Design technologies and Indian infrastructure are plausibly a match made in heaven. After disrupting the entertainment and gaming arena design technology such as virtual reality has now ventured to change the paradigm of the Indian construction and real estate sector.  Virtual reality is no more a novel concept in the Indian construction and realty industries. Rather it has become a necessity for sustainable and smart constructions.  VR has emerged as an innovation that is designed to offer a better client experience realty sector.

Apart from VR technologies such as AR, 3D printing, robotics, and AI have changed the way the construction industry functions. The growing space constraints and increased demand for smart infrastructure in a cost-effective and timely manner call for new-gen technologies that cannot just elevate the process of construction but also render sustainable outputs. EPC World in its November edition brings to you a special section on the recent trends and developments in construction design technologies.

How Mature Is The Indian Construction And Realty Industry Towards Embracing Virtual Reality?

For years the AEC sector remained stagnant and depended upon manual labour and paperwork for project execution. The technological realm comprising task automation, software operations and coding easies the working and management of construction projects. A few years back the construction field and the technology seemed incompatible. However modern innovation has caused design technology and software to align with the core requirements of the construction industry. Technological advancements like virtual reality, AI, and machine learning have revolutionized the functionality of the construction industry.

Virtual reality was earlier perceived as a tool for improving the user experience in the gaming and entertainment areas. The advancement of virtual reality led construction developers and companies to find practical applications for technology usage in the field. Virtual reality aids the AEC industry to improve design models, reduce errors and cost overruns, and enhance safety and training. VR makes it easier for employees across the country to work on the same project together. VR simplifies the work process and enables users to set up virtual team meetings. VR-powered construction projects enable workers to admire their work virtually. VR also gives the clients a better idea of project progress VR makes it easy for the contractors and builders to better manage the projects and meet client expectations. VR has emerged as a tool that helps construction companies to deliver quality work and rise above their competitors. The enhanced productivity rate due to VR implementation has led the AEC industry to perceive the technology in a new light.

Demand Drivers Leading To Construction Technology Adoption

The surge in population has led to an increased demand for realty projects. The need for remote management, handling of finances, project delays halts, and operation handling has made construction firms seek construction design technologies that can help to overcome unexpected challenges and sustain the business. Several other reasons contribute to construction firms and contractors to take interest in construction technology.

Here are some rapid rising reasons that cause extensive adoption of construction technology.

Increased Business Complexity

The rapid expansion of the construction industry has pushed the expenses over budget making projects more complex. The contractors and project owners who are involved in the project need to report accurate statistics of the expenses, project status and labour records. It is not feasible to manually keep track of the variety of tasks and project data for one project team. This is when switching over to construction software such as ERP becomes a necessity to overcome business complexities.

Higher Training Costs

The AEC industry has a constant demand for labour and workforce. However, post hiring the workforce needs to be trained in the usage of machinery. The hiring paired with training adds up to the expenses. Opting for construction technology helps to automate several tasks such as supply chain monitoring, payroll management, and bid tracking. Automated tasks help to eliminate the need of hiring an additional workforce and training them.

Data Loss

The AEC industry produces much data and paper-based documents not just occupy storage but also tend to get destroyed easily. Paper documents are prone to get burnt in the fire, drenched in rain or demolished by bugs. The use of cloud-based construction technologies helps to safeguard the data. Uploading the data on cloud storage protects it against data breaches and data loss and also easier access to them.

Communication Flaw

For years the construction industry struggled between managing the communication flow between onfield and offield project teams. The use of design technologies and software help to fill in the communication gaps by enabling easy information exchange across various teams.

6G Boom Fast-Tracking Evolution Of New Technologies

The telecom industry is set to roll in 6G services in the country. The current 5G helped to improve the mobile internet user experience. As we progress ahead towards the next generation of networking that offers a better and faster internet experience, let us examine the future of 6g in the country.
When the phones were heavy and bulky laced with big antennas and massive batteries the network reception was 1G. Though 1G offered a sketchy network but it emerged as a first generation that enabled easy communication between two supported devices using wireless networking. The analog 1G system supported voice calls that worked only within fixed geographical proximity.

