The AECO industry’s contribution towards natural-resource extraction and waste generation is estimated at about 30% of the global figures. The built environment has also been found to be the primary contributor of global emission, with about 36% of global energy use and 39% of CO2 emissions as per the World Green Building Council. On the other hand, the AECO industry faces significant project delivery performance, often resulting in increased project cost and time which subsequently results in mismanaged resource utilization and increased waste. Recent studies on efficient project delivery performance are indicative of role of digitalization in reduction of actual project cost and duration by 30% to 50%, and double project returns.
Also Read: Development of National BIM Program: Digital transformation of construction industry
Sustainable project delivery
Sustainability in construction projects typically revolve around project management measures focused on prevention, reuse and management of waste, which can lead to reduced impact on the surrounding environment. However, these strategies are mutually exclusive due to the difference in long-term environmental benefits and short-term economic objectives. Sustainable project delivery is a process-driven approach which has to provide a structured workflow, and combine the project goals in terms of social, environmental and economic performance.
Sustainable construction outcomes requires an updated project delivery model, with a framework capable of addressing decades old industry challenges including lack of integrated systems, prioritization of short-term cost management over long-term outcomes, poor stakeholders communication, and rigid planning & design systems (unable to adapt to dynamic project demands). The industry experts have initiated digitalized project quality management to overcome such challenges, with integrated digital solutions aimed at targeted interventions in project lifecycle, predict outcomes, unified platform for project innovation, and achieve sustainability goals.
Project Delivery Challenges (Source: Why the time is right to reinvent capital-project delivery, Mckinsey)
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GEOBIM for project quality management
As indicated previously, sustainable construction outcomes are tied to a process-driven approach to project management. Industry stakeholders in the AECO market have opted for alternative approaches to project delivery including Top Quality Management (TQM), which is considered more process-oriented as compared to traditional management systems which are results-oriented. TQM prioritizes project quality, flexibility and adaptability – which feature as the roadblocks for sustainable project delivery. Furthermore, TQM ensures quality & productivity with innovation and adoption of new technology.
Studies have acknowledged the role of TQM in improvement of core production activities, while mitigating project waste and improved coordination through data sharing within the firm. Approaches like TQM can be successful based on data-driven operations (robust digital architecture), and efficient project monitoring platforms. Integrated GIS and BIM platform or GEOBIM supports development of digital architecture for single source of truth for project information, and facilitate real-time progress monitoring, data-driven decision making for projects.
Benchmarking for quality management
Benchmarking is a primary component of effective quality management practices in the construction sector. Also, benchmarking assists the industry in identification of best construction practices that lead a firm to sustainable construction performance. However, it is crucial for project stakeholders to adopt technologies to track, record and analyze project workflows, to develop benchmark measurements for continuous quality improvement. GEOBIM technologies can seamlessly interconnect data between worksites, workers and equipment, thus creating a free flow of information across the project lifecycle.
Also Read: Scan to BIM: beginners’ guide to success
Quality inspection
Project monitoring is important in sustainable project delivery, and it’s crucial to incorporate quality inspection and identification of the quality tolerance at early stages of project lifecycle. Quality inspection is the process of checking planned work against actual work on site, as well as inspection of as-built elements during the design-to-execution stage. Project stakeholders have to frequently conduct inspections on sites to ensure compliance of quality standards, and drive sustainable project delivery. GEOBIM technologies provide digital support for design compliance evaluation, with an array of solutions in the form of non-intrusive measures aimed at:
- Architectural assessment (architectural design, structural calculations etc.,)
- Assessment of technical installations (dimensions, energy consumption etc.,)
- Assessment of health and safety on-site, and
- Environmental impact assessments.
GEOBIM technologies enable risk analysis and provide enhanced support in tracking and tracing of construction site activities. Presently, many C&E companies embraced such digitalization solutions to achieve improved productivity by leveraging the power of data-producing computing technologies in workers, machines and materials. Such integrated digital platforms have resulted in 25% improvement in efficient consumption of fuel on-site, 15% increase in productivity, and 10% increase in machine productivity enabling project stakeholders to achieve sustainable outcomes.
Geospatial World is organizing a series of virtual discussion series on ‘GIS & BIM Integration for Sustainable AECO Industry Practices’. These discussions will be held with stakeholders across North America, Europe and Asia regions aimed at advancing the AECO industry perspectives towards sustainable project delivery using an integrated application of GIS and BIM solutions. Click below to know more!
