The construction industry influences lives every day. The industry exemplifies the building blocks of our communities, and, from a broader perspective, is a foundation of the nation’s economy.

That said, unlike other industries, the construction industry has been sluggish to adopt new technologies and, perhaps, has never experienced a significant transformation for that reason. Consequently, productivity has stagnated over the past four decades, and in some cases, even sank. In some documented studies, it’s been reported that the productivity gains in the construction industry are only half as much as for all other sectors.

The construction industry also faces several important questions, such as climate change, sustainability, lagging productivity, and financial pressure. Inefficiencies can be identified in almost every area of the construction ecosystem, beginning from design through to implementation. These inefficiencies give rise to increased costs and environmental impacts like wastage of materials, inefficient space allocation, or increased pollution.

However, this scenario seems set to transform radically very soon. Intense changes are already occurring—although not yet on a broader scale—but in several aspects of the construction industry. It would be apt to say that the future is almost here but is not uniformly distributed. Let’s take a look at the changes that technology will bring in.

The Key is Digitization According to McKinsey, construction-technology companies have gained over $10 billion in funding. Such investments are pushing technological innovations ahead at a rapid pace. This promises to enable the industry to deliver grand projects like underwater railway tunnels, human-made islands, and other marvels. The impact is likely to be felt at the massive as well as the minute level.

An increasing number of construction projects will integrate digital sensors, mobile devices, intelligent machines, and innovative software applications—usually integrated with building information modeling (BIM) to create data-driven strategies. One fascinating instance of digital technologies facilitating the construction industry is the restoration of one of the world’s key landmarks: Notre Dame. After the disastrous fire last year, discussions concerning its renovation entered the modern age extremely fast. In 2015, an Art History professor produced a billion data points by 3D laser scanning the complete cathedral and formulating a high-resolution digital blueprint. His efforts helped in mapping the building into models with utmost precision, allowing for insightful decision-making and planning for the necessary renewal.

New tools and technologies in the digital space will help construction organizations enhance productivity, lessen project delays, and further improve buildings’ quality and enhance safety, working conditions, and environmental compatibility.

Technology Revolutionizing Construction Phases

Technology is revolutionizing three crucial life cycle phases of every construction project. All through the design and engineering stage, it’s apparent now that BIM recognizes possible design clashes and constructability problems, thus preventing costly rework. It’s also becoming increasingly obvious that BIM enhances the tendering process by making all the information increasingly transparent and accessible. An attention-grabbing instance is that of Crossrail. It is one of the most complex and most significant infrastructure projects involved in constructing a critical underground line across London. During this project, the designers and engineers utilized a centralized set of connected BIM databases to incorporate roughly 1.7 million CAD files into a single information model to allow vendors to bid and plan better.

During the construction stage, drones are likely to be utilized to survey and inspect the construction site. 3D printers will prefabricate several building components. The materials, equipment, and workers will be regularly tracked using GPS and RFID to optimize workflows, improve real-time locational awareness, and optimize inventory levels. Robots and autonomous vehicles will carry out more building work. Aerial mapping or 3D laser scanning can be effectively used to compare work in progress with a virtual model, allowing prompt corrections and minimizing unnecessary rework. During the operations stage, embedded sensors will be leveraged to inspect assets, check for deterioration, assist predictive maintenance, and continuously update central databases. Augmented Reality will further guide maintenance crews. The big data (collected from sensors, energy consumption, etc.) will be subjected to advanced analytics to optimize decision-making and boost operational efficiency.

It’s true, the adoption of these transformative construction technologies has been slow. While few construction companies have faced some struggle in adopting, the others who had employed these technologies faced a hard time to capture all the possible benefits. However, gradually, these obstacles will fall. As technology adoption grows, productivity gains will become apparent and outcomes will improve visibility.

The Way Forward for Construction Industry

Connected technologies and a rise in associated investments will help construction technology companies fine-tune their offerings, acquire more customers, demonstrate more value, and articulate their benefits better. As technology becomes more visible, it will help drive adoption in the wider construction sector. Construction companies will seek new operational efficiencies and better financial outcomes by utilizing technology in the planning, delivery, and operation of construction projects and gain substantial business value.

McKinsey says that $ 10 billion will be invested in construction technology companies. This will likely help bring about a paradigm shift in how Indian construction companies look at technology.

