The utopian view of major construction sites is neon-vested workers in hard hats and an unfinished façade. The ubiquitous sheaves of blueprints and oversized design drawings that litter any flat surface on the jobs site should be gone.

The industry wants to embrace technology and replace papers with smartphone apps and tablet computers. Progressive construction giants already harness the potency of technology in all its forms. Incredible advancements optimise production and efficiency, from planning to construction.

Game-Changing Technologies in Construction

Drones are the way to gain insight into a construction site while also allowing for mapping. Often a construction site is hazardous and remote, which makes this technology an inexpensive no-brainer. Human error causes delays and increased costs, while drones drastically improve safety standards, accuracy and speed as they take high-resolution images and collect data when flying over a site. Technicians using photogrammetry can extract 3D models and point clouds from the images.

BIM Technology Application

BIM technology is not new to the UK construction market, especially since the government mandated BIM to be used on government projects in 2016. The benefits are considerable, including improved life cycle costs, higher-quality construction, lower costs and faster enabling. Building Information Modelling involves generation and managing of digital representations of both functional and physical characteristics of a place.

It is used to support automated and predictive maintenance schedules of a building life. The building manager will know where all the fittings and fixtures are and all the services as well as service intervals, certificates and installation dates.

Companies, including but not limited to https://www.bimtech-eng.com/, use its digital technology to develop digital models that accurately represent the elements of a construction project. It offers house-builders, medium and large building companies and construction contractors better control over all the phases.

3D printing is a construction technology that will speed up and reduce construction costs. Recently, a 3D building was completed in a building-on-demand (BOD) structure, with several others following suit. This technology embeds wireless sensors into property walls to create a genuinely smart building, literally and figuratively. It also doubles up as a preventative accident measure.

While digital technology brings enormous benefits, they come with new challenges. This level of digitisation can only be applied when contractors, designers and project employers have the required skills.