The evolution of 2G marred the first generation of mobile networks and also merged wireless transmission with digital technology. 2G not just enhanced the quality of voice calls but also brought with it the facility of SMS and MMS. 2G, later on, received support from the internet in the form of GPRS and EDGE.

The third generation of networking gave the world 3G which introduced devices to high-speed internet services. The evolution of 3G brought with it the concept of smartphones, mobile television, online radio and mobile emails. 3G also enabled video calling through mobile applications.

The development of 4G introduced high-definition voice calls, video calls and advanced multimedia services. 4G helped to enhance the LTE system which significantly evolved the data transmission rate. 4G additionally also enabled wifi calling.

The 5th generation of telecom 5G brought significant improvement in data speeds and also latency. The low and high latency throughout the network has made 5G apt network for enterprise use, especially for automation and connected ecosystems. 5G plays a pivotal role in enhancing technologies such as AR, VR, robotics and metaverse.

The future of networking 6G is touted to drive the adoption of 5G for project optimization, and cost reduction at the enterprise level. 6G has the potential to disrupt both traditional and digital spaces. 6G would not just evolve as a final telecom model but is also likely to unify the physical world with a digital paradigm through the assistance of artificial intelligence and machine learning. 6G would come laced with the ability to sense people, the environment and objects. 6G services would be launched using a smartly developed infrastructure.

While the world was impacted by the telecom network advancement the construction industry is no different. The introduction of the 6G would assist the construction industry to evolve better. New technologies such as AI, machine learning, industrial internet of things, construction ERP, smart infrastructure, AR and VR require faster download times and increased data communication in real-time. 6G would give a boost to these technologies. Advancement of construction design technologies and software will offer better project control, and tracking, and save money by digitalizing work operations.

Benefits For The Project Executioner And End-Customers Through Design Technologies

Project execution using design technologies is the new normal. The pandemic brought an indisputable change in the AEC industry and also widely impacted customer behaviour. The pandemic crisis forced construction firms to rethink business processes, products, services, customer engagement and business models. Digitalization served as a strong ally for the AEC firms to remain in the competition and also rise above the competitors. Design technology took the center stage and enabled project executioners to deliver better on-time projects. Here’s how design technology influences project execution and customer relations.

Agile Working

Design technology necessitates an agile method of delivery because successful projects must incorporate rapid feedback loops, incremental approaches, and an open mentality. Agility can be easily achieved with real-time data availability, decision-making, online repositories and cloud solutions. Design technologies make project managers open-minded and look for better opportunities that help to combine more approaches for the better benefit of projects.

Virtual Leadership

Limited colocation necessitates a review of in-person tactics to determine whether they still produce the desired outcome when communicated via technology. Design technology helps team leaders and managers to screen monitor the working of the teams and also easily engage with a remote workforce. Using design technology project managers can easily disseminate information efficiently and help teams to sort large data.

Better Collaboration

Design technology comes laced with collaboration tools that make the use of the software easier. The collaborative tools help to make a list of the activities and perform them digitally. The use of collaborative tools help to avoid inconsistencies, and loss of information and enables better management of projects.

Enhanced Client Experience

Design technology such as VR help to get a view of the design model in 3D before construction inception. This helps to make design amendments as per client feedback easier. Additionally, the communication tools of the software help to keep the end-use customers in the loop for every stage of the project.

Challenges Prevalent In The Construction Industry

The introduction of construction technology has increased the efficiency of the AEC sector. Design technology, ERP and cloud-based construction software offer digital fixes for issues that are surfacing in the AEC sector. Without construction technology, the AEC sector faces several difficulties, including:

Poor Information And Data Management

Data loss and theft are more likely because of the long-standing practice of keeping records on paper. The possibility of inaccuracy in accounting, estimates, and construction management is also increased by manual recording.

A Shortage Of Labour

The AEC industry’s business is impacted by a lack of labour. A lack of competent workers slows down businesses’ operations, which ultimately widens the gap between supply and demand.

Machinery Failure

The likelihood of machinery breakdown rises in the absence of routine maintenance and inspections. The productivity and quality of the work are impacted by broken machines.

Missed Bids

Companies lose out on bid projects without the bid management system. Financial loss results from abandoned projects.

A Poor Budget Analysis

Tracking the expense becomes difficult when using the traditional method of budgeting. Conflicts overpayment and project costs also get worse between customers, vendors, and employees.

