What role will digital construction tools play in building a brighter future for global communities?
As the industry reflects on the global challenges and opportunities 2024 presents, Yves Padrines, CEO of the Nemetschek Group, considers the role digital construction tools will play in building a brighter future
The conflict in Ukraine and others around the world are challenging for the local population as well as their infrastructures. Compassion and considerable investment will be required to rebuild the many regions that have been destroyed. Utility supplies, hospitals and public buildings – like schools, theatres and places of worship – as well as private dwellings, need to be repaired, revived and recreated.
This rebuilding effort mirrors some of the challenges faced today by constructors globally. Against a faltering global economy, the construction industry has its own unique problems. Its struggles with the shortage of skilled workers, cost pressures, raw material shortages and stringent sustainability targets are well documented; but while those challenges are considerable, it is our belief that they are not insurmountable and that technology – in the form of openBIM, digital planning tools, AI and digital twins – will play a key role in helping the industry to overcome them, whether in Ukraine, around the world, or closer to home.
Addressing the shortage of skilled workers with digital construction tools
Of course, skilled workers are the industry’s most precious commodity, and the acute shortage of them is being felt across every continent. But in order to maximise the efficiency and productivity of the resources we do have, it is imperative to minimise wasteful activities born out of design or planning mistakes; here, digital solutions provide invaluable insights into design or planning that ensure that workers’ skills are implement in the most effective way possible on the right tasks at the right time. This will reduce valuable time spent correcting errors.
How can digital construction tools alleviate cost pressures?
With raw materials rising in price, waste needs to be minimised from the outset. In this case, digital tools that promote interdisciplinary collaboration enable digital models to be checked for potential problems in the early planning phases. Thanks to data compatibility as part of an open standards approach, this is possible without much effort. The use of open planning and data management solutions enable project teams to plan completely digitally, improving collaboration between all disciplines and much more efficient work.
This results in significant cost and material savings, better project control and superior outcomes for all parties involved. By using a digital twin for example, it is possible to provide documentation before the groundbreaking ceremony and to control the results – and thus the costs – from the outset.
Frugality in the face of material shortages
The issue of efficient use of materials is another one of the urgent concerns in the construction industry due to rising costs and scarcity of raw materials. Those are some of the reasons why prefabricated buildings are growing in popularity because they are quick and efficient to construct and they minimise waste.
The components required are manufactured in factories and then assembled into a building on the construction site. This process means increased quality, reliability and safety. But in order to be able to carry out prefabricated construction optimally, digital planning tools are a basic requirement from the outset. They also help to optimise productivity on the construction site.
Furthermore, as they facilitate the precise planning and the optimisation of material selection, resulting waste can be reduced by 90% and recycled directly in the factory. This also lowers CO2 emissions, making a valuable contribution to more sustainable construction.
Striving for sustainability
In building operations, AI-based software solutions for calculating energy efficiency can contribute a lot to sustainability. It is also conceivable in the future to link the digital twin of a building to the building automation system. Towards the end of the building’s lifecycle – during renovation or even dismantling – complete digital documentation via openBIM pays off.
If there is transparency about the raw materials used, dismantling can be planned efficiently and in a resource-saving manner, even many years later. This means that a building that is being demolished today can serve as a raw material supply for new, efficient buildings and the cycle is closed.
Meanwhile, maintaining existing buildings and adapting them to suit new needs makes a valuable contribution to CO2 savings in the construction sector because constructing a new building always creates more emissions than a renovation does.
Optimism for the construction industry
I am optimistic that our industry can rise above its challenges through a combination of digital construction tools, visualisation solutions and the deployment of digital twins, AI and machine learning applications. But that’s not to overlook the most important ingredient here – people – and our innate human desire to build a better and brighter future for all.
