When it comes to planning, developing, and delivering new building projects, particularly those involving commercial properties and infrastructure, engineers are likely to turn to advanced technology solutions. Each time a new technology is adopted by the building industry, it quickly becomes a new standard that continues to improve. The main reason engineers turn to technology for new projects is because they know that there is no turning back. In other words, it does not make sense to ignore existing tools, but there are more granular reasons as well.
Stay Competitive
Infrastructure and commercial property projects are often given to managers who have a close business relationship with investors; when these manager start seeking construction engineers and other team members to execute the building plan, they will invariably look for those who actively use the latest technology to get the job done. One example in this regard would be construction firms that use building information modeling software, which has become the blueprint system of the 21st century. If an engineering firm does not use BIM, it will likely miss out on many contracts.
Improve Efficiency
Engineers do not expect project managers to provide them with all the IT tools and systems required to complete jobs. Let’s say a shopping mall property manager expects to use Acculynx for a roof replacement project; the roofing contractor that gets this job should be able to obtain an Acculynx account and provide the foreman and labor team leaders with rugged mobile devices so that they can provide instant updates related to the project. The use of project management apps and mobile devices is all about improving efficiency. There is always a way to be more efficient.
“Copy and Paste” Building
Digital twin platforms are a new way of planning construction projects. Let’s say there is a structure in Milwaukee that will be perfect in Bakersfield. With digital twin software, like that from CityZenith, instead of just a set of blueprints you get detailed data sets about everything that is of interest to construction engineers. This enables them to replicate the existing structure as much as possible. This makes planning so much simpler than it was before. It enables engineers to make better, stronger building designs than ever before.
Drone Surveying
When Italian architect Giambattista Nolli created top-down city mapping for urban planning, he was inspired by the work of surveyors. Nolli would have loved to have drone technology available in the 18th century when he drew his legendary map of Rome; modern surveys are increasingly being completed with drones, and they are more accurate than ever. Drones have changed the way we think of city planning and construction. You can get a real-time view of every angle of your building before, during, and after the project is completed. It has completely revolutionized the practice of building and construction. This is so important to think about.
In the end, we can safely say that the use of technology by construction engineers is not only here to stay but will also continue to improve and innovate.
