When most people do think of big data companies, they immediately think of digital companies like Google and Uber. However, in a variety of other industries data collection could bring different insights. In this article is reviewed how big data can influence or change the construction world.
The construction industry is changing, especially with the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM allows engineers to capture multi-dimensional CAD information. Simplified, it means that all the engineers can work on the same set of drawings within the same document at the same time. Thereby, BIM will capture all the data of the drawings and the materials into a database which can be create valuable insights for the constructor.
In regard of the actual building this could save time, reduce costs because of less reworks and stimulate engineers to work together on possible solutions (Bilal et al., 2016).
Also, BIM can stimulate a circular economy and reduce waste. By using BIM over multiple different projects, the program can help identifying certain aspects of buildings that can be re-used. (www.arup.com, n.d.). For example, when a building is being built and the building requires a certain amount of steel for the construction, the program can help identifying in which other projects there might be steel left over. This steel can then be transported to the other building and in this way still be useful instead of being destroyed. This will reduce the waste on the construction site.
Regarding the circular economy, imagine the same example but now there is a building being teared down. The BIM tool can show the engineers which parts of the building still can be re-used for other buildings. This can include pipelines, cables, or steelworks etc. Essentially, the program will identify all the parts that are still usable in teared down buildings which then can be implemented into new buildings.
The program can help the constructor by reducing materials, contributing to a circular economy, and thereby reducing costs by simply using the data that is being collected over multiple projects to optimize their building processes.
References:
Bilal, M., Oyedele, L.O., Qadir, J., Munir, K., Ajayi, S.O., Akinade, O.O., Owolabi, H.A., Alaka, H.A. and Pasha, M. (2016). Big Data in the construction industry: A review of present status, opportunities, and future trends. Advanced Engineering Informatics, [online] 30(3), pp.500–521. doi:10.1016/j.aei.2016.07.001.
www.arup.com. (n.d.). BIM reduces waste – Arup. [online] Available at: https://www.arup.com/perspectives/bim-reduces-waste.