Ever since Building Information Management (BIM) concepts emerged in the 1970s, Governments and construction companies around the world started to adopt it.

What started as a technology exclusively used in large sites and developed countries got extended to developing countries too. It has now become a standard in the construction industry.

In fact, over the last few years, construction companies in India started to adopt BIM to reduce construction delays and cost overruns. Even Government bodies like the Maha-Metro Corporation decided to use BIM on the Nagpur Metro Rail project to build an integrated environment where data such as project schedule and cost is easily available for managing.

However, despite the proven benefits, not as many companies as should be are enthusiastic about adopting BIM.

Let’s try to understand the reasons behind it.

Is BIM Adoption Waning?

Although companies recognize the role of BIM, the ground reality is more complex. While we are wholehearted supporters of BIM, we recognize that to evangelize the technology we must understand the obstacles and perception gaps impeding growth. Here are some reasons why companies are being so slow in adopting BIM.

1.     Lack of enthusiasm in adoption

In a 2019 NBS survey, lack of demand was cited as one of the reasons for the slow adoption of BIM. Small companies may not consider BIM as a priority. They think there is no compulsion to use it and companies do not consider it to be significant to project completion.

Paul Morrell, the UK Government’s Chief Construction Advisor, blames it on lack of data. Here’s what he had to say.

 “It’s (BIM) sort of stalled because I think people are thinking where’s the data?”

If we want companies to prioritize BIM, we need to ensure that there is enough data to prove its benefits. But as Morrell says, unless companies use BIM, we are never going to generate the data to prove its worth. It’s a kind of catch 22 situation for the industry. The fact is, if you seek the data, you will find it!

2.     Lack of talent and training

Construction companies face a tough challenge in recruiting skilled people. The primary reason for it is the conventional image attached to the industry. Millennials prefer flexibility and choose companies that are more obviously linked to a technology future. Considering that millennials will form 75% of the industry by the next decade, there will be a mismatch between their expectations and their perception of the way the AEC industry works. Our industry is considered to be inflexible; the office spaces are also not as glamorous as the IT industries. The industry is also perceived to be male-dominated, so gender diversity is low too. Another challenge is that companies aren’t known to prioritize training.

The lack of talent, training, and contextual awareness creates a challenge for companies to adopt BIM. But even experts like McKinsey are confident that a transformation is coming and sitting this one out isn’t an option. Construction companies will have to make significant changes in how they work and in some fundamental processes. This will be essential to keep up and deliver to the expectations of digital employees and customers.

3.     Cost vs. benefits

With margins in the construction business being so tight, companies are unwilling to invest in new technology without being assured of the cost benefits of BIM. There are direct costs such as investment in hardware, software licensing, training of professionals, and maintenance involved. Even leaving aside the ability to implement the technology and leverage it properly, the big challenge is to get the construction teams to adopt the BIM output onsite. So, companies are hesitant to invest. Of course, they fail to recognize the benefits the technology offers to the company, designers and engineers, and consultants. And while on-site adoption is a real issue, it’s not an unsolvable problem as we have shown.

4.     Lack of defined scope and unrealistic expectations

Companies often do not have a defined scope for BIM implementation. They are unclear as to what objects they want to get modeled in a particular project phase? At what level should they be modeled, or what information is needed to complete a BIM use? To add to the woes, they often do not have the right partner to guide them. Some partners tend to overpromise and set unrealistic expectations, which could be hard to attain. Others tend to deliver projects and walk away without offering any help to the company to indulge their own digital ambitions. For long-term sustainability, companies must have a well-defined scope for implementing BIM and partners who align their goals with the client’s needs and expectations. Any less, and BIM ends up an experiment or a transaction restricted to one project.

Conclusion

Although we have seen some remarkable improvement in the adoption of BIM in countries like India, the full potential of this wonderful technology is still untapped. A country like India has a vast talent pool and access to BIM, which can be utilized to scale the projects and attain an attractive cost to benefit ratio. There is a fertile opportunity for the industry to utilize BIM to transform itself. This needs the willingness to change the way work is done, hire new people who understand technology and make technology a significant part of the overall strategy. It’s time to take the first step, because as Morrell said, “Once you can see the benefits of working in this way, why would you do it in any other way?”

