In an era of fast-paced infrastructure development, the AEC industry needs to evolve rapidly & be responsive to the changing market dynamics. To capitalize on this rising infrastructure demand, construction companies need to leverage the power of digital transformation. Embracing the power of technology, today’s construction organizations can modernize their existing tools and processes to meet the increasingly complex construction project requirements. Read on this Blog Post to learn the latest tools and technologies making waves in the AEC industry today, and they will certainly be game-changers in the future.
Connected cloud tools
Cloud-connected tools have been massively enhancing the construction management of projects. The tools help in streamlining the work processes and keep teams connected by leveraging the hybrid modules. The cloud-connected tools offer safer data storage and easy management of project reports. The cloud-connected tools also help generate dynamic progress reports and data insights from the collated information through all data points. The advanced cloud tools have enabled construction firms to plan projects and execute them efficiently, easily & cost-effectively.
An intelligent cloud-based construction management tool offers integrated modules to provide end-to-end ERP functionalities & serves as a real-time decision driver. It can enable easy bidding, project management, transaction approvals, project cost estimation, hybrid working, and also manage project schedules. In addition to this, the software also helps with effortless financial accounting, client invoicing, progress monitoring, machinery checks, inventory management, sales, CRM, and payroll management.
Material management technology
Material management is a business-critical driver of construction projects. Mismanagement of the materials drains the company’s budget and leads to over-expenditure issues. On the other hand, an efficient material management strategy aids in cost-cutting and improves project efficiencies. While ineffective material management can cause project delays, give rise to safety issues, and adversely impact profit margins.
A leading-edge material management technology can help seamlessly manage the logistic requirements for multiple projects. Large infrastructure projects require large amounts of machines, building materials, tools, and equipment. An effective material management tool helps keep track of material requirements, purchase, supply, and usage. The tool also facilitates making economical purchases of high-quality materials. Moreover, it helps evaluate an array of costs associated with various materials, thus enabling cost-cutting.
Apart from these, construction material management technology also empowers the following project functions:
- Handling scheduling and transportation of materials
- Performing timely quality control
- Effective storage and inventory management
- Handling onsite material transport
- Waste management
- Enhancing worker productivity
- Eliminating duplicate material purchases
- Lowering material damage risks
- Improving the project budget
- Helping in accomplishing project deadlines
 Advanced analytics from the field
The AEC industry generates a wide range of data. Manual recording and utilizing this data results in project delays & inefficiencies. The manual procedure also induces the risk of errors in estimation and calculation. A cutting-edge data analysis tool can help in efficient planning, designing, and decision-making processes. Advanced data analytics also helps the project teams in collating & managing relevant information from multiple data sources to achieve project profits. Furthermore, advanced data analytics helps proactively evaluate the risks and challenges in a project. Beforehand optimization of the risks helps in averting future roadblocks, thus contributing to smooth project progress.
The key benefits offered by data analytics include:
- Speeding up project progresses
- Tracking real-time financial data
- Monitoring operational patterns
- Generating budget and project progress reports
- Eliminating data collection errors
- Avoiding site accidents
- Accessing real-time safety data
- Boosting profitability
- Gaining competitive edge
- Tracking proposal progress
- Optimizing billing
- Boosting subcontractor performances
- Smart work schedule management
Drone Mapping Software
Drones or Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have undergone many advancements over the years. Drones are being dynamically utilized in the heavy civil construction industry for site mapping and reporting. The drones help effortlessly survey plots, plan projects and derive real-time worksite data. The drone mapping allows the project stakeholders to envisage and analyze the construction projects more accurately & in real-time. It also helps to track the inconsistencies between render models and site work. The drone technology facilitates effective designing, monitoring, and management of construction projects.
Some key advantages offered by drone mapping software :
- Automating construction project lifecycle
The drones help to streamline the onsite data collection and autogenerate project documents. The digitalized updates give stakeholders and project managers an accurate reading of the work progress.
- Supporting multidimensional project management
Drones help manage the designing, scheduling, and material requirements for multiple projects. The multidimensional reports help save time and cut costs for the organization.
- Delivering high-end engineering and managerial analytics
The drone mapping offers accurate engineering data and process analytics. The drone data helps to auto-generate survey grade models, site maps, and project reports and evaluate various design ideas.
- Monitoring construction project progress & inconsistencies check
The drone technology helps to intelligently integrate the construction project processes and correlated applications. This helps keep a tab on the project progress & avert any future inconsistencies.
- Site safety measure analysis
The drones can map the sites and check for hazardous accident-prone areas across roads, bridges, and other structures. The technology also helps analyze the effectiveness of site safety measures such as fire alarms, smoke indicators & machine fault detectors.
- Boosting business profitability
Drone mapping helps in infusing real-time insights into every step of the project lifecycle enabling data-driven decisions. It also helps to assess & manage the overall project execution costs, thus boosting project profitability.
GIS Technology
Earlier GIS technology was primarily used for land resource planning, but now its usage is empowering the AEC industry in manifolds.
The geographic information system tools are being effectively used for taking smart decisions powered by real-time geographic data. The technology helps locate the nearby streets, buildings, vegetation, medical centers, hospitals, malls located around the site. The dynamic system allows designing projects precisely keeping into consideration all geographical data. Some GIS software also helps build 2D and 3D maps of the sites. The technology is also being utilized for refining project plans and designs based on user reviews.
Moreover, GIS is being vigorously used for planning, monitoring, and managing construction activities by the AEC industry stakeholders. Also, the analytics reports generated through GIS help in customizing the user experience through information-rich charts and histograms.
Water Infrastructure Modelling Technology
While building any project, it is essential to analyze the water reports of the grounds. Projects offering a good water supply have greater value. Harnessing the power of water infrastructure modeling technology has been proving to be a boon for the construction industry. The technology helps find water contamination issues, lead toxin deposits, groundwater level, water table, and water hardness. In addition, the software helps offer high-end water infrastructure solutions.
Some of the key benefits offered by the water infrastructure modeling technology include:
- Analyzing the water quality
The technology helps to check chlorine and fluoride residuals present in the water. It also helps to assess the water movement, concentration & quality.
- Develop unidirectional flushing programs
The technology helps develop fire hydrant flushing sequences that ensure that water delivered to the consumer tap is of high quality. It also ensures that the water is free of any colors or sediment deposits.
- Prepares emergency response plans
The technology helps to draft response plans during emergencies such as water scarcity, fire, or water contamination. The technology also helps identify the various sources of water for the site and check the water volume.
Technology evolution is making the world a better place every day. However, the construction industry as a whole is not able to fully capitalize on it due to its fragmentation & slow technology adoption rate. But over the last few years, with the advent of Cloud & AI, the industry is becoming more proactive and is taking giant leaps towards digitization. Are you ready to ride the wave of these innovations to take successful strides?