Strategy To Overcome The Challenges

Several crucial AEC sector procedures would be hampered without the construction technology. Construction technology implementation eliminates the AEC issues in the following ways:

Easy Data Access

Data is centralised and easy to retrieve because of smart construction. Additionally, it facilitates easily accessible tracking of information from business inquiries and maintains a log of daily project progress. Details on clients, employees, and contractors are also accessible through the construction software.

Cost Cutting

Construction software requires less upkeep and decreases the need to recruit staff. The software system also manages accountants’ tasks, HR procedures, including hiring and workforce planning, and administrative expenditures, which lowers the cost of hiring employees.

Maintenance Of Machines

Construction technology provides routine equipment inspection. It oversees equipment procurement and keeps track of equipment problems.

Successful Bidding

Tender tracking and simple filing are made possible by the software. The project is gathered and managed by it. ERP systems are useful for properly organising project schedules and bids.

Optimizes Spending

Construction technology makes budgeting simple and plans out resource needs. Additionally, it connects payroll and improves bookkeeping.

Construction Technology Trends

The construction sector uses technology to innovate as well as to manage projects and site operations. Construction trends including BIM, construction robotics, and green building technologies have been prevalent during the last few years. The global pandemic issue sparked a demand for cutting-edge construction technologies that prioritised worker health, safety, and regulations on-site. Construction startups and scaleups are being driven by the increasing demand to develop technologies for worker and site safety.

Here are the top 5 trends in construction technology for 2022.

LiDAR

On building sites, LiDAR technology is utilised to measure distances. By using laser light to illuminate the target and a sensor put to a variety of building site tools, the technique determines the distance between two objects. Workers can use LiDAR to scan the surrounding jobsite and generate detailed 3D photographs. The generated 3D images assist workers in carrying out site work from a distance, lowering the risks to other workers’ health and safety. In addition, LiDar technology is employed for the following things: Drone mapping, shadow analysis, land classification, tunnel surveying, structural flaw detection, elevation modelling, urban evaluation, optic fibre and sewer passage analysis, and 3D printing are just a few examples.

Exoskeletons

Exoskeletons are wearable tools that enable construction site employees to carry out strenuous duties with ease. The technique increases production while reducing stress and harm to the worker’s body. The use of technology lessens the appearance of worker tiredness.

Robotic Swarm

In contrast to humanoid robots, the robot swarms resemble people in certain ways. The robotic swarms are made up of a large number of tiny individual robots that cooperate to carry out site-related tasks like laying bricks and moving goods. Construction businesses can safely repair infrastructure in remote areas that human employees might find risky thanks to the robotic swarm.

Artificial Intelligence

Intelligent behaviour, such as making judgments and processing data, can be automated using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Utilizing AI’s potential helps the construction sector become more productive. Automated and partially autonomous machinery that uses AI speeds up building project completion. By using AI to digitalize the construction industry, we can reduce risk and enforce safety regulations for improved work operations. AI facilitates the detection of pre- and post-construction difficulties and aids in the quick identification of crisis remedies. The use of AI enables the construction sector to address issues including safety regulations, labour shortages, cost overruns, and timetable management.

Machine Learning

Huge volumes of construction-related data, such as productivity, equipment utilisation, and building conditions, are analysed using ML and DL algorithms. Scheduling, project management, and resource allocation can all be improved by ML.

Integrated Solutions

Integrated solutions help to collect and connect data, process them and store them in one place. Integrated solutions aid to reduce the risk of errors and also ensures proper connectivity between the site, and the office. It also helps to disseminate the data as per requirement.

Smart Infrastructure

We learned during the epidemic that smart infrastructure with structural monitoring systems is essential. Sensors are used by the building monitoring systems to keep track of the structural strengths and weaknesses of the buildings. The thermostatic heating is also checked by the system. The technology is also used to examine a site’s integrity and to find building defects, fissures, and rock falls during the construction phase. The use of technology lowers worker risk exposure while also alerting the team to potentially dangerous situations.

For these technologies to be managed, controlled, and watched over, they must all be connected to a single server. The technologies can operate efficiently thanks to networking. If implemented properly, sophisticated construction technology has the potential to completely transform the way the construction industry operates in the future.