The world’s leading name in ‘go-anywhere’ 3D mobile mapping technology, GeoSLAM, is calling on the engineering and construction sector to recognise the “fourth industrial revolution” in a new white paper entitled “Digital Engineering: Building Reality”.
Published by GeoSLAM, the findings include:
- A prediction that digital technology will radically overhaul the way buildings are designed, constructed and managed in the coming years, expanding on the latest developments in Building Information Modelling (BIM).
- An acknowledgment that digital technology has already proved to be a disruptive but lucrative force in sectors like retail, publishing and travel – but is set to open up new business opportunities in construction.
- A clear description of what digital engineering is, and how evolving technologies, such as BIM, form part of it.
- An understanding that the power of digital engineering – which partly involves using advanced 3D scanning techniques to rapidly create highly-detailed models of a structure or site – has enormous commercial advantages.
- Benefits such as facilitating better design, and identifying risks earlier on in the construction process thereby avoiding expensive delays and overruns. Delivery teams can expect greater predictability in building performance and more accurate costs and time-scales for project delivery.
The whitepaper comes after latest forecasts reveal that growth in the construction sector will rise by 70% across the world by 2025, with big data analytics, drones, mobile connectivity, sensors and other digital technology playing a significant role in enabling this growth.
Underlining the increased role digital engineering will play in future planning, John Allan, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, GeoSLAM said, “Compared to other industry sectors, the construction and engineering industry has been slow to embrace digital technology. But this is about to change, as the significant benefits that digital technologies bring to the way we design, construct and maintain our infrastructure are revealed. In this competitive market, now is the time to embrace digital engineering; those who do will not only survive but thrive.
“It’s fair to say that advances in technology now allow construction firms to undertake surveys that would not have been possible even a decade ago, such as a recent school renovation project which used 3D mobile mapping technology to create a ‘real time digital twin’ of a 100-year-old building.
“In this instance, planning permission was subject to detailed drawings being submitted, but there were a number of hazards including asbestos and unstable floors and ceilings. The team used our handheld scanners to scan the building safely, quickly and accurately in just four-and-a-half hours.”
Steven Eglinton, Director, GeoEnable, acknowledges how another key benefit of digital engineering is improved collaboration between stakeholders through the integration of technology.
He said, “Digital engineering is the transformation from analog to digital for the engineering and construction sector and represents the evolution of BIM. Without digital technology, this would not be possible, but it goes further than this. In fact, the success of building projects depends on a harmonious blend of people, process, and technology working together.”
