How data-driven construction can help construction companies improve their profitability
The construction industry produces vast amounts of data for every single project. Earlier, much of that data was siloed (stored separately) and unstructured. A lot of this data is also historically collected on paper and then filed upon completing a project. This practice has been changing in the last few years.
The pandemic has accelerated adoption of digital technologies that are revolutionising creation of 3D BIM models, improving collaboration and productivity, and driving up profit margins for the construction industry stakeholders. All this is possible by harnessing the power of Big data, and using this data for construction.
Today, data in digital forms is being used in every stage of the construction process. Progressive companies are collecting, analyzing, and applying vast amounts of digital information to fast-track the project execution, and to seamlessly collaborate with all parties including contractors, architects, and onsite workers. Some of the popular areas which are seeing the impact of data-driven construction are – model sharing, dispute management, predictive project analytics, connecting people, quick and accurate decisions, among others. Mr. Paul Wallett, Regional Director for Trimble Middle-East and India region share more insights on the same.
1) What according to you could be the impetus behind the increased adoption of construction technology in the industry?
There are many factors driving the increased adoption of technology in construction. First, construction has historically been a low-margin business, and delays in project completion or any mistakes made requiring rework end up reducing margins even further, leading to low profitability. Modern construction technologies like Constructible BIM and tools for cloud-based collaboration or project management promise to help construction companies execute their projects on time and within budgets, leading to better margins and improved profitability.
Second, construction projects are today increasingly complex and often require seamless collaboration among a variety of stakeholders – design and engineering professionals, general contractors, fabricators, and onsite workers. Here again, modern tech-enabled tools allow these stakeholders to have access to latest information or even real-time data, which leads to fewer mistakes and faster decision-making; once again helping reduce the time and material resources it takes to complete a project.
Third, an increasing push for sustainable construction along with rising costs of construction materials are pushing construction companies to reduce errors and rework so as to reduce material wastage. A huge advantage of adopting modern construction technologies like constructible BIM is mitigation of errors; which means that optimal quantities of construction materials are utilized with near-zero wastage.
As a result, most progressive construction companies are today increasingly adopting modern tech tools to manage and execute their projects with greater confidence and as per budgeted costs and schedule. Completing projects on time not only ensures higher profitability at the project level, but also frees up crucial operational resources to bid for and execute new projects, ultimately adding to top line and bottom line.
2) How have attitudes towards data usage in construction changed over the years?
Construction has historically been a paper-intensive process; paper drawings and models are still common and can be seen in use at many projects, even if the actual design and engineering for the structure has been done on a computer. Due to the inherent nature of paper as a medium, contractors, operators and supervisors only had access to a very limited volume of data, which necessitated a lot of subjective decision-making during actual construction, leading to frequent errors and unnecessary delays.
This situation has slowly changed over the years with increasing acceptance of digital models and cloud-based collaboration tools. A new generation of digitally-native construction professionals is far more comfortable accessing and analyzing a variety of data on digital screens. Further, the pervasive availability of high-speed Internet connectivity in recent years has also played a role in the growing reliance on digitized data, which is now accessible anytime and anywhere. Also, the adoption of Internet of Things (IOT) or connected sensors in modern construction equipment is also producing a significant volume of data, which can be quickly analyzed using modern project management software to support quicker decision-making.
Finally, many construction companies have taken the lead in digitalizing their entire construction workflows with the primary objective of making real-time data about the project available to professionals who need it for faster and accurate decision-making. In fact, some progressive companies are also using advanced data analytics to predict their future operational bandwidth, margins and profitability; leading to better business planning at the corporate level.
3) The construction industry is renowned for running overdue and missing deadlines – can access to real-time data provide relief?
Indeed, as already noted above, having access to real-time data for all aspects of an ongoing construction project is a key enabler in faster and accurate decision-making at all levels and stages, which directly leads to faster completion of projects. In fact, our estimates show that technology-enabled and data-driven construction can contribute to up to 50% less rework, up to 30% cost savings due to waste reduction, and up to 30% machine productivity and fuel savings.
4) How can data help the construction industry overcome its sensitivity to economic cycles?
Embracing data-driven construction and using data analytics can both help the construction industry become more resilient to the vagaries of alternating economic cycles. As mentioned above, data-driven construction enabled by modern construction technologies can help construction companies execute and deliver projects on time and within budgets, directly leading to improved margins and profitability at the project level, and also creating more bandwidth for them to bid for and execute more projects. Additionally, data improves simulations and gives Building Information Modeling (BIM) a firmer base. These constructible models can slash material waste and remedial work manyfold, thus helping abate the pernicious problem of project overruns in construction.
Secondly, modern data analytics systems are able to unlock the hidden potential of historical data, collected over multiple projects, to enable construction companies to run advanced predictive models to further aid decision-making. For example, learning from past projects, a model can predict whether initial designs and models are fully aligned with budgets and timelines. Other insights can be drawn from historical data like scheduling and project performance, real-time weather data, or data from IoT devices being used on site – connected compressors, power tools, noise sensors, safety harnesses and the like.
5) How is Trimble leveraging data to provide efficient solutions to its clients and how can it help increase revenue?
As the global leader in construction technology, Trimble has developed a pioneering approach to construction, called ‘Connected Construction’, which we believe is the next stage of evolution for the construction industry. Seamless data exchange between all construction workflows and processes is at the heart of Connected Construction.
The approach combines hardware (including IOT sensors), software and services to provide each project stakeholder with all the data they need for faster and accurate decision making. Our industry-leading portfolio of hardware, software, and solutions is designed to bring all the advantages of connected construction to our clients, leading to enhanced efficiencies, improved productivity and higher profitability both at project level as well as corporate level.
