Digital Transformation potential in Smart Construction
Digitally transformative technologies are finding strong traction in construction contexts, where a range of security concerns (including site security, equipment protection, and worker safety) are at a premium. Meanwhile new digitally transformative technologies are changing the way that construction projects are conceived, designed, and delivered so that maximise different stakeholders can work together on the same projects in the most efficient ways possible.
Nine key domains of change in Smart Construction
Overall, we have identified nine key domains of change in the Smart Construction sector that are enabled by digital transformation, as illustrated below.
These domains of change are discussed in more detail in our report Digital Transformation in the Construction Sector:
The domains of change discussed in the report comprise:
Worker Safety including connected wearables, exosuits, drones, and AR/VR systems used at construction sites to support enhanced jobsite worker safety.
Site Security including solutions to guard against unauthorised access and support other aspects of construction site protection.
Asset Tracking includes tracking and monitoring solutions to safeguard construction assets (equipment, machinery, consumables, and tools) and prevent theft and misuse.
Autonomous Construction including solutions that can perform repeatable and mundane construction tasks.
Enhanced Project Efficiency encompasses visualisation of construction buildings including HVAC systems for virtual tours and sharing of real-time project data for timely project execution.
Digitised Concrete Management includes concrete sensors used to test and analyse concrete parameters including strength and temperature.
Next Generation Construction includes additive manufacturing and prefabrication methods to optimise and modernise the construction process.
Digital Marketplace including an online marketplace for connecting construction companies with construction equipment providers. Such solutions offer an environment where equipment can be accessed on an as-needed basis to lower (or remove) financial burdens associated with purchasing construction equipment outright.
Enhanced Project Collaboration using BIM (Building Information Modelling) Systems encompasses BIM-based solutions to reduce rework and bring efficiencies across project stakeholders through better collaboration.
Collectively, the activities listed above will bring significant changes to the Smart Construction sector.
IoT and Smart Construction
IoT is one of the key technology groups impacting the Smart Construction sector and further detail and analysis of key IoT applications for the Smart Construction sector can be found in Transforma Insight’s Forecast Insight Reports. Some of these applications are directly relevant to the sector, whilst others are only indirectly related.
Directly related IoT applications and Forecast Insight Reports include:
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Worker Safety
– Personal monitoring and support solutions for fire service, police, and emergency medical service personnel. Also includes lone worker safety in multiple vertical industrial contexts, particularly those involving dangerous environments such as logging and mining.
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Environment Monitoring
– The use of sensors to monitor for a diverse range of pollutants or other environmental factors. This might include CO2, flood water, radioactivity, seismic shock, or pollutants from industrial processes.
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Infrastructure Monitoring
– Includes monitoring of road and rail infrastructure, dams (including hydroelectric and tailing), levees, reservoirs, weirs, and pipelines, for the purpose of checking for structural issues, breakages, theft or other faults. Monitoring devices installed during construction projects counts within the Construction vertical but subsequently to the appropriate specific vertical (typically government) at point of handover.
Indirectly related IoT applications and Forecast Insight Reports include:
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Real World 'Visualisation'
– Includes the use of Human Machine Interface (HMI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) devices such as smart connected glasses, such as Microsoft’s Hololens, or Google Glass, used in either a consumer or enterprise context; standard and ruggedised tablets that can be used to access information about machinery and processes (and more); and large scale video walls, either in the context of control rooms, or to support immersive experiences. To be included in this forecast a device must be standalone, and not attached to a specific machine. Devices must also support some level of enhanced human interaction with machines (and other information, or content) rather than simply existing to relay information from a device or accept commands. Beyond this scope lie innumerable generic tablets, laptops, mobile phones, and other computing devices that can also support some aspects of HMI by simple installation of an application (or access to suitable web pages).
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Asset Monitoring
– This application group encompasses a variety of assets that are suitable for remote monitoring. This includes the monitoring of livestock and associated applications such as automated feeders. It also covers the monitoring of fitness equipment located in gyms and other shared contexts. Tracking and monitoring of equipment in ambulances is also incorporated as part of the healthcare vertical.
Furthermore, this Application Group includes connected video gaming machines, gambling machines and other devices such as pachinko machines. Monitoring the condition, availability, and use of assets important to public health such as life rings and defibrillators is also present in this application group, including access to potentially dangerous infrastructure such as substations.
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Unmanned Aquatic & Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
– This Application Group consists of two main categories. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles comprises fixed wing and propellor powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, government consumer or commercial use. Unmanned Aquatic Vehicles comprise small underwater and surface vehicles, typically for military use or exploration. Neither vehicle is designed to carry humans; automation of vehicles that carry humans (e.g. full sized planes or ships in automation mode) is covered under autonomous vehicles.
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Unmanned Non-Road Vehicles
– The Unmanned Non-Road Vehicles Application Group represents autonomous wheeled and tracked vehicles used for transporting materials, performing specific tasks or other similar activity in verticals such as agriculture, construction, mining, manufacturing, baggage handling, warehousing, space exploration or emergency response. The types of vehicles covered in this Application Group include forklifts, bomb-disposal vehicles, portside automated vehicles, straddle carriers and other specialised vehicles. Although these vehicles will not be intended for on-road use, they may be capable of travelling on public highways.
Other content and related analysis
Besides the detailed sector-focussed content described above, Transforma Insights offers an extensive range of thematic- and vendor-focussed research that will prove invaluable to any end-user seeking to leverage new and emerging digitally transformative technologies.
Of particular note are our Vendor Insight and CSP Peer Benchmarking reports, which provide detailed profiles of leading vendors who might be able to support a range of end-user digital transformation projects.
Our Key Topic Insight reports focus on the qualitative aspects of Digital Transformation, including investigation of interesting or noteworthy topics.
Detailed analysis of regulations that might apply to digitally transformative projects around the world can be found in our Regulatory Database. Meanwhile, our Case Study Database contains more than 1,000 case studies of technology implementations. Each case study contains detailed information on the specifics of the deployment. Used in aggregate it can provide unrivalled guidance on project prioritisation, best practice and vendor selection.
