India’s demand for infrastructure projects is huge. These projects involve the construction of roads, bridges, dams, and other structures that will form the backbone of the economy. In fact, estimates are that even a couple of years ago, 9% of India’s GDP was spent on construction infrastructure.

But, the construction sector in India also suffers from multiple issues that hold up the construction of such projects. An array of challenges including land acquisition, labour availability and management, and traditional delivery practices cause delays and push up construction costs. In fact, a recent report by the  Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation says that from 412 major infrastructure projects in the country have suffered cost overruns to the tune of Rs 4.11 Lakh Crores.

Cost overruns are a serious issue especially in a resource-constrained nation like India. So how can infrastructure management and construction companies reduce or eliminate cost overruns?

The answer lies in technology and digital transformation, 2 principles, which have often been ignored by the sector in India even though developed nations have been making steady progress.

So, let’s explore how technology can help eliminate cost overruns in a construction project across various stages:

Improving Design Efficiency

Architectural design along with other preconstruction consulting services forms a sizeable portion of the project cost and can range as much as 15% of the entire project budget. Using Building Information Modelling, architects and design engineers can visualize the project in every possible granular format. Using 3D modelling, it becomes easier to map out building components and accommodate requirements to ensure that the design is as comprehensive and foolproof as possible. Incomplete or inaccurate plans from engineers can lead to serious problems during the construction and can lead to costly disputes and substandard construction work being done by contractors owing to lack of clarity. With a digital backbone managing the entire design process, it is easier to consolidate inputs from various stakeholders, establish common ground, make better material and resource estimates, and drive on-site efforts faster and more efficiently. I have appealed previously to the government to make BIM mandatory for public infrastructure projects like the UK. It was reported some time ago that the UK government expected to save over 400 million pounds each year due to the application of BIM.

Manage Scope Changes

One of the most important challenges in a construction project is the management of changes. No matter, how much effort was taken to take into confidence, all stakeholders during the design phase, scope changes are bound to creep in during construction. It is considered normal here. Since it is impossible to eliminate scope changes during construction, the next best thing to do is to use technology to manage and integrate these changes into the project plan as seamlessly as possible without escalating costs. A centralized BIM platform can help in capturing changes and communicating the same along with the changed course of action to all project team members both on the job site on their mobile phones, as well as key personnel in areas such as procurement, vendor management, finance, and supply chain. Providing the right information about changes transparently at the right time can help in preventing clashes, reducing the timeline for contractors to incorporate changes, prevent resource wastage, and get necessary legal or regulatory compliance approvals for accommodating the change.

Manage Disputes

In several high-value projects, the number of stakeholders involved is quite large in number. One major outcome of this high number is that the number of disputes arising during construction will be high as well. More disputes will lead to more delays and ultimately more cost overruns. Design issues alone account for nearly 38% of all disputes in a construction project according to a study by Engineer’s Daily. Most disputes happen due to inefficient project planning and management which is done predominantly by manual means. By bringing on board a seamless BIM and project management platform, it becomes easier for different stakeholders to be held accountable for their activities. Through transparent reporting of progress, every calculated move in the construction stage can be vetted by all stakeholders and this will eliminate disputes over the finished product. Eventually, virtual demonstrations coupled with modern-day techniques like Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality can help stakeholders visualize design elements in more realistic perspectives and give their suggestions upfront and thus eliminate future disputes. Project management platforms help define daily activities, schedules, and task priorities to ensure that the construction progresses smoothly and in alignment with approved design principles.

Eliminate Errors for Administration

Every construction project involves a hefty administrative back-end operation taking care of various compliance, auditing, and approval processes. When these activities are done manually, the scope for errors is high and at times errors in administrative calculations can prove to be costly. It could lead to various site supervisors or contractors not being informed about changes, guidelines, or safety protocols which in turn can create regulatory and legal compliance complications for the project leading to delays and cost overruns. With the help of technology, several mundane manual processes can be automated. For instance, reporting can be automated and made transparent. This will ensure that all administrative processes follow due diligence and any human errors are eliminated before their impact makes its presence felt in the actual construction site.

Cost overruns are a serious problem in the Indian infrastructure sector. By controlling them, there is a huge opportunity for optimizing the value delivered from the investments being made by the government on behalf of the people. By leveraging digital technology like BIM, projects can be better managed with lower scope for cost overruns. Be it automation of administrative efforts or improving design efficiency, there is a huge potential for Indian infrastructure players to capitalize on the several benefits of technology in their daily operations.

