BIM as Digital Plumbing
What might be the new technologies that would be as
transformative in the twenty-first century as glass, steel and reinforced concrete
were at the end of the nineteenth century? This is the fundamental question if
the analogy (argued in this previous post) between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries as periods of
disruptive change is valid. There is one obvious candidate for this
transformative technology. Building information modelling has been promoted as
the solution to the problems of poor documentation, fragmentation and lack of
collaboration in building and construction for many years. It has not, however, been disruptive as we understand the idea, at least not so far.
BIM has its origins in 1960s drawing programs, and Autodesk
(by far the largest of the companies in the market) was founded in 1982, so
this is not exactly new technology. Therefore, BIM does not qualify as new or
transformative, rather it is the required enabler of further developments, a
necessary foundation for the transition to the construction technological
system in the digital age. One could argue that linking BIM to manufacturing or
the importance of a single record of a project are transformational, on the
other hand these are not in themselves new either. In other industries
techniques like design for manufacture, lean production and digital documentation
are well-established, with the adoption lag (the diffusion rate) for building
and construction largely due to its fragmentation, project-based structure and
conservative clients.
What is new is the level of integration between
different BIM systems (like Autodesk and Bentley) and the specialist systems
for design and engineering. These are intelligent systems, though still in an early stage of development of their potential. They will interact with
users and actively support their work through databases and access to
information, for example with calculations for engineers (who already no longer have to
do these themselves) and building components for designers.
These are being combined with virtual reality (VR) and
augmented reality (AR) systems so we now have a holographic 3D virtual project
that contains every detail of a building, and that information can be shared
through a project management platform with all project participants. The data a
virtual project produces and the information flow it supports could well be
transformational, and will certainly challenge existing business models. At
this point the expectation is that VR will be used more on the design side by
architects, planners and engineers, while AR will have a larger footprint on
construction sites, although some construction firms have started looking at
using VR in areas like safety and training. BIM is obviously central to these
technologies.
As is so often the case with technological transitions,
it more likely to be such new combinations of technologies and innovations that
transform the construction industry, not some breakthrough technology that
leads to some different, new industry we don’t already have. Although already
well-advanced the combination of BIM and 3D printing could be transformational,
or just a new way to make stuff - at this stage it is hard to tell where this
will end up in terms of capabilities, but the potential is there and concrete
printing is getting a lot of attention. Adding new materials to the 3D palette
through molecular design and engineering may be transformational, or other new
materials or upgraded versions of existing structural materials may be. In this
context, it is worth noting the software used for molecular engineering made by
Autodesk is based on their BIM system, and their 2017 Project Escher is a
method for simultaneously 3D printing different parts of an object with
multiple printheads, allowing larger, quicker or more production.
Combining robotic and automated machinery with 3D
printing of standardized parts opens up many possibilities. Standardization and
modular construction have progressed in fits and starts since the first standardized
steel frames were used to rebuild Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871, and
until now 3D printing has not been economic for mass production. Designing an
automated on-site production process that included the machines and equipment
need to move and install the parts produced by printers does not seem
unrealistic, moving beyond design for manufacture to an integrated production
and assembly system. The Flying Factories being launched in the UK by Skanska
are a step in this direction. Also, 3D printing does open the door to mass
customization.
Combining BIM with robotic and automated machinery and
equipment for on-site work may be transformative. Komatsu and Vinci already
have automated earth moving equipment using sensors and drones linking real-time
data about site works to remote operators, using BIM to monitor progress. Volvo
and Otto have automated trucks and Rio Tinto’s mines have driverless trucks and
trains linked to a control centre. The SAP Connected Construction system uses
the IoT to link equipment to a remote controller. Honda’s Asimo robot has been
pictured driving a bulldozer.
Google is planning a new headquarters in California that
will be a large, open structure with movable floor plates bolted to columns, to
allow reconfiguring for changing work requirements. The floor plates will be
shifted by ‘crabots’, pictured here in the planning application submitted in
2015. The ‘crabots’ are described in the documents as a combination of flexible
crane and robotic machines that will roam under four canopies and lift and
shift pre-fabricated components, furniture and services.
The
construction technological system is extraordinarily wide and diverse, and the
various parts of the digital construction technological system are in various
stages of development. There are very many possible futures that could unfold
over the next few decades. However, it is clear that the key technology that underpins
these further developments, and upon which new combinations will be based on, is
intelligent machines operating in a connected but parallel digital world with
varying degrees of autonomy. These are machines that can use data and
information to both interact with each other and work with humans, and this
digital world will be one designed and built by humans.
We are at the point where intelligent machines are moving from operating
comfortably in controlled environments, like car manufacturing or mainstream
media, to unpredictable environments, like driving a car or truck, or social
media.
In the various forms that AI takes on its way to the
construction site it will become central, in one way or another, to all the
tasks and activities involved. In this, building and construction is no different
from all other industries and activities, but the path of AI in construction
will be distinct and different from the path taken in other industries. This
path dependence varies not just from industry to industry, but from firm to
firm as well.
