A hospital construction project in Denmark is using AI to improve work productivity and reduce costs
The DKK3.8bn (£440m) New Hospital Nordsjælland (NHN) in North Zealand has been designed by Swiss architect Herzog & de Meuron with Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen and is being built by Swedish contractor NCC.
The hospital construction project, which has been under construction since 2019, is using artificial intelligence (AI) site monitoring software from Imerso to improve work productivity and avoid unnecessary costs due to human error.
“Site supervision is mostly based on trade-specific topics with a narrow focus on predefined sample areas, traditionally based on printed drawings and tape ruler measurements,” says NHN project leader Anders Kaas. “On a large hospital project like ours, this task is very time-consuming, with the high risk of critical items possibly being overlooked.”
The Imerso platform combines BIM, reality capture, and AI
Imerso is a software platform that combines BIM, reality capture and AI technologies.
It compares the as-built status to the BIM specs, automates construction site supervision and tracks work progress – all in one simple workflow. In addition, it’s the fastest and simplest 3D scanning workflow on the market which allows as-built status to be monitored against the BIM execution plan.
“Using Imerso to apply 3D scanning as a fast and less biased method, both efficiency and the number of construction elements covered increased significantly.”
By conducting routine 3D scans, the NHN construction team captures every stage of the project with highly accurate data which the AI then analyses automatically.
The system allows virtual site visits, whereby actual progress can be analysed remotely. This can be done via any browser from any device without the need to download additional software.
Imerso works in three steps to monitor the as-built reality against the planned construction specifications:
- The first step is to upload the project BIM building plans, which serve as the performance targets that Imerso uses to check if everything is on track.
- The second step is to capture the as-built reality using Imerso’s 3D simple scanning process, which enables the onsite teams to frequently capture the site status fast and with millimetre precision – without the need for training or any complicated processes and preparing the area with target markers. Just point and shoot.
“Using Imerso to apply 3D scanning as a fast and less biased method, both efficiency and the number of construction elements covered increased significantly,” says Anders.
3. The third step is to review the automatic inspection results in Imerso. This provides reports for verifying completed work, alongside early alerts of deviations that can be easily solved before turning into costly issues and delays.
Imerso’s technology is 15x more efficient
Imerso’s technology has proven to be 15 times more efficient at monitoring the site status and the quality of completed works, while using less than 10% of the resourced required by traditional methods.
According to NHN, it would take the team more than a year using traditional inspection methods to achieve the same number of verifications of on-site installations that a few interns have achieved in 65 days with Imerso. It estimates the cost savings to date are equivalent to 2% of the total construction budget.
“Besides the measurable benefits from a risk perspective, we see that having a broad view on quality assurance also has a positive effect on the amount of rework, and therefore creating a more motivating working environment,” says Anders.
Over DKK40m (£4m) was saved from avoided rework and increased productivity.
According to Anders: “Deciding to implement Imerso’s 3D scanning process during the ongoing construction phase did challenge the traditional way of working and brought initial scepticism. But after seeing the results and benefits, we now get weekly requests from all parties for new areas to explore with the technology.”
According to Frederico Valente, CEO and founder of Imerso: “The way construction projects are managed today suffers hugely from a lack of updated and objective information about what’s actually happening out there in the jobsite.”
“We see a growing investment into better planning methods like BIM but little into mechanisms to ensure those plans are actually carried out in reality. We’re hugely proud of our collaboration with NHN and the results Anders and his team are achieving in this project, and their dedication to continuous improvement”
*Please note: This is a commercial profile.
Juha-Matti Halminen
Head of Sales
Imerso
Tel: +358 40 749 7481
