Digital Construction Tech
Technologies Transforming Construction
The Problem
with Construction
and the Digital Opportunity
Digital technology and data are transforming our world.
As a consumer, you have probably experienced big changes to the way you shop, bank and consume media. You expect instant access to information, fast online-processes and consistent service. Lots of industries have been revolutionised, entirely new companies have risen… Read More
Digital technology and data are transforming our world.
As a consumer, you have probably experienced big changes to the way you shop, bank and consume media. You expect instant access to information, fast online-processes and consistent service.
Lots of industries have been revolutionised, entirely new companies have risen with new business models, and old companies that couldn’t change fast enough have disappeared.
In contrast, the basics of the construction industry have been slow to change. The way that most construction sites are run hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades. Paper rules and processes are manual. The way that buildings and infrastructure are designed has changed, from paper-based drawing to computer aided design.
However, the underlying work that designers, engineers and clients do is largely the same, and in many projects does not take real advantage of the new digital world. Research by the McKinsey Global Institute on construction reported that the construction industry had made little productivity improvements in the last 60 years.
Over the same time period, other industries such as manufacturing, retail and even farming have all seen large improvements. The conclusion was that construction productivity can be greatly improved, and that ‘infusing’ digital technologies into construction processes would cause a 14–15% improvement to construction industry productivity. That level of savings is in line with our experience and translates into large, real world savings on projects that do use technology effectively both in design and on-site.
As a consumer, you have probably experienced big changes to the way you shop, bank and consume media. You expect instant access to information, fast online-processes and consistent service.
Lots of industries have been revolutionised, entirely new companies have risen with new business models, and old companies that couldn’t change fast enough have disappeared.
In contrast, the basics of the construction industry have been slow to change. The way that most construction sites are run hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades. Paper rules and processes are manual. The way that buildings and infrastructure are designed has changed, from paper-based drawing to computer aided design.
However, the underlying work that designers, engineers and clients do is largely the same, and in many projects does not take real advantage of the new digital world. Research by the McKinsey Global Institute on construction reported that the construction industry had made little productivity improvements in the last 60 years.
Over the same time period, other industries such as manufacturing, retail and even farming have all seen large improvements. The conclusion was that construction productivity can be greatly improved, and that ‘infusing’ digital technologies into construction processes would cause a 14–15% improvement to construction industry productivity. That level of savings is in line with our experience and translates into large, real world savings on projects that do use technology effectively both in design and on-site.
It is not just productivity (and therefore project cost) that clients care about. The traditional approach to design and construction fails clients in other ways:
Projects are typically late and over budget
For large projects, the typical average is 20% late and 80% over original budget.
The traditional approach is error prone
There are design clashes and problems to be resolved on site (adding delays and efficiency) and often lots of snags to be resolved. An off-site manufacturing approach can deliver big improvements in quality if the design and manufacturing are well aligned.
The real needs of the users of the building often aren’t brought into the design process
Yet modern 3D design and virtual reality allows the users of the buildings to really experience what it will be like during the design process, so that a building can be designed to really fit its use.
Disruption to neighbours or existing operations during construction can be high.
Digital design approaches allow construction plans to be visualised over time (4D) so that options to reduce disruption can be found, and problemsheaded off well before they hit.
The long-term running costs of a piece of infrastructure are often a multiple of the cost to build it
Yet real design for maintenance (which could make the building cheaper and easier to run) is rarely done, and the data generated in design is usually not handed over to the people who will maintain things after construction.
The Traditional Approach.
So, there is a very large opportunity for digital construction that gives clients much more efficient, on-time, on-budget, lower disruption and higher quality building works, that are also cheaper to maintain. Given all that, you would expect the industry to be changing to digital… Read More
The Traditional Approach.
So, there is a very large opportunity for digital construction that gives clients much more efficient, on-time, on-budget, lower disruption and higher quality building works, that are also cheaper to maintain. Given all that, you would expect the industry to be changing to digital at a rapid pace. Yet the pace of change in construction has been slow.
Why is that? Perhaps it is that the traditional industry is very profitable, and so construction companies are reluctant to change?
Well, no. When you look globally, and in major countries you see that the major construction companies work on tiny margins, despite the large risks they take on. For example, in 2017 the UK’s 10 biggest contractors made a combined margin of less than half a percent on turnover of £31bn.
Part of the reason that the industry has been slow to change is that the traditional approach splits the procurement of the services you need into multiple phases and services. (Master planning, architecture, engineering of various kinds, project management, construction supervision, main contractor and layers of sub-contractors) are generally all bought separately.
