POWER September 2020 - 43

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality
are useful for helping customers visualize
their future space. It is very common
to create a virtual mockup at 10% or less
of the cost of a real-world mockup. With
the growth of VR, senior project managers
and superintendents can " walk the
job, " creating deficiency logs and to-do
lists long before any bodies, tools, or
equipment are on-site. A hurdle for VR
technology is that there is a cultural barrier
consumers face, as " gamers " are
often the ones seen wearing VR headsets.
Consumers also have very high
expectations of how well a tool should
be able to mimic reality. These inflated
expectations cause VR technology to remain
headed into a " trough of disillusionment "
at the present time.
Estimating
Computers are great at counting, but historically,
BIM tools have been too difficult
for estimators to manage. New tools allow
estimators to access information in a
model, gleaning insights without needing
to understand how to create the model
in advanced interfaces such as Revit by
Autodesk or Bentley's AECOsim. With
specific BIM-for-estimators training, preconstruction
teams can learn how to query
BIM models to " slice and dice " 3D views,
count elements that might be elusive to
find in drawings, and create markups or
questions for design teams to further define.
It can be expected, therefore, that
BIM as an estimating tool may soon plateau
into a widely used technology.
Tools are also emerging in the bid management
and subcontractor prequalification
realm. Bid management tools are
aimed at connecting general contractors
with subcontractors interested in bidding
a certain project. The most sophisticated
bid management tools create a profile
of a subcontractor's financial stability to
determine their risk of default. The fact
that these tools are emergent, however,
means they are still in the " hype " phase.
Scheduling
Scheduling and sequencing are areas
ripe for technological disruption (Figure
1). Both involve routine cognitive tasks
connected by rules-based logic that refer
to a finite number of elements in the finished
building.
BIM for scheduling (4D BIM) has
spent time in the " trough of disillusionment "
due to difficult-to-use software
and a disconnect between virtual design
and construction (VDC) staff and schedulers.
BIM is just beginning to offer
September 2020 | POWER
value on a large scale when it comes to
scheduling, putting it on the " slope of enlightenment "
for this use case. BIM can
connect elements of a building model to
elements of the project schedule, giving
a visual snapshot of how the project
should look on any given day.
Laser scanning is beginning to be
used to determine if elements from a
design are or are not installed on the jobsite.
While still in its infancy, laser scanning
as applied to scheduling can help
determine exactly where an element is
in its implementation.
Even earlier in the development phase
as a scheduling tool is artificial intelligence
(AI). While not ready for pervasive
rollout, AI shows promise for assisting
humans in defining rules-based relationships
to building elements by, for example,
running scenarios through powerful
cloud-based computers to return recommended
scheduling possibilities.
Progress Monitoring
The digitization of recordkeeping is moving
the needle furthest in the area of progress
monitoring. Digitally recording items
that used to be done on paper makes
data available for a company's enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software, where
it can be accessed by financial analysts to
help assess the overall health of a project.
Better " filing " of jobsite progress folders
can be accomplished with specialized
software (Figure 2).
Many technologies can gather data
about the current status of construction
for comparison against design and other
schedule and budgetary expectations.
Sensors can track temperature, humidity,
and some environmental air quality/
particulate levels, helping monitor such
things as curing of concrete, humidity
levels in enclosed spaces (which can
identify water leaks), and sizes of stockpiles.
Another growth area is computer
vision, in which a computer analyzes information
in a photo or video.
AI and machine learning are being employed
in the area of progress monitoring,
although, as in other areas, AI is still
in its infancy. A few software programs
can teach themselves to identify objects
and/or people on a construction project.
This will help automate some of the data
collection that is being done manually
about who and what is on-site, how often
things are used and/or moved, etc.
Material Handling and Inventories
As more people look to manufacturing
processes for ideas on how to make conwww.powermag.com
2.
Tasks that used to be documented on
paper are now routinely recorded and filed in
software programs. Courtesy: Graycor
struction leaner, project management
tools are being modeled on how manufacturers
manage supply chains. Devices
connected through the internet of things
(IoT) can be embedded in tools, equipment,
and materials to relay information,
including location.
Radio frequency identification (RFID)
uses wireless communication chips that
incorporate the use of electromagnetic or
electrostatic coupling to uniquely identify
an object. Barcodes-either line-based
barcodes like those used in retail or the
more robust QR codes-can be easily applied
to objects and convey a vast range
of information. While not yet ubiquitous
on the jobsite, IoT is one of the most
sophisticated technologies supporting inventory
and materials handling.
Longer Horizons
A few new technologies, like 3D-printed
structures and smart glasses (in which a
mini-screen is positioned in front of safety
glasses), frequently make headlines.
In reality, these technologies are still in
early development and deployment is far
out on the horizon. Rather than trying to
guess what's in the future, companies
should familiarize themselves with tools
that are already being adopted and invest
in them where it makes sense.
As more and more technology startups
bring construction tools to the market,
there is an increase in the amount of
" noise. " People also experience FOMO
(fear of missing out), which understandably
intensifies when they feel threatened
by disruption. The solution is to thoroughly
research the current state of a given technology,
create a companywide strategy
for implementing new technologies, then
document and assess progress according
to agreed-upon benchmarks. Technology
tools that are wisely chosen will help
companies make the most gains. ■
-Weston Tanner is director of
Construction Technology and Innovation
with Graycor.
43
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POWER September 2020

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