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Geospatial industry continues to evolve through a process of collaboration for almost every industry sector all over the world, and as expected, the AEC industry is no exception to this. Though BIM continues to be a significant technology driver across all the major phases of the lifecycle of any particular construction project, geospatial information and technology continue to be embedded in the AEC industry. An integrated approach has come to the fore wherein different geospatial technologies along with BIM, i.e. GEOBIM solutions for construction, are used in a handful of projects all over the world. GEOBIM has proven to provide greater and improved efficiency, productivity, and accuracy to construction projects. It has also smoothened the integration of work processes, accurate visualization, and easy collective decision-making.
This much-needed integration of geospatial technologies with BIM, i.e. GEOBIM solutions has proved to be an effective tool to overcome numerous challenges that every construction project faces. Be it natural or man-made. This problem-solving is not only restricted to the plan and design phases of the construction project lifecycle but also to the later phases including project management and the completion of the project. This particular characteristic of GEOBIM integration is dictating the software construction market. Further, they are indulging in partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions among themselves as well as geospatial technology providers. In return, it is improving interoperability in between two different technologies and opens up newer horizons for the AEC industry.
The lifecycle of any AEC project can be classified into five distinct phases. Integration of geospatial technologies with BIM is utilized to increase accuracy, efficiency, and productivity across the lifecycle. Let us look at the use of these technologies along all phases of construction projects and their capabilities.
Survey and Plan: Technologies like GIS, GNSS, and Remote Sensing having surveying and measurement capabilities are commonly used during this phase. 3D scanning tools like LiDAR, GPR, total stations, etc., and aerial photography tools such as UAVs and drones also find their use in this phase. All these technologies play an active role in achieving different mapping capabilities like terrain mapping, land use mapping, site-suitability mapping, analyzing the climatic variability, and the natural resource stocking of a site before site planning and designing.
Design: GIS technology is extensively used for visualization and analysis of sites for design. Its integration with BIM and CAD is used in the preparation of 3D models and drawings in this phase.
Build/Construction: In this phase, surveying plays a major role before the physical construction process. Technologies like LiDAR, GNSS, UAVs, Drones, and multi-temporal satellite imageries play a major role here. BIM and GIS datasets integrated into a Common Data Environment (CDE) increase time-saving, especially for large-scale construction projects. Nowadays, technologies like 3D printing, pre-fab construction, and Design for Manufacturing (DfMA) enable the creation of ready-spatial models for construction.
Operations & Maintenance: This is one of the most important phases of a construction project. Varied use of geospatial technology has been the backbone behind every organized and successful operation and maintenance. Strategic use of technologies increases the chance of longevity of the structures. Web-based GIS-enabled 3D modeling and integration of spatial databases onto a GIS system ensures smooth fleet management and workforce management. GNSS for surveillance applications helps in proper construction work-site safety assessment as well as asset tracking. Drones and UAVs play an active role in real-time monitoring as well as maintenance monitoring. It helps in integration of the spatial data with BIM which takes the quality of operations and maintenance for construction projects to the next level.
Project Management: BIM plays a key role in project management. Integration of BIM with GIS has given birth to quite a few software and mobile applications. This much-needed integration is changing the age-old techniques of labor management and labor allocation as well as cost estimation. Drones and UAVs can also be implemented as a replacement for manual inspection of daily progress.
In Geospatial Media’s recently released GEOBIM Market in AEC Industry report, analysis shows that GEOBIM solutions find their highest utilization in the first two phases of the construction lifecycle – plan & design. However, it has not permeated as much in the subsequent construction and the operations and maintenance phases. The main reason for this is that architects, planners, and 3D modelers are at the far edge of the GEOBIM Maturity Curve, modeled on the GEOBIM Maturity Model, wherein a reasoned and seasoned 3D design is possible with integrated solutions by utilizing the analysis and simulation capabilities made possible by geospatial technologies. GEOBIM integration enables the absorption of spatial data for visualization and creating scenarios for data exchange among engineering professionals. This improves data integration workflows for better construction planning.
In this regard, in the plan and design phases – a layer of geospatial context blended into the BIM model eliminates data redundancy, enabling reuse and repurpose of information for design and construction of physical infrastructure. Also, while advanced users of AEC firms have begun to leverage GEOBIM solutions in the construction and operations and maintenance phase, the lack of enthusiasm of project owners for the technology and their limited exposure to the benefits and return on investment results in low or almost negligible adoption. However, in the recent light of the pandemic that shook the whole world, there might be a change in the order. It is expected that more companies will start leveraging GEOBIM solutions in post design phases of the construction and more innovations are bound to follow.
To know more in detail about integrated GEOBIM solutions and their major benefits in AEC Industry, please refer to the GEOBIM Market in AEC Industry Report.
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