The Government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission in 2014 with the intention of making Indian cities more integrated, sustainable, and data-driven. Beginning the initiative with 100 cities first, the Smart Cities Mission is being administered by the Ministry of Urban Development.

As per a report, about 68% of the world population will be living in cities by 2050 and the same seems true of India as well. In fact, we are likely to have over 60 cities with a population of more than 1 million and 6 megacities with a population of more than 10 million by 2030.

Such a large urban population will inevitably put a lot of pressure on resources like water, energy, infrastructure, transport, healthcare, etc. This makes the Smart Cities Mission even more important.

But what exactly are smart cities? And what potential does technology have in urban development and smart cities in India?

Understanding smart cities

Before understanding the potential of technology in the development of a smart city, we must first understand what a smart city is. It must be highlighted that there isn’t a single, universally accepted definition of a smart city. It varies from country to country, depending on the level of development.

But irrespective of region-specific connotations, the basic aim of a smart city is to improve the quality of life of its residents. A smart city is one that utilizes technology to improve its operations and services. It is a modernized territory that is capable of dealing with various economic, technical, and other aspects related to growth. Technology, thus, forms the backbone of a smart city.

Core technologies for developing a smart city

Most of the integrated solutions that empower a smart city are based on certain key technologies. These are Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), Sensors, Geospatial Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Blockchain. These core technologies form the backbone of all the major aspects of a city like traffic, finance, utilities, waste management, e-governance, and security. And behind all these technologies is a solid core of data analytics.

Let’s discuss these core technologies –

·Information and communication technology (ICT)

ICT plays an important role in building a bridge between citizens and the government. It allows the city residents to interact with the government, which, in turn, helps the government provide relevant services to its citizens.

·Internet of things (IoT)

IoT forms a network across the smart city that connects all dots for gathering data and driving actions remotely. All intelligent solutions in smart cities are based on IoT.

·Sensors

Sensors are key components of any smart control system. They are hidden but are present in large numbers. Sensors help convert physical parameters into a digital form for interpretation and action by humans or automated systems.

·Geospatial technology

This technology provides crucial location information that underpins the fabric of smart cities. It allows pinpointing exact locations in the city where solutions are required.

·Artificial intelligence (AI)

With smart systems, there comes a huge amount of data generation. The large amount of data generated by these systems needs to be processed and utilized. This is done by AI –at pace. It helps derive insights from swathes of generated data and also allows machine-to-machine interactions.

·Blockchain

Even though blockchain is comparatively new for smart cities, it can help give a boost to security and transparency in city services. It can also be employed to generate smart contracts for greater responsiveness and transparency.

Building information modeling for urban development

Building information modeling (BIM) is a technology that has major implications in the designing and implementation of smart cities, just as it does in all buildings.

BIM helps in urban development by assisting designers in planning and designing reasonable designs with better estimations and greater efficiency. BIM also helps analyze buildings in urban areas to resolve design stage issues. BIM can be used to help analyze how buildings in smart cities would interact with each other. In smart cities, powered by automation, the sheer quantity of BIM-linked data can be used to drive measurement and estimation for future developments. Thus, BIM can prove to be an important technology to enable smart cities and smart urban planning.

Use cases

The following use cases give a good idea of the potential of technology in urban development and smart cities –

• The city of Barcelona adopted IoT by implementing a fiber optics network throughout the city. This allowed the city to integrate different areas like water, lighting, and parking, etc. As a result, Barcelona was able to save about €75 million over time. It also led to the generation of 47,000 new jobs.

• The Dutch experimented with the idea of implementing IoT-based infrastructure in the city of Amsterdam. By monitoring and adjusting traffic flow, energy usage, and public safety in real-time, they were able to give a high quality-of-living to their citizens.

• In the United States, Boston and Baltimore cities have adopted smart trash cans by placing sensors inside them. This helps in optimizing trash collection routes.

• In Singapore, house owners in smart cities can monitor their energy consumption like electricity usage.

• In Tokyo, Japan, a smart town has been able to achieve a 70% reduction in carbon emission by using smart solar-powered grids.

There’s little doubt that the use of technology can help improve the quality of life in a smart city in areas like city navigation, public transport, public safety, energy consumption, entertainment, and tourism, etc.

Conclusion

India will see a large chunk of its population become a part of urban India in just a few years. That is why it is essential to leverage the full potential of technology in developing smart cities that are environmentally friendly, inclusive, and safe. Looking at the various openings to use technology in urban development, it’s clear that developing smarter Indian cities to improve the lives of millions of people is an achievable goal.