The current pandemic may have led the construction companies into challenging timesdue to a disruption in the supply chain and shortage in manpower.

But not all hope is lost.Construction companies are turning to technology to help them get back on track, control costs, and work more efficiently.

In that vein, they are increasingly adopting a promising way of construction called modular construction.Once heralded as the next big thing in the construction industry along with 3-D printing, companies use modular construction to build certain pre-fabricated units offsite and then fit it with onsite structures.

Hopes from the technique are high.

In fact, the company might have to incur 30% of additional costs due to rework.That’s wheretechnology like Building Information Modelling (BIM) can come to the rescue.THE ROLE OF BIM IN MODULAR CONSTRUCTIONBIM promotes the creation of comprehensive, accurate, time-sensitive, and validated models of every little detail of the construction site.This level of detail can help construction companies to create a detailed 3D visualization of each component being constructed offsite as well that can fit perfectly within the rest of the structure that is documented just as clearly.BIM can also help in:1.DIGITIZING THE CONSTRUCTION WORKFLOWSome construction companies have started thinking of concepts like Digital Engineering.

Automating these processes can drive upconstruction efficiency and reduce risk.

Conceptual estimating has always been a crucial aspect while planning a new construction project.Developers assign costs for every stage of the planning to determine the costs, feasibility, and the direction of the project.

It also enables developers to start planning for ways to work within a limited budget.

The concept is the main differentiator in this process.HOW CAN BIM HELP WITH CONCEPTUAL ESTIMATING?BIM software comes with in-built estimating features that can help construction companies estimate better:Cost-savingsAccording to McKinsey, large construction projects take 20% more time to finish, and 80% of the time goes over budget.

The full-lifecycle BIM approach adopted for the project is estimated tohave saved 20% on design and construction and 40% on operations and maintenance costs.

automating the quantification process that involves tallying components from printed drawing sets, or CAD drawings and using estimators to come up with a project cost estimate.It improves the plan efficiency of the project by removing duplication and reducing the chances of human errors.

The IT giant – TCS was looking to redo a significant portion of a campus spread over 74,000 sq.

BIM has been proven to help reduce costs and increase efficiency throughout the project lifecycle ranging from design and construction to facility management.BIM helps the construction company to save money in the design and construction and development phases of the project.

Here are some of the ways how BIM can help lower the lifetime cost of a building: BIM helps to improve collaboration: Failing to collaborate on projects leads to time delays and increases the cost beyond the initial estimations.

BIM saves time (and cost): In the construction business, ‘time’ and ‘cost’ are essential factors in the project life cycle.

Rework is time and effort-intensive, both of which cost money.

For instance, this information helps to generate detailed drawings for offsite manufacturing purposes.

This enables the organization to mitigate physical risks by visualizing and planning onsite activities better.

https://excelize.com/blog/how-is-bim-central-to-construction-technology-disruption-

Ongoing projects were stalled due to the nationwide lockdown.

As the situation developed, many workers returned to their hometowns as they feared for their safety and livelihood.

That said, due to labour shortage, material unavailability, and transportation issues, it could take a while before all the projects are back on track.

Take lessons from the pastWe should take effective lessons from the success of previous projects to ensure that the work is completed on time and without much hassle.

Ensure proper hygieneWith the lockdown getting lifted, we need to be careful about the safety of the workers on site.

We MUST take all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of the workers.

I have been a part of the construction industry for many years, and in all that time, I have observed something unexpected about the industry.

As much as the feeling is that the industry resists change, it has evolved steadily and constantly.Who could have thought that we could not only identify clashes but also rectify them before the construction began or that construction doesn’t need to happen at the construction site?

But, here we are, and this is just the beginning of how technology is going to revolutionize the way we think and do things in our industry.The ever-increasing infrastructure demands, and tight spaces on-site have opened the gates to offsite construction.

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention – the global construction industry is looking towards new and innovative ways to keep projects moving faster and more efficiently.

It is rapidly being developed and innovated to build complete structures like bridges and houses using materials such as concrete, metal, and resin.

That’s 3D printing at work.Understanding the role of BIM in 3D Printing and Offsite ConstructionIn this technological age, people have certain expectations and demands like speed, accuracy, and an elevated user experience that cannot be fulfilled with traditional construction methods.

Nagpur Metro is being regarded as the greenest metro system in India.There’s no doubt that the Nagpur Metro project stands as the perfect example for megaprojects in India and the rest of the world.