The construction industry may not be an early adopter of technology as compared to other sectors. However, the recent pandemic has compelled them to embrace technology to continue working without flouting the guidelines.

Apart from using collaboration tools, IoT sensors, and cloud-based software to connect with remote teams, the industry has started to significantly ramp up the usage of established technologies like Building Information Management (BIM) more actively too.

BIM adoption has grown to such an extent that Autodesk, one of the leading companies developing BIM software has reported a 350% increase in the global BIM adoption rate ever since COVID-19 compelled the adoptions of different safety standards and a global shift of work from the office to home. According to the Global Building Information Model market report, the BIM market will grow at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2019 to 2026. It is poised to become a market of $9.81 billion by 2026.

BIM is expected to evolve further in the years to come.

As we come to the end of 2020, let’s look at how BIM will continue to evolve in 2021 and how it will benefit the construction industry.

How Would BIM Evolve In 2021?

1. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR and VR)

BIM and 3D modeling help clients get a better perspective about how the building model would look, but they would have less visibility into other designing options. AR and VR could change that. They are expected to give greater power to the clients to choose. Brandon Mikeal, a leading BIM engineer, says that architects can use AR to show the various options of a building model on their tablet. It can also be used to catch errors in the models before something is installed at the site. VR can be used to give the client a walkthrough of every part of the building so they can choose the specific features they want. He believes these options could drive sales for construction companies. It will also give them a competitive advantage over other construction companies that don’t make such technology choices.

2. Cloud adoption

It’s natural for clashes and errors to occur as the project moves towards the construction process. Identifying and fixing these clashes is one of the principal value propositions of BIM. For that to happen, all stakeholders must have access to the same data from the site to assess the progress of the project. This ensures a clash-free plan, which in turn saves the time and costs of the contractors on rework. As there are several stakeholders involved in a project, real-time data sharing from the site becomes tedious. It becomes even more challenging when the data set is large. To streamline the BIM data sharing process, companies have started to use cloud-based applications. The stakeholders are given access to the cloud application, so they can easily refer and use the data even if they are working remotely. Companies have started to witness improvement in their processes thanks to the increased collaboration between different members.

3. Collaboration tools

While we are on the topic of collaborative efforts, let’s look at how collaboration tools can help BIM to evolve. Typically, architects, engineers, and building designers use BIM to create the blueprint. This design is saved and shared with the contractors on site. However, there are always times when the design would have to undergo certain changes. To ensure seamless communication, companies can integrate BIM with collaboration tools. This will enable the stakeholders involved in the project to make changes quickly and get the work started without any miscommunication. 80% of the average cost overrun happens due to change orders. With improved collaborations, companies can reduce the change orders and ensure that the work gets done quickly and efficiently.

4. Enriched 3D modeling

To provide the clients with a clear understanding of how the final building would look, companies can opt for an enriched 3D BIM model. This is a value-added development of the BIM model, supplemented with more visual appeal and descriptive context. It can be used to design floor plans, elevations, and other spaces by taking snapshots from different perspectives. The best part of using such 3D BIM modeling services is that it allows the model to remain consistent even if there is a minor change in one of the elements by baking in processes that allow constant updating. So, the architect does not have to work on all the elements again to make the model consistent.

5. Drones

BIM specialists could face a tough time while covering a large area of the site within a short duration or when they are working remotely. That’s when a drone can prove to be useful. BIM specialists can use drones to capture accurate data of a large area by hovering it over the site. Over time, this also enables the specialists to track the progress of the project, so they can refine the model based on the insights received by the drone. It can also be used to survey and record data from rough terrains that are usually risky to tread for supervisors.

Conclusion

The construction industry has used BIM for more than four decades. It has helped construction companies streamline their operations and save costs. However, it could well prove to be a game-changer during COVID-19 by ensuring smooth operations when the teams were located at separate locations. Even as vaccines get developed, we expect companies to continue using BIM to complete their projects without any hassles, especially in innovative new ways. All they need is the right BIM implementation partner who will help them to leverage BIM to its optimum level!

Architects and engineers alike turn to Building information modeling (BIM) to improve building design, and construction processes, and create dynamic and streamlined structures. Moreover, among those who use architectural BIM modeling, about 83% of users have experienced a positive ROI on their investments.

BIM allows designers to design and create more effectively by connecting the multi-dimensional model to the 2D drawing.