There is little opportunity for a group of companies contracted like that to come up with a joined-up, slick and efficient digital process. There is nobody looking end-to-end and making sure that the whole, complex process is orchestrated well.
The traditional approach also provides no incentives, or even perverse incentives, for the companies involved to adopt digital processes. For example, in many markets the design services have been typically paid for as a % of project cost.
That incentivises people to make the project cost higher, which is surely not in the clients’ interest! Similarly, paying companies for hourly paid staff means that they have every incentive to be inefficient, using more hours, rather than trying to drive down the amount of effort to deliver a project.
So, there is a very large opportunity for digital construction that gives clients much more efficient, on-time, on-budget, lower disruption and higher quality building works, that are also cheaper to maintain. Given all that, you would expect the industry to be changing to digital at a rapid pace. Yet the pace of change in construction has been slow.
Why is that? Perhaps it is that the traditional industry is very profitable, and so construction companies are reluctant to change?
Well, no. When you look globally, and in major countries you see that the major construction companies work on tiny margins, despite the large risks they take on. For example, in 2017 the UK’s 10 biggest contractors made a combined margin of less than half a percent on turnover of £31bn.
Part of the reason that the industry has been slow to change is that the traditional approach splits the procurement of the services you need into multiple phases and services. (Master planning, architecture, engineering of various kinds, project management, construction supervision, main contractor and layers of sub-contractors) are generally all bought separately.
There is little opportunity for a group of companies contracted like that to come up with a joined-up, slick and efficient digital process. There is nobody looking end-to-end and making sure that the whole, complex process is orchestrated well.
The traditional approach also provides no incentives, or even perverse incentives, for the companies involved to adopt digital processes. For example, in many markets the design services have been typically paid for as a % of project cost.
That incentivises people to make the project cost higher, which is surely not in the clients’ interest! Similarly, paying companies for hourly paid staff means that they have every incentive to be inefficient, using more hours, rather than trying to drive down the amount of effort to deliver a project.
The Digital Opportunity.
Digital technology can be a real help in a complex design and construction project. Using the technology well allows clients to be better informed, to make better decisions, to take time and cost out of the process, to design better, and to join-up all… Read More
The Digital Opportunity.
Digital technology can be a real help in a complex design and construction project. Using the technology well allows clients to be better informed, to make better decisions, to take time and cost out of the process, to design better, and to join-up all the disparate companies and tasks to reduce delay, errors, risks and costs and potential claims.
Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect said in the 1930’s that: “You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledge-hammer on the construction site”.
This still applies in a digital world, but even more so. Rather than finding problems on the construction site, with a digital approach, everything about the design and the project can be simulated step-by-step and problems solved more cheaply using the digital equivalent of an eraser as it is only information that needs to be changed. This saves a lot of time and cost during the actual construction.
Building digital technology into the design can also make buildings, roads and other infrastructure “smart” which should provide benefits long after construction finishes.
Digital construction technology includes:
- Digital surveying, geolocation and drones
- 5D Building Information Modelling Digital Collaboration and Mobility
- The Internet of Things and Smart Cities / Transport / Buildings
These are all described in more detail further on. But first it is important to understand the benefits.
Digital technology can be a real help in a complex design and construction project. Using the technology well allows clients to be better informed, to make better decisions, to take time and cost out of the process, to design better, and to join-up all the disparate companies and tasks to reduce delay, errors, risks and costs and potential claims.
Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect said in the 1930’s that: “You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledge-hammer on the construction site”.
This still applies in a digital world, but even more so. Rather than finding problems on the construction site, with a digital approach, everything about the design and the project can be simulated step-by-step and problems solved more cheaply using the digital equivalent of an eraser as it is only information that needs to be changed. This saves a lot of time and cost during the actual construction.
Building digital technology into the design can also make buildings, roads and other infrastructure “smart” which should provide benefits long after construction finishes.
Digital construction technology includes:
- Digital surveying, geolocation and drones
- 5D Building Information Modelling Digital Collaboration and Mobility
- The Internet of Things and Smart Cities / Transport / Buildings
These are all described in more detail further on. But first it is important to understand the benefits.
The benefits of Digital Technology.
Digital construction lowers risks, costs and disruption and improves long-term asset values.
All this technology exists today, and it works. The companies sponsoring this publication use the technology and find that it helps their construction projects, if used well. The “if used well” bit is important. The technology on its own won’t necessarily make projects better unless the way-of-working for a project takes advantage of the new technology to deliver a better result. This requires the project team to be set-up for a modern approach.
Lower risk, time and cost.
