The construction industry is very experienced in managing uncertainty and risk. Even so, a project running according to plan is a rare occasion. Wouldn’t it be unusual if you could begin a construction project and know that nothing was going to change from start to finish? More importantly, what if you could control the unknown in the project that threatens to upend everything you planned?
The unknown is the inevitable mix of problems and delays that arise during any construction project. When the unknown rears itself, your first thoughts are likely ‘how will this affect X, Y, and Z?’ ‘What does this mean for the project?’ And ‘how will I report it?’ The next step is to begin developing plans to accommodate the disruption.
A Method to Plan with Confidence and Quality
The 4D Construction Verification solution aims to ensure that the correct data is in place to answer these questions and that the quality of construction, its match to design and planning requirements, are all maintained. Until recently, verification was seen as too time-consuming and expensive. Fortunately, digital construction solutions solve verification problems in a trustworthy, near real-time environment providing the benefit of timely and complete construction progress information.
4D Construction Verification Is Where Digital Shines
Typically, digital documentation occurs at the completion of construction, but we all know that construction is a multi-phase process. Every significant install is validated against both design and 4D planning to achieve a genuine digital twin. That doesn’t mean that the as-built model needs to be derived from the new data, just that the design matches the constructed state, or not. In an ideal world, the as-built matches the as-designed.
Whether confirming conformance to or variation from the plan, trustworthy information is a keystone of project verification. With near-real-time, accurate, and reliable information fed to digital twins, planning, and adjustments are made at a more granular level. Armed with this information, progress can be updated, better decisions made, and deficiencies between the verification report and the designer-realized system can be avoided. Digital construction solutions drive marginal gains that add up to significant savings throughout the lifecycle.
Digital construction verification enables managers to identify problems, communicate changes, visualize, and respond to the effects of required or requested changes rapidly and efficiently. Instead of waiting until the very end during inspection and acceptance, by visualizing and analyzing evolving project realities and actions throughout the construction cycle, problems that threaten to delay work are addressed and changes immediately incorporated into project planning and scheduling. Even when last-minute changes are required, the effects of those changes can be rapidly accounted for and adjusted to near the point of occurrence.
Avoiding Costly Errors and Rework
While there is no substantial agreement about an exact figure, it is generally believed that rework costs can account for roughly 5 percent of project budgets. The causes of rework are almost infinite but usually consist of design and construction changes, errors, and omissions.
The evident visual confidence associated with digital construction not only delivers that the design is up to date, but also verifies that installations can be completed correctly and within the design tolerance. If we assume spot-checking is typically no more than a 10 percent sample, digital verification with 100 percent coverage delivers accurate measurement of the whole installation.
Avoiding mistakes and variations early in construction prevents profitability from being derailed by the conformance and quality of delivered project work, as problems often only become apparent at a stage where repairs are more costly. Near real-time verification identifies issues at an early stage, aiding in delivering projects on time, on budget, and with a high degree of predictability.
Automated Continuous Verification
DCW automates the process of construction progress reporting through verification solutions comparing a 3D representation of onsite as-built work with the as-designed model. Using the information generated to understand and manage changing project realities through continuous, automated verification throughout the construction lifecycle is an essential step to avoid wasting time and rework, scheduling delays, and downstream clashes, and maintains project profitability.
Continuous verification delivers a measured visual overview of the project progress supported with actual data, comparing as-designed to as-built. This information is conveyed to the entire project team, sharing in the decision-making process via digital twins. The digital twin replaces complex spreadsheets with the capability to look at and analyze a 4D model element-by-element.
Ready to explore all the ways digital verification can save you time and money? Contact us today to schedule a conversation.