Trend #1: Using Robots to Address Labor Shortages
What was once considered an illogical, futuristic idea is now possible: robots at construction sites. The need for workers with the right skills has led the industry to try to improve production using resources already in place. In addition to worker effort, using construction robots is a worthy investment.
A robot pet called “Dave” is improving safety, efficiency, and accuracy during a refurbishment initiative at Heathrow Airport. It was developed through Boston Dynamics and equipped with the Trimble X7 scanner; the four-legged dog retrieves information from the airport and scans. It also reduces “slips, trips, and falls” accidents and increases precision for 3D models.
While robotics in construction will probably not replace building workers, they may eventually take over these monotonous tedious, lengthy tasks. For instance, TyBot, a rebar-tying robot developed by Advanced Construction Robotics, recently tied 11,044 rebar junctions in the Department of Transportation’s Gateway Expressway project, setting the record for 2022. This kind of output can replace four to five workers in 10 hours.
According to Next Move Strategy Consulting, construction robotics investment is expected to grow from 99.7 million U.S. dollars in 2022 to 113.1 million by 2023 and 242.4 million by 2030.
What to Watch Out For:
- Trimble and HP team up to offer an independent workflow for the layout of sites
- Civ Dot performs site design on irregular surfaces, and information is easily integrated into Trimble equipment
- Semi-autonomous tools, such as Hilti’s drilling robotic, offer relief from the demanding chores.
Trend #2 Moving Beyond Point Solutions to Integrated Platforms
Based on user feedback, Construction technology companies are becoming aware of the limitations of various point solutions and are moving towards building solid integrated platforms. Point solutions are hard to implement and scale, making them unsuitable for many businesses. Furthermore, the COVID-19 disease has increased the pressure to simplify and digitalize processes so project teams can work together from multiple places without losing productivity.
Integrated platforms provide a single solution that simplifies processes and can support many or all day-to-day activities. As per McKinsey & Company, 20 percent of companies in the field of construction technology provide solution suites that cover the needs of more than five operational instances, compared to 13 percent in 2017.
New emerging integrated platforms include Trimble Construction One, an integrated solution suite that provides customers access to over 40 Trimble applications that cover every stage of construction. There is a single login, a subscription contract with a term, and linked workflows across multiple products and dashboards that assist users in making better choices for the business.
What to Watch Out For:
- Trimble Construction One offers several workflows connected to it, with many more coming in 2023.
- Autodesk, Procore, Bentley, and Hexagon will also look to develop connected construction services as a possible alternative to points solutions.
- Hilti ON! Track Asset Management System integrates with Trimble to provide an all-in-one source of truth to assist in monitoring and managing equipment and tools
- Watch industry experts employ innovative integrated tools and programs in a real-world setting that ranges from 3D scanning to digital constructability as part of The Great Library documentary series.
Trend #3: Investing in Digital Processes
AECO (architecture engineering construction, architecture, and owner) organizations are expected to continue investing in technologies that will streamline workflows and improve efficiency by 2023. For some businesses, this will be their first digital transformation investment, moving steps from paper-based to pixels. For others, it will represent an investment to improve existing digital document management and design processes, field operation, and collecting crucial information to inform business decisions.
About two-thirds of owners intend to invest more in creating and improving the digital workflows they already have by Dodge Data & Analytics Smart Market Brief: Connected Construction series. Seventy-eight percent of owners have plans to invest in new digital workflows with a focus on workflows that are digital to review design, bids, submissions to procurement, as well as daily reports and field inspections.
In addition, the study discovered that most architects intend to invest in either new or existing digital workflows. The top areas for investment are the design process, construction documents, and conceptual/schematic designs. Most engineers intend to put their money into architects’ three workflow areas.
Contractors are keen to digitalize across a broad range of work processes. Sixty-four percent of GCs/CMs using digital workflows plan to invest additional funds in project/job costing, document management, WIP costing analysis, and job costing. Eighty percent of GCs/CMs that do not currently utilize digital workflows are planning to invest substantial amounts in projecting job costs/costs, job costing/WIP analysis analytics/reporting, subcontractor management, and document management for projects. The top investment areas for contractors in the specialty trades include document management for project jobs, projecting costs/jobs, inventory/materials management, and labor management.
What to Watch Out For:
- The digitization of the construction supply chain can reduce the amount of procurement work and limit the negative impacts of delays related to shipping and production
- Companies that have invested in their internal digital workflows are making educated decisions, improving efficiency, and identifying root issues’ causes. Digital workflows that will enhance processes involving multiple stakeholders are the next frontier that most companies are working on overcoming, per the Dodge Data & Analytics Connected Construction report series.
Trend #4: Integrating BIM and GIS Data for Asset Management
Until recently, BIM (building information modeling)and GIS (geographic information system) lived separately–BIM for making 3D models of infrastructure and building assets and GIS to display spatial shapes and environmental assets. Innovative technologists, like veteran software engineer Chris Andrews, are realizing the possibilities of integrating BIM with GIS data to produce information-rich models and improved designs.