A major construction project requires lots of decisions to be made by many different experts. Getting those decisions right using data and keeping everything in the project joined-up has a major impact on risk and cost by reducing errors, decisions that must be changed in construction and clashes in the design elements. Using a 5D Building Information Modelling process with good data, such as digital surveying, geolocation, cost data, and a collaborative approach (enabled by collaborative digital technology) gives the project the best chance of success.
Reduced disruption.
When construction work is changing an existing asset or site, then disruption to the existing operations can cause real problems; traffic queues during roadworks, late trains during rail works, lost production during factory site construction, or lost sales for businesses.
Using a digital construction approach, the construction process can be simulated in 4D, testing the designs and project plans with the whole team and seeing the problems before they occur.
This enables a better project, with problems solved before they occur and disruption managed or mitigated as much as possible.
A digital by default way of working.
Leading architects and engineers have already moved to a “digital by default way of working” where model-based design, integrated data and cross-discipline working is either the only way they will work, or one they strongly recommend to clients.
Our experience is that a digital approach can reduce the design cost of a project and more often a better design is produced using digital technology, that saves time, cost and reduces risk in the construction phase. Fewer clashes, problems, mistakes and changes help the construction to be on-time.
A better–quality design, developed using a 5D Way of Working approach, makes a more easily buildable design (perhaps with more factory-built modular components). Simulating the building in virtual reality allows users and operators to affect the design, to make it a great building that meets their needs exactly. Simulating the construction process enables construction planning to be easier, and design for manufacture and assembly to reduce the time, cost and risk of construction.
When looked in at the total cost of a project, less than 10% of it is in design. We typically see savings of 10%-15% of construction cost being achievable from where the project would otherwise have ended up. So spending a bit more on a better design that reduced costs and problems can have a big payback, we see as much as a x10 return on investment from a digital by default way of working in design, particularly if some design effort is spent on making the building cheaper to run and maintain.
Improved asset value.
- Smart technology enables better control and more information for decision making.
- Smart motorways reduce congestion and can get more traffic through the same road space by using the hard shoulder.
- Smart buildings can use energy more effectively for heating and cooling, saving money as well as the environment.
- Smart technology can be used to reduce maintenance by predicting when systems are starting to fail and fixing them proactively.
A fundamental reason for embracing smart technology is that it increases asset values for owners. An asset that is of lower cost to run, lower risk or simply better understood, will have a greater value than an equivalent asset where performance, running costs or risk are worse or not measurable at all.
Just think about two identical assets, one that comes with a wealth of data on usage, costs and the design, and the other that comes with no documentation at all.
Which would you pay more for?
Our Recommendation
To get the benefits of digital construction, make sure that the companies you hire understand the technology, know how to use it, and are good at collaborating with others in the supply-chain to use data and technology well. It is also important to think about the procurement process, the commercial incentives, and how you buy all the things you need for a successful project.
The companies that have sponsored this publication are all highly experienced in using digital technology. Get one of them to share their experiences with you, and to help you work out what is best for your project.
If you would like to know more please click on one of our sponsors:
For nearly 70 years, Dorsch has been a reputable consulting and engineering partner for clients in industry, private investors and public institutions. With around 2,000 employees, the Dorsch Gruppe counts among Germany’s largest independent planning and consultancy companies. Internationally, it has extensive projects in the Middle East and is represented in more than 40 countries.
https://www.dorsch.de/home/
Pell Frischmann is one of the UK’s leading firms of consulting engineers, with major operations throughout Europe. Since their establishment in 1926, they have grown into a worldwide organisation, bringing innovative solutions to clients. In the UK they have 9 regional offices offering multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy services spanning the whole of the construction industry.
http://www.pellfrischmann.com/
As one of the longest established consultancies in the UK, McBains is an inter-disciplinary property and construction consultancy providing a broad range of services to clients throughout the UK and internationally. With projects ranging from minor works to major contracts in excess of £1 billion, they cover all major sectors, including education, retail, custodial, residential, health, commerce, and infrastructure.`
Services
- Architecture & Master planning
- Building Surveying
- Civil & Structural Engineering
- Due Diligence / Project Monitoring
- Mechanical Electrical Engineering
- Quantity Surveying
- PPP Consultancy
- Project Management
4Way is a unique specialist in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in both the strategic and urban road sectors. in the UK and internationally.
Services
- ITS Infrastructure Design
- ITS Operational Consultancy
- Road Lighting
- Smart Cities
- Smart Motorways & Expressway
- Traffic Signals
- Technology Implementation, Management and Commissioning
- Value Management Whole-life Costing
Datumate develops and markets innovative solutions for the construction industry. As a trusted partner for companies committed to digital transformation, Datumate develops software and services that utilize big data analytics, machine learning, state-of-the-art computer vision, and drone and camera technologies.
https://www.datumate.com/
