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For seasoned veterans in the infrastructure realm, the most impressive thing being built today isn\u2019t a bridge or a skyscraper\u2014it\u2019s a digital version of the worksite itself.<\/p>\n
In construction zones across the globe, trucks rumble in with their payloads, cranes orchestrate the movement of huge steel beams across urban skylines, and excavators haul massive buckets of dirt. What\u2019s new is the ability of construction innovators to use digital twins to monitor and even predict what\u2019s happening on the ground.<\/p>\n
Executives can monitor progress with lifelike digital models thanks to drone imagery. Sensors tracked by geographic information system (GIS) dashboards reveal supply chain disruptions in real time, allowing managers to respond. With the rise of modular integrated construction (MiC), planners are using software to visualize installation sequences and sync just-in-time (JIT) deliveries, leading to a seamless building process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about having to change your mindset from a traditional construction company to a logistics-based or manufacturing-based approach,\u201d says Paul Evans, an executive director and CTO at Gammon, one of Hong Kong\u2019s most innovative construction and engineering firms. \u201cAnd to do that you need new tools.\u201d<\/p>\n
With leading GIS technology, construction professionals create digital twins, integrating data and systems into virtual representations of assets. Paired with building information modeling (BIM) software, location technology can represent not just the structure itself, but the environment around it, creating operational awareness of shipping routes, environmental impacts, or weather patterns. With that level of intelligence, leaders can plan more efficiently, reducing waste and costs while anticipating and mitigating worksite hazards.<\/p>\n
In the world of Hong Kong construction, Gammon is a digital twin pioneer, deploying a proprietary model called GTwin on projects ranging from the Lyric Theatre Complex, a 1,450-seat performance space, to the business park Cyberport. As Gammon\u2019s digital twin model has evolved, the role of location analytics has broadened to several areas, from informing site planning to creating alerts that help prevent on-site collisions. \u201cOver a period of one or two years, the GIS component really starts to embed with the broader business things you\u2019re doing<\/em>,\u201d says Evans. That, in turn, gives Gammon a competitive edge in a bustling market.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) businesses are adopting GIS-based digital twins for many reasons. They\u2019ve been employed to enable 5D project management, guide 20-year infrastructure plans for corporate campuses, and create greater transparency between owners and clients. Digital twins are prized for their ability to facilitate data management and sharing, as well as project reporting.<\/p>\n In Hong Kong, government leaders and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) have encouraged AEC firms to adopt digital twins to improve safety and project reporting\u2014a call which Gammon was quick to answer. \u201cGammon always tries to step to the forefront of the industry,\u201d says Dr. Stewart Wan, head of innovation at Gammon and leader of the company\u2019s digital twin development team.<\/p>\n Gammon built its digital twins with GIS technology in part because the location software proved so adept at logistics planning\u2014a priority for MiC projects. In modular construction, prefabricated parts of buildings are assembled elsewhere and installed on-site. Managing off-site logistics for those modules is key to keeping projects on schedule. An aging labor force and the high cost of materials have accelerated the embrace of modular construction.<\/p>\n GIS gave Gammon\u2019s managers a 3D model of the city, the surrounding road network, and the building under construction. With this digital twin, they could optimize route planning to ensure that trailers arriving from different sites across the water in mainland China could convene on the site at the appropriate times. Such efficiency also aided Gammon\u2019s efforts to reduce vehicle emissions. \u201cWith GIS, you can link to real-time data from the road network,\u201d Evans says. \u201cYou can even get alerts if there\u2019s traffic jams and other incidents.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Spatial awareness is crucial on the bustling streets of Hong Kong. With GIS-enabled logistics management, planners can avoid traffic blockages by bringing trailers into designated holding areas and sending them to the site on a JIT basis. Geofencing also helps keep deliveries of modules on track. The routes of various drivers are programmed into GIS. If for some reason they stray from those paths, the technology automatically alerts both the driver and supervisor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gammon\u2019s early digital twins expanded operational awareness beyond the worksite to the roads and cityscape around it. As Wan, Evans, and the digital twin team envisioned new applications for the technology, they realized they could push the boundaries even further. For instance, by linking the digital twin dashboard to CCTV cameras in the mainland factories where modules are assembled, they could monitor the end-to-end manufacturing process.<\/p>\n On-site, GIS and BIM enabled a manager to juxtapose a 3D floor model of a modular project with the installation schedule. By analyzing the movements of workers and machinery via a smart map, they could increase safety and use space more efficiently.<\/p>\n Gammon\u2019s leaders came to prize the GIS-based digital twin as a central interface for planning and design. On a single dashboard, they could distill data from drones, sensors, cameras, and other technologies. \u201cIt\u2019s about the full life cycle of the building development,<\/em>\u201d Wan explains.<\/p>\n As GTwin technology has evolved, new applications have emerged. Managers can quickly analyze and measure the dimensions of a worksite in a digital twin. Armed with this location intelligence, Gammon\u2019s leaders can save costs by optimizing equipment sizing and better predicting how long they will need rented equipment.<\/p>\n Sensor data tracked with GIS enables proximity detection, reducing the risk of collisions between equipment operators and employees on foot. GIS is also aiding with reality progress capture, which involves gathering imagery of the building process with drones or lidar so executives can examine the span of construction stages in detail. \u201cYou\u2019ll actually understand better how your project has been built\u2014not how you think it\u2019s been built\u2014because you\u2019ll have the data to tell you what physically happened<\/em>,\u201d Evans says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nHow Digital Twins Expand Operational Awareness<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Gaining New Perspectives on the Building Design Life Cycle<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Transformational Technology Meets an Industry in Flux<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n