The Digital Construction transformation: Integration of technology, data and human skills to be suc
In a constantly evolving world, the construction industry has not remained indifferent to the advent of new technologies and great progress has been made. Today, the critical aspect is not choosing one of the many technological options available, but implementing it on a large scale.
UK is a leader in the development of Building Information Modeling (BIM), an innovation of the recent years which can be considered as a "building information container" where you can enter graphical and technical data to build a digital prototype of your projects.
It allows you to simulate the building and its functionality on a computer, before starting the physical construction. BIM’ s main advantage is being a collaborative model that integrates useful information in each design by allowing all the figures who work on the project to access BIM modeling to make changes.
However, this is only one of the greatest opportunities for the industry!
72% of the construction companies worldwide recognize the digital transformation (DX) as a priority to improve their operational processes. Before proceeding further, it is pertinent to define clearly what is the digital transformation and its features.
Digital transformation is the change in activities, organizational processes and business models, implemented to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by the mix of digital technologies.
During this process, resistance can be encountered because it means changing the way people work and think: for this reason, it is essential that corporate leadership promotes a culture oriented towards change and innovation.
Certainly this transformation process will be a key factor for the growth of companies, but given its complexity, they will realize the need of a different sets of skills than the traditional ones. It is important to be aware of the challenging situation to adopt immediately a strategy with a step-by-step approach and a clear definition of the main goals. Firstly, you should identify your current process gaps. After a deep analysis you can define a creative technological strategy to improve your projects. Finally, you should create a network with other companies that have already undergone the same challenges to learn from them and implement your innovative strategy.
Construction firms can rely on a wide range of technologies that could help them in the future: AI (artificial intelligence), virtual reality, cloud computing, robotics, drones, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning.
The latter is essential for the collection of significant data, especially in the earliest stages of the preconstruction phase. Nowadays obtaining these data is not so difficult! What can make the different at a strategic level is the integration of multiple data sources to gain valuable information that allows you to create a pathway to reach your expected result!
Construction companies identify different areas where the digital solutions can have positive impacts: project management and performance, health and safety, scheduling, control of costs and waste, simulation, risk mitigation and project profitability.
To conclude, it is important to emphasize these benefits are not the direct consequence of the use of digital technologies: they need human intuition and intelligence to be combined efficiently and effectively. Digital transformation involves various company processes at a technical and organizational level, but to be successful it must be combined with a growing attention to the consumer experience and a stimulating collaboration with the stakeholders.
IMAGES’ SOURCE: Google images – Images labelled for reuse