This helped the team plan better, be more efficient with resource utilization, collaborate better, and prevent avoidable clashes and rework.

Nagpur Metro project is the first such effort in India to adopt the 5D BIM technology by incorporating ERP with BIM and various world-class software for project management.

This also made it possible to communicate the issues and the solutions to all the involved parties well in time.

It got that way by utilizing globally tested digital technologies, latest construction tools and techniques, green initiatives, and the passion and skills of its employees.

Nagpur Metro Rail Project was planned, designed, and executed with many innovative and unique features.

There has been much conversation in recent times about the need for the construction sector to embrace new technologies like the Cloud to improve effectiveness.

Collaboration seems to be a focus for everyone.

Of course, Revit has been a key part of our own business operations for years now so we keep a close eye on the innovations emerging from Autodesk.

It’s an innovative approach to bringing together a network of professionals and firms, and ground-breaking predictive analytics to enable your business to flourish across all the phases of construction.The construction industry is at a crucial turning point.

Organizations no longer want to settle for fragmented teams and disconnected information.

With the Autodesk Construction Cloud, a new way of working of connected construction and unmatched integration between the office and field teams could begin.Autodesk Construction Cloud is based on the basic principle of:· Design· Plan· Build· OperateAt the center of Autodesk Construction Cloud are some proven development solutions:· Assemble· Building Connected· BIM 360· PlanGridThe Construction Cloud incorporates three core components to help construction companies work more effectively and efficiently, collaborate with experts, and get insights that will help then plan and execute, even future projects, better.

Of those, at least two, infrastructure and technology-driven systems, go hand in hand.

The government has been actively engaged in introducing the global best practices and the RERA Act and GST are some efforts to standardize projects, assureconsumers of definite timelines in project delivery, and regulating the industry in general.The Impact of COVID-19In late March 2020, the country went into complete lockdown, shutting down all the construction projects- public as well as private.

The shortage of raw material, as well as manpower, is expected to cause several hurdles in the projects across the country, bringing to the fore the importance of modernizing the construction processes by using technology.

The need will be to deliver projects faster with constrained resources and fewer staff on site.

For instance, turning to Building Information Modeling could help constriction companies optimize resource estimates, make better plans and schedules, ensure greater collaboration, reduce clashes, and detect issues early.

Along with causing delays in the project delays, this also results in budget overruns for the project.In post-COVID-19 times, such scenarios can be risky for developers in the industry.

This has an impact on project completion timelines, project profitability, and even sustainability.

In that context, let’s zoom in on how AEC consultants, contractors, and companies work with BIM?How can the use of BIM benefit AEC companies?Architects and designers are utilizing Building Information Modeling to control structure construction, project planning, and sequencing.

BIM empowers them to generate multiple design alternatives and check the constructability of the structure for each of them.

BIM also helps extensively over the course of the project delivery by improving collaboration, proactive clash detection, and transparent ongoing tracking and monitoring.The AEC industry utilizes BIM for the following:3D visualization, clash identification, practicality analysis, constructability review, quantity and cost estimate, environmental analysis, and data for facility management.Improved construction and development efficiency, Enhanced collaborative efforts and data sharing among the team members,Reducing on-site risks and danger throughout the project,Promoting efficiency by minimizing errors or mistake between designers and engineers, Ensuring accuracy and reliability.It is well known that AEC projects are susceptible to various negative influences.

It is also true that poor coordination is commonplace in such an environment due to inconsistent sharing of information, outdated data, and differing priorities.

Issues such as loss of data during data transformation, errors in workflow integration, and lack of coordinated efforts are the norm.

A range of representation techniques is utilized to envision the sequence and scheduling issues.

The sequencing model ensures the smoothest possible construction sequence.In the context of construction, traditional methods used for project planning can't show how or why certain activities are connected in a given sequence.

They fail to calculate precisely the critical way to complete a project as they cannot capture the spatial components identified with these activities.Sequencing and scheduling in construction is the process of listing activities and tasks with a planned start and finish date.

Construction sequencing management becomes vital as the traditional planning methods fail to link directly to the building model.

A construction sequence implies that the installation arrangement of project equipment and materials, as well as the grouping of units, frameworks or subsystems, depends on the plant sequence.The Construction Sequence creates methods based on engineering, designing, and operation activities.

It is also important that the written arrangement be modified before any changes in construction activities are executed.

It is a smart solution that provides builders, architects, and construction professionals the insight and knowledge to plan, structure, develop and manage their building projects better.

