Construction has had a productivity problem for many years. With the use of outdated methods and the low rate of digitisation this is perhaps to be expected. But what can be done to accelerate the change and bring the necessary outputs that will raise standards and value in the sector?
One main challenge on construction projects includes accessing all data from site and being able to structure it in order to get meaningful insights that can be analysed and actioned accordingly. A construction “control room” provides the answer with an approach based around automation of construction processes, and continuous tracking and measurement of project progress.
The control room provides all mission critical information to the relevant stakeholders when they need it, allowing them to make decisions based on what is actually happening, instead of what they think is happening. This could be an early warning of a substantial drop in pace from a particular trade that will impact the construction delivery path. Or identification of an error that could delay further work on site.
Now, an alternative is available to project teams that would previously have had to rely on inconsistent and patchy data to keep things moving and determine progress through only subjective information. The control room provides exactly that – total control.
Putting it into practice
Buildots’ AI-based construction management platform was designed to enable maximal control of construction processes at minimal effort. With hard hat-mounted 360-degree cameras, Buildots scans the site and turns every site walk into actionable information from the project.
Each video is compared to the BIM and programme schedule, resulting in a clear and objective view of the current project status including task durations, activities in progress and percentage complete. Users can choose to view a complete project or drill down on information for a specific location, across a whole floor or review a trade’s performance. Think of Buildots as your virtual control room.
One practical example of how Buildots is providing critical information at the right time is in the management of commercial processes. Commercial managers need to know that work claimed to be concluded is truly done, with no loose ends and according to plan.
With Buildots, monthly valuations can be concluded in a fraction of the usual time with a high level of certainty. This frees up time and capacity for commercial managers to focus on other tasks, such as procuring and appointing trades for the next work packages or digging into more complex disputes. Let’s take a look at how the system manages these processes.
Validating completion and compliance
Traditionally, a quantity surveyor would find themselves walking around the site at the end of each month taking handwritten notes. Upon returning to the office, they would begin to compare their notes and photographs, ask package managers specific questions and review site team recordkeeping; and only then begin to manually apply completion percentages to the payment application to establish their interim payment or check an interim payment. Analysed information is then consolidated, so that commercial managers would then issue the interim payment certificate.
Using Buildots, the data is automatically collected from the site, analysed and automatically cross-checked with the BIM model and schedule, giving the commercial manager a clear view of all actual work performed, gaps, loose ends, percentage complete and more – all per trade, per location and for any specific date.
In the event that work has not been completed, Buildots will automatically indicate partially completed tasks for the trade and work package, causing the defined work to be incomplete. Each of these incomplete tasks can be investigated to view the actual missing element or activity and indicate its location on site for action by the trade.
Recordkeeping and site instructions
The majority of disputes in construction are fuelled by verbal conversations lacking sufficient evidence or recordkeeping and resulting in unnecessary clashes. Many of these could be easily settled with the availability of clear and objective evidence.
Buildots provides this evidence to clear up potential claims or disputes. The use of camera technology and automatic flagging of issues as soon as they arise can even prevent potential disputes arising in the first place, saving significant legal costs protecting the working relationship between all parties involved.
Quality control
Validating whether a work package has been completed and to what extent is indeed the largest portion of the monthly evaluation process, but another aspect to validate is whether the work performed was correctly done to the expected level of quality and safety. Here Buildots can also help provide a clear answer.
Buildots provides a first layer of visual quality assessment, identifying issues as they happen. Common issues we see on sites are “forgotten” elements, building to outdated plans or misplaced elements. This layer helps drastically reduce the number of snags during handover, and helps the commercial team mitigate issues early with the trades.
Managing variations and claims
It can be difficult to assess the true value of a variation or a claim due to variables around cause and impact. The Buildots system reforms this process by allowing accurate figures to be generated for claims, and helping commercial managers justify the size of a claim based on accurate data.
Construction control room: A smarter way to work
So, the control room is not just a concept and the benefits, as explained in the management of commercials example above, make a compelling use case for transforming construction processes.
Ongoing innovation and organisations already adopting this approach mean the construction control room will maintain an essential place in delivering projects, with highly efficient and more predictable outcomes.
Buildots
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Please note: this is a commercial profile.
