TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN CONSTRUCTION
ment requires a technology solution that does not exist or is not well defined, and team members are forced to implement the technology first, creating a tougher path for success.
A Q
tablishes
What do you see as the most promising new technology for the construction industry today?
Laser scanning has been around for a while, but I think in the last couple of years, the construction industry has started to re- ally embrace it because it has become more cost effective and the technology itself has improved, making it easier to use. Previ- ously, you had to practically have a degree in software engineering and a NASA-type computer to access the data natively. Today, once an area is scanned, we are able to give an owner a link that they can click on and then literally see the by-product of the scan, measure, and perform the tasks needed to design and maintain their facility. Laser scanning first and foremost es- such an amazing baseline for
anything you would do for design. It takes into consideration things down to an eighth-inch conduit. One of the best appli- cations for us today is establishing existing conditions. For many owners, this technology
may also replace the need for a model to be delivered at the end of the job. With new technologies, the data from the laser scanning can have referenced content as- sociated with it like O&Ms, alleviating the need for a 3D model that typically has to be corrected to match the existing conditions. The final point cloud provides the owner with the latest as-built information for fu- ture tenant improvements and other uses. Currently,
laser scanning technology
is limited to line of sight, but the future is coming with the ability to scan beyond line of sight. Laser scanning also creates large data, however, there is not an efficient technology that allows for the transfer of this data over the WAN, which is a big limitation.
A Q
What are some of the emerging technologies that you see as having most potential for the construction industry, and why?
In the world of BIM and VDC, the ben- efit has always been the ability to visu- ally communicate. Now we’re seeing aug-
www.AGC-CA.org
A worker virtualizes a construction space using the Samsung VR(Oculus Rift). The technology gives users a sense of spatial awareness and an understanding of a space prior to a project being built.
mented reality and virtual reality tools with companies out there like Microsoft, which has partnered with Trimble to de- velop the Hololens. I think this technol- ogy is really a game changer. It is going to give us the ability to work with all our clients and team mem- bers to start to see things in 3D as it is in the real world. This is still in development, but hopefully in the next year or so, we’ll start to actually see something that the public can touch and feel. Then there is the Oculus Rift, which al-
lows the project team, including the own- ers, to be put into a virtual space of their facility or building, giving them a sense of spatial awareness and understanding. An example of this would be prior to even building a physical mockup, a judge can virtually be put into a courtroom to get a sense of the room from his or her judge’s chair or a surgeon inside their OR space.
A Q
We’re hearing a great deal about the potential of drones to benefit the jobsite. What do you see as the future for drones in the construction industry?
Drones are huge, one of the better tech- nologies that I think we’ll start to get some amazing use cases from as regulations are settled and some of the fail-safes come out. The stall in deployment is because people are waiting to see what happens with the FAA and regulations that are going to be put on them. You’re going to see them real- ly explode (in use) in the next year or two. The potential applications are great. Le-
veraging the GPS accuracy of the drones, schedules can be updated daily and auto- matically. In addition, tower cranes and equipment can be checked daily to ensure safety parameters.
A Q
What are some of the other new or emerging technologies that we may see impacting jobsites in the near future?
Proximity sensors like the IBeacon is one. Since more and more mobile devices will be used on the job site and in the field, we will need more technologies to ensure the proper use of them. These proximity sen- sors can alert field staff of dangers. Then there are wearable technologies.
Smart watches like the Apple Watch will assist in providing valuable health metrics to alert of possible heat exhaustion and provide blood pressure readings of work- ers on the jobsite. Finally, I’d say 3D printing currently
A Q
has some limitations, but it has future po- tential. Most of us are using 3D printing for physical mockups, creating buildings on a topography map, and spatial planning. I don’t think anyone has quite figured out yet how to use it effectively on a jobsite because the technology is so new. But as it gets bet- ter and faster, the applications will increase.
What is still really needed in the technology arena that you think would most benefit the industry?
We need better technology for the end user that is easy, intuitive, and requires less training. Technology that works and is in- visible to the end user and better integration so we can alleviate redundancies and im- prove efficiencies. Also, we need better tools for managing big data. In the construction industry, we still struggle with how to push and pull big data especially when IP restric- tions are high.
Associated General Contractors of California 13
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