Let’s talk more about how architects use BIM for the design process in the AEC industry.

What does the BIM process look like for architects?

BIM has played an important role in transforming design and construction. It allows design teams to work more efficiently and explore designs before they are built.

 

Although every firm has standard operating procedures and manuals for BIM, the following are some of the core steps in the BIM process that architects or BIM architects usually follow:

• Predesign – The predesign stage is to determine if BIM can be used on the project. The first step is to have a BIM roadmap to define how the BIM tool fits into a company’s larger strategy. The roadmap can help develop and improve the architect’s workflow by documenting short- and long-term strategic goals. It helps identify ways to leverage BIM through building analysis simulation.
• Schematic model – After taking the necessary call on BIM, the architect starts creating the schematic model by using real elements in a BIM environment.
• Presentation of the schematic model – The architect then gives a walkthrough or rendering of the schematic model. Specific BIM Software like Autodesk Revit are used during this presentation. To create an architectural BIM model apart from the BIM Software we also need input data like dimensions, layout, the material, etc.
• Schematic design – At this point, scheduling and estimating are done. Scheduling helps make sure that the building can be built in the allotted time and estimating helps track the cost of the project. However, it can be a very laborious process to count all the elements of a process project from a 2D plan. But BIM helps simplify this process and saves time.
• Interference checks and coordination reviews – In this phase of the design process, regular meetings are held between the architects, engineers, project managers, and construction managers. During these meetings, interference checks, and coordination reviews are done. BIM provides several collaborative tools that make this process easier. Moreover, these meetings help catch any mistakes in the early design phase itself.
• Element ownership – Ownership of elements is another important factor to consider. It refers to figuring out which discipline modeled an element. The owner of a particular element, also known as model element author or MEA, needs to pay extra attention to the coordination of that element
• Construction – Construction is the final phase after the building design is created. Since during the design phase, scheduling and estimating have been done, it means that items have been purchased and the schedule has been modified to complete the construction process on time. During the construction phase, the construction manager and field superintendent collaborate with the design team to ensure that the design is implemented. BIM helps create a strong connection between design and construction and promotes collaboration. This results in making the journey from design to construction quite seamless.

How does BIM help architects in the design process?

A big reason why BIM proves beneficial in improving design is that it enables collaboration between the designers, owners, and builders. Having the same source of information improves the design, implementation, and decision-making process immensely.

Some other ways in which BIM help architects are –

• Improved communication – BIM allows all information related to the design of the building to be shared across all concerned parties. This means that all the architects on the team can instantly refer to the latest designs. This helps eliminate confusion and allows improved collaboration among all the stakeholders and construction professionals in real time.
• Better visualization – BIM enables architects to see the buildings in basic 3D dimensions (height, width, and depth) along with 4D dimension (time to complete each element) and 5D dimension (cost at each stage). These detailed visualization tools help speed up the process from design to construction.
• Higher quality – Due to proper documentation and calculation of important designs, there are higher-quality designs and construction processes. BIM allows construction managers to view where every element needs to go. This keeps the building activity operating at peak efficiency.
• Preconstruction simulations – BIM allows architects to visualize and plan the entire project during preconstruction. They can use space-use simulations and visualizations to analyse the space beforehand and make changes to the design before starting construction process. Having a greater overview minimizes expensive changes later.
• Improved coordination – BIM significantly improves the coordination between subcontractors and the project teams. It also helps avoid clashes with automated clash detection. This reduces the amount of rework needed, reduce the cost and saves the time. Using BIM, one can avoid unforeseen issues by enabling easy reviewing.
• Better scheduling – BIM helps reduce the time of project cycles by eliminating construction schedule setbacks. It helps schedules to be planned with better accuracy. This along with improved coordination can help complete projects on time and save costs.
• Simpler building maintenance – BIM enables observing the anticipated operational costs for a building once it’s complete. This can help make better decisions to improve cost savings and thus, ensure simpler building maintenance in the future.

BIM is an invaluable tool for architects. In fact, it’s probably fair to say that those architects utilizing BIM have a greater chance of creating good designs while saving costs and improving process efficiency.

Here is the list of some of the BIM software

To create an architectural BIM model for any building design BIM software must need. By putting the accurate data into the BIM software, we can have the real time building design of the dedicated project.

