In today’s fast-paced world, digitalization is becoming increasingly prevalent. From the smartphones we rely on to the apps that help us manage our schedules, digital technology is becoming an integral part of our daily lives. If you’re involved in the construction industry, embracing digital tools and technologies is crucial. It’s essential for staying competitive in a rapidly evolving world and for growing your business.
If you’re feeling unsure about transitioning to a more digital approach in your construction business, you can find encouragement in the success stories of other companies within the industry. For instance, if you require construction materials for your upcoming building project, you can easily source aggregate supplies from Great Yarmouth Aggregates (or other materials from reputed suppliers) by visiting their website. Their online presence makes it convenient for clients to access their services. By drawing inspiration from these digital-forward businesses, you too can take steps towards modernizing and streamlining your operations.
The construction industry cannot stick around the old static manual systems. Things like spreadsheets, whiteboards, and phone calls that may have been used for a long time to manage and monitor a highly dispersed workforce and fragmented supply chain should ideally be discarded if you want your construction business to achieve success. Instead, you need a construction scheduling software application that can connect your subcontractors, site teams, and suppliers in real-time to allow the seamless scheduling of daily site activity. Such an application can also enable you to manage qualification checks, workforce inductions, access control, and evacuation processes of your workers easily. Likewise, for designing buildings, papers and pens may not be sufficient in today’s time. There are a number of things that might go wrong while designing manually. From getting misplaced to getting damaged, a building design on paper is no more an effective way to plan construction. It is time to completely become digital to climb the ladder of success.
That said, let’s hear what NiftyLift, access platforms suppliers, have to say about the changing trends in the construction industry.
Is the world more digital?
The traditional blueprint was a perfect document for architects and construction professionals to highlight the designs of their buildings. However, as is evident with manual processes, human errors were very common. With digital designs, this problem is gone forever. You can now work with more innovative ideas in buildings. Whether you are building a home or a multiple story office building, it will be easier to create designs and make changes when necessary.
The civic and urban regulations will be easier to meet. If you find a lack of conformation to these norms or believe that a design looks off, you can simply make changes to the designs digitally. No need to draw the entire blueprint again. Testing the viability of the project will also be easier. In fact, an Augmented Worker System, getting funded by Innovative UK will create a virtual reality wearable equipment that will reduce your construction costs to half.
How to incorporate digital?
When you are going digital with your construction business, you should first start using digital design and modeling tools. Building Information Modeling or BIM can help you create realistic models of the buildings you want to create. Design a building of your choice, ensure that it matches all regulations, and then create a 3D model of the structure. When talking to clients, you can present virtual walkthroughs of the project to imbibe the true representation of your design. This is an excellent tool for all architects who want to make their designs look more appealing to the clients.
When a construction company starts working with these digital designs, they have more accurate data to work with and there are lesser chances of human error. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly Techniques (DFMA) could help you in getting equipment for construction, no matter if ordinary or bespoke, in the right quantity at the right place and at the right time. This helps in reducing the time taken to construct the structure and provides you digital assistance in supplies management too.
Incorporating digital design elements is just one way in which companies could go completely digital in their day-to-day activities. Construction companies could also look at accounting firms (like https://www.portebrown.com/industries/construction and similar others) who can help take their accounts online and remove any kind of paperwork that is involved in the finance aspect of the workflow.
The skyscrapers of the future
Israeli-Italian architect David Fisher has harnessed the power of technology to create a rotating skyscraper. The design of the skyscraper is such that each apartment will never look the same. It can move 360 degrees and move at speeds adjusted by the owners. There will be wind turbines between floors that will help drive this rotating skyscraper. When the project finishes in 2020, it will be called the Dynamic Tower Hotel, located in downtown Dubai.
Architects can think of such concepts because they now have the tools necessary to come up with accurate designs and measurements that will be needed to create such buildings. 3D models are enabling them to think beyond the traditional practices of architecture and create visually stunning pieces of art.
You don’t have to create rotating skyscrapers, but imagine the accuracy of the design and the beauty of the concept of a building that you will create with digital tools.
Think about it!