Report focuses on digital construction opportunities

Asite has launched a new research report examining how the construction industry can optimize its approach to digital engineering.

The report entitled ‘Digital Engineering: Optimizing Construction’s Digital Future,’ provides recommendations for how the industry can overcome its fragmentation to ensure future prosperity. The report also recommends the steps the industry needs to take to set the foundations for the global advancement of digital engineering.

Nathan Doughty, Asite CEO, said:

“For years, Asite has been at the forefront of digital integration across the AEC industry; we recognize the importance of digital adoption and believe the future of our industry lies in digital engineering. 

To help enhance digital adoption and ensure the future prosperity of our industry, this report provides recommendations for how we can optimize our use of digital engineering processes and create a more integrated and collaborative industry.  

As our industry continues to recover and rebuild in the wake of COVID-19, now is the right time to take the opportunity to build a digital ecosystem that works for everyone.”

The report examines digital engineering from a number of different standpoints, including the benefits of digital engineering across the project lifecycle, innovative projects that are leading the way, the technologies set to be the most transformative, and global government initiatives to push the adoption of digital engineering techniques.

Finally, it arrives at a recommendation for how the construction industry can unlock greater value.

Holistic lifecycle approach

The report analyses the impact of digital engineering across the project lifecycle – from planning and design, to construction and operation. At each lifecycle phase, it sheds light on the challenges faced at that stage, how digital engineering can solve these challenges, and the barriers that need to be overcome for successful adoption.

The report also identifies the different technologies and techniques facilitating digital transformation at different stages. Accompanying these insights are accounts of different global projects utilizing digital engineering technologies to build better.

Ultimately, the report recognizes the need for a holistic approach to digital engineering across the asset lifecycle, allowing stakeholders to make informed decisions that streamline practices, ensure project fulfillment, and increase overall value.

Global push for digital engineering

The push for the adoption of digital engineering is a global one. The report notes the global government initiatives that are driving the adoption of these technologies and processes.

The United Kingdom, the European Union, India, Hong Kong, Australia, and the United States are mentioned as leaders in the push for adoption.

This showcases a cross-regional desire for a more uniform and integrated approach to the adoption of digital engineering.

A Digital Framework is the Answer

The report concludes that the fragmentation of the industry needs to be addressed before it can move forward. To create fertile ground for digital engineering and innovation, we must first address the fragmented nature of the industry, which has led to a lack of knowledge-sharing, low incentives to adopt technologies, and poorly utilized data.

It proposes data and knowledge-sharing, combined with the development of an easily interpretable integrated global platform, as a means of safeguarding the industry’s digital future. For digital engineering to truly transform the AEC sector and produce the desired outcomes, technologies need to be deployed in an environment where they can thrive, and a global digital framework could facilitate this.

A digital framework can harness the benefits of sharing better quality information; how data is used, maintained, and planned will allow for a better understanding of the interdependencies between sectors and help break down silos. 

United Kingdom

Throughout the report the United Kingdom is noted as a leader in the field of digital engineering in several different areas:

Government Initiatives

The UK Government has been at the forefront of the push to adopt digital engineering across the project lifecycle.  This early push has resulted in a number of current projects utilizing techniques successfully. Delivering London’s super sewer, Thames Tideway has utilized VR to enable design and engineering teams to visualize sites across London, providing a bigger picture view of the build and the ability to work through key stages and identify future issues.

BIM Adoption

The UK has been at the forefront of BIM adoption for many years, evidenced by its commitment to BIM during the early stages of the asset lifecycle. In particular, ISO 19650 information management standards depict a process that promotes thinking about the asset operation and impacts from the start.

The report highlights Crossrail – the biggest construction project in Europe and one of the largest single-infrastructure investments to be undertaken in the UK. The project is an example of the benefits of deploying BIM from the offset and aims to be the first major infrastructure project to fully realize the BIM lifestyle concept.

The use of BIM on Crossrail has unequivocally enhanced the design process and reduced risk, thanks to greater project visibility.

UK setting the example for a global approach

In setting out its recommendations for the enhancement of digital engineering, the report borrows from the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission. As mentioned above this proposes a digital framework that can harness the benefits of sharing better quality information. Although referring to UK infrastructure, the report notes this concept could be expanded across the AEC sector in general and enhance the adoption of digital engineering worldwide.

Europe

In the report different European initiatives, both across the continent and the individual countries, are noted as strongly pushing the adoption of digital engineering:

Government Initiatives

The European Union is strongly pushing the adoption of digital engineering across the construction industry. The EU-funded project, DigiPLACE – the Digital platform for Construction in Europe – aims to address issues prohibiting the digitalization of the European construction industry and, ultimately, create a framework that allows for the “development of future digital platforms as common ecosystems of digital services that will support innovation, commerce.”

Advanced Building Materials and Techniques

The solutions emerging from advanced building materials (ABMs) are numerous and wide-ranging. ABMs are a new generation of construction materials that demonstrate exceptional properties, making buildings and infrastructure smarter, more sustainable, energy-efficient, and secure. Additionally, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) – namely, standardization, modularization, and prefabrication – could drastically boost productivity in construction.

European countries and the EU have recognized this and are beginning to adopt these techniques on their projects. One such project discussed in the report is Manifesto Smichov – a food and culture hub in Prague. The development consists of 11 prefabricated units; the offsite manufacture of these components significantly minimizes the impact of the structure on the surrounding area, while the use of sustainable materials reduces environmental impact.

The report also mentions Laing O’Rourke’s Explore Industrial Park (EIP). Here, design models are developed and then used to create the precast elements required for individual projects. EIP is the most automated concrete products facility in Europe.