The integration lets designers analyze design concepts and visualize the terrain, facilities around, and nearby infrastructure. Alongside collision detection, integrating BIM with GIS improves the accuracy and completeness of current conditions and design.
Modern-day users in Nordics and the U.S. are leveraging everyday data environments (CDEs) such as the Trimble Quadri and the Connect platforms to improve the efficiency of the field process that depends upon BIM and GIS information on design. Field workers such as surveyors, contractors, and inspectors can cut down on time needed to prepare data and troubleshoot and reduce the data integrity risk through connectors and APIs -which is much more efficient than the present file-based exporting and import.
In addition, combining BIM with GIS is a huge benefit for owners of assets. Utilizing the CDE that incorporates GIS and BIM data provides a repository for all construction and survey as-built and progress data required for managing the lifecycle of assets. In this field, BIM and GIS data are combined from various devices such as surveys, tablets, LIDAR scans, drones, and earth-moving machines back into the CDE. The data can then be utilized to automate and integrate processes like asset updates, payment validation, and optimizing.
The combination of BIM with GIS data can also allow teams to look at the built environment along with assets, providing more detailed information in case of emergency emergency maintenance or operation improvements. Tools like City Engine allows advanced 3D modeling using real-world GIS data to view huge-scale city assets.
What to Watch Out For:
- Other GIS trends like real-time GIS data and machine-learning models for spatial prediction
- Integration of BIM-GIS plays an essential function in delivering sustainable and energy-efficient constructed infrastructure
- Caltrans’ CalTrans CALMS (CalTrans Asset Lifecycle Management Systems) program has been developing standard data and interoperability between partners Trimble, Autodesk, ESRI, SAFE, and TopoDOT
Trend #5: Increasing Use of Digital Twins
Another industry that is set to experience significant expansion in the next few years is the world’s digital twin market. Allied Market Research expects the market to rise by $6.5 billion US dollars in 2021 to close to $125 billion in 2030. Digital twins are digital representations of an actual object. A twin can be a digital replica of a real-world building or municipal asset like roads or highways in construction. Property owners worldwide are searching for digital images of their assets to improve their operation, maintenance, and planning techniques.
Digital reality firm Hexagon recently launched digital twins for the complete city. City governments can benefit from this information, from monitoring assets, and evaluating dangers to preparing new projects, all within an online environment. AI company Cityzenith recently completed a digital twin for city officials in the City of Las Vegas. The city will utilize the model to aid in its shift to zero carbon. Vancouver’s Canada Line commuter rail system is also receiving a digital twin, including sensors that offer real-time information on performance.
Asset owners are just some of the ones to get involved with digital twin technology. The latest trends in digital twins indicate that software companies are expanding the capabilities of digital twins by improving interfaces, speeding up simulation time, and investing in substantial advancements.
One problem that the industry faces when Digital twins and digital twins concern the vast amount of data produced or gathered by both the owners of their projects and those who work with them. Owners are turning to service providers in the industry to help them manage and use these vast data sets. Common Data Environments (CDEs) such as Trimble’s Quadri and Connect platforms assist owners in standardizing their data and making it accessible to multiple platforms and users in their business environments.
What to Watch Out For:
- Microsoft announces digital twin technology to help construction and management industries
- The U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure law specifically calls for investing in digital building tools, including twin technology.
- Norway Road Authorities plan to manage assets digitally through the twin Integration of construction and field survey data through a shared data environment
Trend #6: Employing Technology to Advance Sustainability
As each year passes, sustainability is becoming not a secondary consideration for construction and gettinging a place at the table. The inherent nature of embodied carbon, the high energy cost, and the limited supply of resources require it. Autodesk reports that 82 percent of AEC firms are running a sustainability group established, and 74 percent of AEC companies invest in technology to increase sustainability.
Companies in the field of technology are responding by putting $4.5 billion of investment into greener construction methods over the last five years. $2.2 billion was invested in 2022 alone. Plug-ins such as the new Embodied Carbon Assessment software by Trimble and One Click LCA help engineers assess a building’s carbon emissions. In the Tekla Structural Designer, designers can dissect embodied carbon values and help make decisions that minimize the environmental impact of a building. Carbon Clean offers a range of CO2 capture solutions for construction sites. Converge utilizes AI-powered sensors to help contractors create more eco-friendly concrete mixes and reduce the amount of wasted concrete.
Additionally, construction management systems can be leveraged to support sustainability–effective use of these tools arms construction companies with valuable information about resource usage. According to the Trimble’s The Ultimate Handbook of Sustainable Construction Technology, “project management systems provide construction teams more control over the risks that typically result in waste and inefficiencies. … Greater visibility also guarantees that sustainable solutions and materials are being used in the actual implementation.”