From building residential housing to developing commercial spaces, Hong Kong-based construction company Hip Hing has been extensively using spatial analysis in the designing and construction phase.
The company has handled many key projects on the island including Queen’s Hill Estate – a public rental housing development; Airside – a mixed commercial development; and the Inland Revenue Centre (IRC) – a government department office.
BIM Integration
The company has been using Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) to enhance their workflow in an efficient manner.
“Being a main contractor, our role is not only managing the sub-contractors, but also integrating their expertise, and collaborative information,” says Mr. Billy Wong, General Manager (Construction Digitalization) of Hip Hing Construction Company.
Spatial analysis is a critical part of the design and construction process, which makes it a must-have technology for business in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector.
Esri provides a peculiar product called ArcGIS that helps visualize geospatial data and turn it into a value addition or actionable insight.
For Hip Hing, Esri has been providing various types of services such as BIM and GIS that are enhancing the construction company’s business output.
Managing such huge datasets brings a need to integrate all sorts of digital technology, and transform the information into all areas of the company’s operations to optimize efficiency for smoother interoperability, identify risks in-advance and mitigate any barriers upfront, and enhance value of the project as well as reduce any extra costs.
Geospatial Value
BIM manages the design of future building, and GIS manages the proximity surrounding the project. With BIM and GIS integration, Hip Hing can have a scalable digital platform for storing and managing construction-related information, including design documents, permits, inspection and progress reports.
“This centralized repository ensures easy access to project information, facilitating site progress monitoring by data visualization, and allowing project managers to predict and monitor progress, identify issues, and make informed decisions promptly and accurately before the real construction takes place,” reiterates Mr. Billy.
Key Projects
Hip Hing has been using GIS for a number of projects in Hong Kong, like Kai Tak Sports Park, the expansion of Legislative Council Complex building, District Court Building at Caroline Hill Road and a new rooftop Public Market at Tin Shui Wai.
For civil projects, they also widely deploy GIS in the Site Formation and Infrastructure Works, to serve for the future Development of ex-Cha Kwo Ling Kaolin Mine Site.
Sustainability at Forefront
Sustainability has become an essential part for most of the businesses around the world. Construction companies have even more onus as traditionally, the sector has been ridden with unsustainable practices in lieu of the demanding nature of the job and supply-chain complexities.
Hip Hing and Vibro has been cooperating with Esri to explore new functions for a few years, and have tried numerous innovative ideas that are beneficial to the whole industry.
Considering the potential direction, Hong Kong is facing more and more extreme weather and occurrences of heavy rain that cause serious flooding and financial losses.
“Our construction sites are also facing similar challenges. In this case, GIS should play a vital role in addressing climate-related challenges,” states Mr. Billy.
By analyzing spatial data, GIS helps identify flood-prone areas, assess flood risks, analyzing flood control measures, such as levees, dams, and drainage systems, so that the company can make use of this function to plan for mitigations.
Incorporating Esri’s flooding simulation with BIM model, Hip Hing can simulate and predict different situation of rainfall before the extreme weather occurs, and setup precautionary measures to reduce the impact on the site environment.
Future Prospects
There are primary two areas of development that can catapult the construction sector into a new expedition and set it up for future resilience. Geospatial technology will continue to evolve and integrate with other data sources, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, satellite imagery, drones, and social media feeds.
This integration will allow for even richer and more comprehensive data analysis, enabling better decision-making in various domains, such as environmental monitoring and enhanced construction safety.
Secondly, AI and ML will play an increasingly significant role in geospatial analysis as they can help automate data processing, extract meaningful insights from large datasets, and enable predictive foresight.
The scope of technological and sustainable advancement is scorching high for the construction sector as showcased by Hip Hing and their collaboration with Esri. With emerging technologies coming into play, the progression of construction practices remains to be seen.