• Autodesk Revit
• Vectorworks
• Navisworks
• ArchiCAD

Overall, for the creation architectural BIM model for any project involves software, accurate input data of the building and all other necessary information. Furthermore, you can use validation and verification tools like clash detection to identify and correct the errors, regularly review and update the model to up to date throughout the project.

The Indian economy has been affected heavily due to lockdowns and restrictions put in place to contain the impact made by the COVID 19 pandemic. With a 23.9 % slump in the economy in the April to June quarter as compared to the same period in 2019, there has been widespread chaos and disruptions in almost every sector. The construction sector which employs nearly 51 million people (the second largest employer in the country) and contributes approximately 9% of the nation’s GDP was hurt just as much or more.

However, all is not gloomy for our domain as analysts expect a sharp return to growth in 2021. It is expected that from a slump of nearly 14.9 %, the construction sector will register a formidable growth of 11.6% in 2021. Opportunities look set to emerge.

As we learn to live with the virus and hopes of vaccines wax and wane, likely, business as usual will slowly settle in. Of course, there will still be challenges for construction companies to tackle. Here are the top 3:

Employee Safety

With COVID 19 still a threat, the most important challenge for construction companies is to keep their staff healthy and free from COVID infections on the sites. Obviously, employee safety is a moral imperative. That apart, a large number of people infected at any work site will cause turmoil, affect work deliverables, and cause delays. All this will ultimately push up costs.

The net impact will be changed working conditions, more onerous compliance efforts, and altered processes that will take time to settle in.

Lower Spending by Consumers

There have been job losses and wage reduction across the economic spectrum. The uncertainty that looms large will certainly play on the minds of consumers and investors. In commercial real estate, there is also some concern about the impact of widespread “work from home” policies adopted by Indian corporates during the lockdowns. In several well-publicized examples, mostly from the technology or services sectors, companies have embraced long-term remote working policies. By allowing most (or all) of their employees to continue to work from home, they hope to save on real estate costs. It’s still unclear how this will play out in the long term for the sector.

Hence spending on construction will be more cautious and considered. Customer behaviour may have changed and they may now value new financing options, better proximity to healthcare centres, different features, and much more.

The rise in Material Costs

The pandemic has disrupted both national and international supply chains considerably and it will take a while before everything returns to pre-COVID levels. Until then, the construction sector must brace for frequent price hikes of raw materials due to a shortage of supply. Additionally, governments across states or the central government may bring in additional cess on taxes to strengthen their finances which will directly impact the price of materials.

So how can the Indian construction industry make a revival in 2021 in the wake of these crucial challenges? The answer may lie with technology.

By leveraging trusted technology, construction companies can uncover new opportunities for streamlining their operations and improving customer satisfaction leading to better sales.

Let’s see the top opportunities that technology can create for the Indian construction sector in 2021:

Better Compliance to Employee Wellness and Safety

By using the right set of technology solutions and platforms, construction companies can help in safeguarding the health of their employees. Workplace safety compliance can be enhanced using intelligent thermal scanning, digital fencing for ensuring social distance between staff, and several other possibilities. Along with arresting the spread of COVID, the opportunity can also be utilized to strategically bring in new protection and safety norms within the sector that will help in improving the lives of workers in the long run too.

Improved Governance of Projects

Through better project planning and modeling using BIM (Virtual Design and Construction-VDC), planners can estimate projects needs better, collaborate and communicate better, and easily manage the delivery for better results. Using BIM as the common framework, all the stakeholders can track the progress of projects, mitigate possible delays due to labor or material shortages, provide better estimates for pricing and revenue management and ultimately create a more efficiently managed and executed construction project. The opportunity in 2021 is to use such technology so that projects can be even managed by supervisors or engineers from remote locations through online monitoring.

Personalized Sales Experience

With advancements in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology, it becomes easier for customers to experience the full scale of a project virtually. This will help construction companies create virtual tours for potential customers to better equip them with information about the project that may aid in their decision to invest. Technology can also help in creating targeted advertising campaigns to better market projects to the right audience with the right information on price, financing options, amenities, etc. to win their interest and ultimately lead to a deal.

