There were a record 2,349 construction company collapses in calendar year 2023, accounting for almost 28% of all Australian business bankruptcies. Looking ahead to 2024, the construction industry will face continued pressure from higher relative interest rates, disruptions to supply chains, higher material costs and labor shortages. There is a risk that construction quality and worker safety will suffer if companies take shortcuts.
A 2023 report from the University of Melbourne in partnership with software company Autodesk argued that integrating a variety of technologies into construction industry workflows could help safeguard both construction quality and safety. of workers in the future.
These include utilizing data capture technologies such as 3D scanning and Lidar, to common data environments for project and industry stakeholders using 4D simulation and virtual reality-based experiences to maximize the benefits of training programs. contractors.
Construction Failures Highlight Gaps in Project Data Management
Australia has seen a series of residential construction debacles. These include the Opal Tower and Mascot Towers in Sydney, which were revealed to have serious defects, and the Lacrosse Tower in Melbourne, which caught fire after being adorned with flammable cladding (Figure A).
These problematic projects, which have cost some building residents millions, led to a national inquiry and the Shergold Weir Report, which recommended a national best practice model to strengthen the effective implementation of the National Building Code. The construction rulings and the report prompted state regulatory efforts, such as the new New South Wales Building Commission, which has the power to veto or intervene if standards are not met.
Concerns about construction products replaced by the need for clear, shared data
The University of Melbourne report found that recent problematic residential construction projects in Australia had highlighted the need to:
- Better audit trails of installed materials.
- Improved information capture and simplified information sharing between project stakeholders involved in the specification, selection, installation and maintenance of building materials, components and systems.
SEE: Effective data management is necessary for any industry.
The report noted that by 2023, concerns about one issue: the quality of construction products and their provenance will have reduced. The industry is now focusing on high standards during the execution and installation process to enforce underlying construction specifications.
But despite progress in digitizing construction from design to delivery and operation, there are still problems, with the University of Melbourne report pointing out a lack of clarity to enable decision-making and the capture of inconsistent information. as some of the main quality problems.
Audit trails and as-built information capture are key issues
The report found that 51.9% of industry respondents still face a lack of clarity and audit trails for decision-making processes, despite deficiencies found at Opal Tower and Lacrosse Towers, indicating the need for better information capture and audit trails.
Information and audit logs provide “source-of-truth” documentation or data about how a building complies with a building code, as well as what changes or decisions have been made during the construction project, to support compliance with the regulation. and transparency for owners.
Additionally, 50% of the industry has difficulties capturing “as-built” information. This information is a drawing or data that shows how a building was actually constructed, including any modifications, additions, or other changes made during construction that may differ from the original plans.
With the continued use of paper forms and issues with digital systems integration and information sharing, other prevalent issues include:
- Difficulty accessing data (42.3%).
- Difficulty managing and maintaining data (40.4%).
- Lack of due diligence (36.5%).
Technologies designed to support construction quality standards
Improvements in the management of building information during projects.
Building information modeling is used for the creation and management of data throughout the design, construction and operations process. Through digital representations of the project, managed on an open cloud platform, real-time collaboration between participants can be enabled.
SEE: Companies may want to consider project management software for construction.
The report suggests that BIM applied jointly by industry in “common data environments,” which bring together otherwise disparate data sets, are promising avenues that would help project teams improve collaboration and digitize processes such as verification. and approval (Figure B).
The continued digitization of construction workflows
Digital workflows help construction teams manage a variety of on-site activities:
- 3D scanning and Lidar Technology is being used to capture accurate “as-built” information, replacing a bygone era of manual checking and documentation.
- capture of realityEven through 360-degree imaging, it allows builders to digitally capture actual job site conditions to move faster and make smarter decisions.
- Geofencewhich uses GPS signals to locate and keep equipment and people within a defined area, is being implemented to keep construction resources well managed.
The report notes that AI overlays will likely offer additional ways to automate processes such as verifications and approvals in the future. AI could also be used to support the design and construction of prefabricated materials for construction projects in Australia in the future.
SEE: Australia will need to overcome these AI IT challenges.
Improving training in the construction industry with technology
Technology is expected to play an increasingly important role in helping construction contractors improve their safety records. 4D simulation, which demonstrates construction activity in 3D over time, and virtual reality-based training are being used to support worker training.
Technology Could Minimize Future Construction Catastrophes
At the time of the report's publication in 2023, author Dominik Holzer, associate professor of digital architectural design at the University of Melbourne, said technology had a key role to play in “preparing construction companies for risk prevention and the establishment of safety barriers”.
While the report recognized that technology could not “solve” all the problems affecting Australia's residential construction sector in particular, it played a key role in the context of complex dynamics and information flows driving productivity and transformation throughout the industry.
“Technology has the potential to help address many of the challenges facing construction practice through interfaces and information environments that connect people and workflows, regardless of whether it is applied within the organization itself. or comprehensively across project teams and beyond,” the report says.
