December - 2021CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM9The increased use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) provides a platform to manage the whole lifecycle of a construction project providing a collaborative platform from design to construction, to operation and maintenance through to reuse or demolition. The synergies between BIM and Lean management are well documented, this valuable source of digital information management can promote lean construction and accelerate digital management process in the industry. The ability to communicate and validate design information coupled with incorporating point cloud information to verify accuracy of installations, the model provides a rich information supported by near real time information. Lean methodologies provide insights to current productivity and highlighted deviations from optimal state. This information can rapidly be communicated to project teams to highlight inefficiencies and promote project improvements.Current technological advances enable new methods of data collection that increase reliability and near real-time information. In addition to BIM, IoT (Internet of things) is another technological development. The IoT is described as the connection of objects or things including wireless/wired network connections and cloud cyber-infrastructure, through integrated or attached sensors. This data can be combined with BIM data to increase the digital information in the virtual environment. Collecting reliable and actionable data is critical for the successful deployment of a digital management strategy. Digital technology can accelerate the project management function process in construction. Collection of electronic field data from multiple sources improves the situational awareness of project stakeholders using near real time project information to create a situational picture. Images, point cloud scans, document check list can all be linked to BIM data to manage collected information to provide the required insights to measure productivity. Integrating multi-disciplined teams and managing projects collectively improves all aspects of project performance. Therefore, it is important to have a reliable process in place where teams can manage and gather both physically and virtually to collaborate effectively. By integrating the model into management functions, it increases the visual managementfunction. Visual management is a very effective tool for displaying current information and managing complex operations.Data processing should help teams make sense of their environment. Mixed Reality, which allows for the blending of real and virtual worlds, is one such technology that has a capability to improve productivity. The use of mixed reality can immerse users into situations to provide insights into constructability and quality. This provides a unique perspective that allows designers and constructors to collaborate in a fully interactive manner.Technological solutions are continuously being developed which is demonstrated with the high volume of start-up entities. Existing platforms continue to mature and evolve to provide increased functionality. The role of technology is to support project management processes not to replace them. It is essential that project teams embrace a learning environment where performances are reviewed, and data is being produced as a leading indicator. This enhances the value of the data. Construction projects are bespoke one-of-a-kind projects. The learning function is essential to increase productivity and improve defined project Key Project Indicators(KPI's). The construction phase of a building is relatively short compared to the overall building lifecycle. As a result, actionable information collected in the construction phase will provide valuable insights to increase the productivity during the construction phase that can be used through to commissioning, handover, and operational phase of project.To capitalise on the construction technology available, it is important to identify processes for improvement, using technology to connect project teams and support collaboration is a key benefit of digital information. Collaboration in construction has proven to be hugely beneficial and identifying technology to support this is crucial. The traditional fragmentation of construction management where design, main contractor, supply chains and owners working in silos to manage and transfer project risks has proven unsuccessful. BIM management lends itself to lean construction where collaboration is key. Managing the flow of information from design to construction through to validation and commissioning can provide a single source of truth that can be managed effectively in a fully transparent manner. This increases the accountability and improves trust between project stakeholders. It also provides valuable information that is transferred to the operational phase and reuse and demolition phase of the building project. This can extend the buildings viability and provide a more sustainable future for modern building projects.Digitisation should support the project management teams. It should ease the project management function by reducing the workload of the project management teams. This can be achieved by developing a digital strategy to support the management strategy and allow teams to focus on adding value to the project. Digitisation should support the project managementteams. It should ease the project management function byreducing the workload of the project management teams.
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