Building Information Modelling, too, has some modern technical aspects which call for some skills and experience to deliver well.Effective implementation and utilization of BIM technologies and procedures require the attention of BIM professionals.

The benefits of hiring an expert BIM Service provider include:· Improved collaboration and control.· Improved project quality.· Faster delivery of projects.· Reduce wastage of resources.· Cost-effectiveness.· Maximum impact from the BIM implementation.With the dramatic rise in the demand for BIM technology around the globe, the demand for individuals with BIM skills has become significant.

Putting such a high-impact team together demands serious attention.We do consider ourselves among the top shelf of BIM service providers and from that perspective, perhaps, it’s worth taking a look at what the best BIM professionals look like.

This post is about those other essentials.This isn’t a set of guidelines for recruiting, more a set of qualities one must look for in individuals who can best leverage the powerful toolset to provide meaningful data to project teams.

As it happens, these also suggest parameters that could be vital in your decision of a trustworthy and skilled BIM solution provider.1.

The highway construction sector is already seeing tremendous focus and there seem to be major plans to commence work on a war footing on highway projects.However, we also need to bear in mind that the world of work that we will enter post-lockdown will be very different from the world of work that was.For starters, it is highly unlikely that social distancing is going away anytime soon.

But with fewer resources available, on-site social distancing becoming the new normal, and fewer people available to address each task, how can we make sure productivity meets economic needs?To emerge out of this situation we have to ensure that we enter the post lockdown stage with speed, agility, and optimal resource utilization.When it comes to complex infrastructure projects like the highways construction sector, technologies such as BIM are going to act as force multipliers to assist us in navigating the challenging environment that is to come.Here is how technology will act as a great enabler of the construction industry in the post COVID world.MAXIMIZE RESOURCE UTILIZATIONBIM, or Building Information Modelling, is more than your average technology product that merely provides a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a facility.

It is also a shared knowledge resource that helps in driving reliable decisions.

For this, quite naturally, project management teams and all stakeholders have to get complete and transparent insights into project progress and project impediments.

It can help them visualize the whole construction series and understand the progress of construction activities proactively throughout the lifetime of the project.This helps in identifying the gaps, if any, between expected and actual project completion time.

Better communication between different teams and divisions, visual communication of project parameters and ongoing progress, and proactive identification of sequencing or phasing issues help drive better-aligned efforts.FORECAST SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGESAs we progress through a project, the variables tend to change as well.

Craig D. Lounsbrough, Flecks of Gold on a Path of Stone: Simple Truths for Life's Complex JourneyConstruction is an inevitably sequential process.

So, how can we improve the chances of optimal decisions?

BIM or Building information modeling is already becoming a mainstay of the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industry.

The data updated by all the concerned parties helps in creating a 3D visualization of the final facility.

Such decisions, when taken at the right time, show an impact over the entire lifecycle of the project.

Quantity estimation: One of the most wasteful tasks in a construction project is deriving accurate estimates for the quantity of the required raw material.

Innovation and trends in the construction industry have kept pace with the rise in demand for new advancements.

With artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems, firms can turn the information they have gathered over the years to predict future results on projects and gain an advantage when estimating and offering on construction ventures.

Drones can survey entire sites in a shorter span which helps to save much time, which also leads to saving a great deal in labour costs as it requires less human involvement.

It would be hard to achieve that level of accurate direction without basing it all on an accurate and updated BIM model.

The advantages of cloud-based software include the inexpensive storage of limitless amounts of data that can be accessed instantly.

This will ensure smooth work, fewer clashes, better work planning, and smarter resolution of issues.4.

Innovation has started infusing everything within the industry from the hardware of our machines to the software being increasingly used.

But the construction industry is a dynamic work environment, requires the use of heavy equipment, and carries some inherent risks.

These hazards contribute to an unacceptably high injury and illness rate among those who work in construction and this has become one of the major concerns for the industry.Construction companies and contractors have been implementing safety tools and programs to decrease and even prevent work-related hazards on construction sites in hazardous locations.Research has shown that it becomes harder to influence or prevent construction injuries as the project progresses and that “the most effective form of safety programme elements occurs at the planning and preconstruction phases of a project.”But this post is about another tool that can help with safety on such construction sites located in hazardous environments.

BIM-based software models could be a significant asset when used by design and construction professionals for site layout and safety planning.

This information can be tightly integrated with relevant information about the hazards of the location to deliver insights and predictions about what could go wrong.

The information can be used to identify potential patterns, problems, and hazards around the site.