No question that we all want 2020 to end as fast as possible. 2021 is seen as a year of hope everywhere. The construction sector in India too is particularly optimistic about 2021. The belief is the new year will open the doors to solving numerous long-standing challenges in the industry with the help of technology. Many of the new norms adopted in the sector during the pandemic such as better health and safety systems for employees, improved project planning, could have a long-standing impact. Digital transformation could become the cornerstone in the Indian construction sector’s revival plans for 2021 and it may all be down to the pandemic to have forced that change into the sector.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a highly collaborative process for creating and managing information on a construction project across the project lifecycle.

The resulting 3D building information model allows owners and stakeholders to make decisions, optimize their actions, and bring greater value for the asset. Since BIM brings together all the information in a single platform, it makes it convenient for all stakeholders to access that information for crucial decision-making. This helps reduce mistakes, create a more effective design, and lower costs by improving estimates and accelerating progress.

In that light, a BIM model is a crucial aspect of the construction process and so, it becomes essential to ensure quality and accuracy in BIM. Discrepancies can cause major issues during the construction process. That is why ensuring quality and accuracy in BIM becomes critical.

But how to achieve accuracy and quality in BIM?

Quality assurance in BIM

Quality assurance of a 3D BIM model is based on a robust process of comprehensively inspecting the model system by defining areas of improvement, omissions, or mistakes. The 3D model is compared with the current drawings to ensure quality and conformance.

An accurate and high-quality model is one that aligns closely with the initial BIM management plan.

Accuracy in BIM

Accuracy in BIM is a crucial subset of the overall quality of the model. An accurate model is the one that conforms to the best to the real situation of the construction site as it develops. These requirements may include the level of development, procedures, accuracy, and specifications of the BIM geometries. A 3D model can meet its specifications.

Ensuring quality and accuracy in BIM

Obviously, there’s more to BIM than just a 3D model. It provides a detailed blueprint for creating and managing a construction project from start to finish. The true value of BIM starts unfolding as you add in dimensions of time, material estimates, costs, and onwards. Different teams rely on the BIM model to create their plans and schedules. Materials are ordered based on the insights derived from the model.  Project management processes and reports depend on BIM.

A lot is riding on this so, ensuring quality and accuracy in BIM can help streamline the process and deliver greater efficiency in every aspect of the project. But it is true that BIM adoption isn’t a plug and play move. This calls for significant changes in the ways of working of construction companies. Rushing into BIM adoption is one of the key conditions under which BIM models end up falling short of quality and accuracy standards.

Start with a pilot

Rather than going directly for a big project, you can choose to work on a pilot project first. This will give you a controlled environment to learn and document your BIM usage and the challenges you face. You can nail down the typical errors and define processes to fix them. This will ensure that subsequent BIM models are of high-quality and more accurate.

Create a BIM roadmap with expert assistance

Having a BIM roadmap can help document all the strategic goals (short- and long-term). The roadmap can also help identify ways to leverage BIM for maximum impact. Look for areas where you need the most help with your BIM strategy and turn to experts to help you there. These experts will be able to help you deliver the initial projects, set up internal processes and systems, define the required (and necessary) quality standards, train your own people, and handhold them as the needs evolve. Your team will get to see the impact that can be achieved from high-quality and accurate BIM models and “model” their own efforts.

Create a template for future use

After the initial stages, you can reuse some aspects to create a project template. You can incorporate the non-project-specific aspects of the BIM model into your project template. You can update the model using sheet setups, project notes, and other details.

Similarly, you can pick up some useful components of the model and save it in your BIM library. Having an organized BIM library can help deliver a high-quality BIM model in future projects with a solid quality base.

Use plugins

To achieve additional accuracy and quality, you can leverage the power of the technology. Use the available add-ons and plugins to extend the capabilities of your BIM software. Tools developed by developers are available for use for specialized tasks. This could take the model to the next level. You could also automate some specific manual tasks to reduce effort and the possibility of human errors.

Validate your design

There are thousands of connected pieces in buildings. Having an issue with even a small element can have a major impact on the entire building. That is why having a clear process for validating your design is a necessary step. You should also check the design assumptions in the early design phase and make the necessary corrections to the model. This will ensure accuracy in the BIM model.

Document progress

Documenting the entire process can give you valuable insights. It is crucial to set up an open communication channel between the onsite teams and the BIM team to ensure that the reality of the site is being updated in the model on an ongoing basis. These insights can then help you ensure high-quality “as-built” models that drive higher-quality efforts for facility management and renovation and refurbishment.

