infrastructure projects to save money and time.

To my mind, a variety of behavioural factors can also help us meet the infrastructure ambitions of India. To name a few:

1) Concentrating on accountability, integrity, and sustainability.

2) Flexible and adaptable operating models

3) An empowered and informed customer

4) Modern thinking by adopting new and different approaches and technologies that may have been developed and worked elsewhere but that would also work in India.

India still has a long journey ahead, but the right steps in the right direction are starting to be taken. The vision is that India’s infrastructure will help us bridge the gap between our ambitions and our present-day realities. And if these difficulties are solved urgently, the success story will be unique and worthy.