To ensure the best quality and complete accuracy in your BIM models, you need to be fully aware of how the software works. That must be tied into the design and construction processes and information flow from the site. That will help deliver a high-quality and accurate BIM model that delivers the maximum impact.

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.

Worldwide, the construction sector employs the largest workforce and is often considered to be one of the biggest drivers of the economy. In 2018 alone, the annual spending on construction worldwide was estimated to be around USD 11.4 Trillion. While most disruptions in the actual construction operations have been through the inventions or progress made in mechanical equipment and raw materials, there is a growing role being played by technology and digital transformation in propelling the sector to newer heights. From modelling projects through interactive visualization to enabling workforce safety, technology is slowly (but surely) becoming an integral part of the construction sector.

Now comes the question of what can the industry explore next with technology? We have handpicked two great options to explore further – Digital Twins and the Internet of Things (IoT).

A digital twin involves the concept of having a digital representation of a physical object created with accurate data. This digital representation supports real-time visualization of any impact the object may have when acted upon by external influence like a physical force, mechanical or chemical or electronic stimulation, or any other forms of influence.

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to devices, or small machines, connected to the internet which allows them to be managed, analysed, and subject to activities – mechanical or electronic, from remote locations.

We’ve said it often that Building Information Modelling (BIM) has revolutionized the construction industry and paved the way for transitioning from pen and paper drawings to more efficient computer-based modelling. Bringing Digital Twins and IoT to the mainstream in this area will enable even more exciting possibilities in building or project design.

So, what are the possibilities, the construction sector must explore from trends like digital twins and IoT?

Here are 4:

Sustainable Project Planning

Using data from IoT sensors in existing projects worldwide, engineers can study the feasibility of new projects under similar environmental conditions. They can model each layer of a building based on how factors such as temperature, pressure, wind, and humidity impact the layer, with the data sourced from sensors on buildings in similar environments. This will ensure sustainable project planning and realize long-term benefits for tenants or owners of the project.

Predict Resource Requirements

Studies have shown that on average, 25% of productive time is wasted due to delays in resource handling and logistics. These delays often occur due to labour shortage, miscalculated time for material and equipment availability, and other factors that arise mainly due to improper planning. BIM helps optimize resource procurement and provisioning by enabling more precise predictions and estimates. With powerful digital twin technology, construction companies can further enhance the plan for optimum resource utilization. Based on data-driven models, engineers can create digital twins of projects to estimate the resources needed in terms of man, machine, and materials far in advance. This will also help in reducing the wastage of resources and ensure better logistics efficiency for intense demand scenarios.

Quality & Compliance Assurance

While BIM has allowed for efficient project planning in the construction sector, they have some limitations in assuring the quality assurance of a built structure or in stages during the construction. This is one area where IoT and digital twinning can make a difference though. By integrating the designed model with actual data captured by IoT sensors in the structure being constructed, it was possible to continuously analyze and monitor the progress of construction and ensure adherence to pre-defined standards. For example, an intelligent AI-enabled digital twinning platform could help in identifying cracks and intrusions in structures using image processing algorithms on data captured by IoT sensors. This information can be used to alert contractors and have them manually inspect the construction with experts. This will greatly enhance the quality and compliance of buildings and structures. Environmental and other physical compliance requirements can also be validated at every stage by modelling digital twins of the structure with real-time data generated by sensors.

Workforce Safety

Being a labour-intensive sector, the construction industry is also, unfortunately, known for being one of the most dangerous industries for the human workforce as the majority of the work involves labour in the open air and often on high rises. Digital twinning in co-ordination with IoT sensors on the building as well as in the form of wearables for workers can prove to be a huge safety aid in the workplace. Managers or supervisors can be alerted when employees work in a potentially dangerous site or when they are deployed for handling hazardous work materials. They can ensure that these workers have enough safety gear and access to safety procedures in the event of a mishap. This level of preparedness can prove to be the difference between life and death in dangerous scenarios often witnessed in large construction projects.

The construction industry stands to benefit immensely from adopting emerging trends such as digital twin and IoT. The right knowledge and selection of technology can help businesses in this space leverage great power in this way. They can build better landmarks with sustainable techniques and improve the working conditions for thousands of workers who rely on the construction sector for their livelihood.