Do construction and cloud computing go together?

Many more companies have integrated cloud based strategies into their line of work recently, which showcases the value of cloud computing, particularly in the construction industry. This means that by utilising the assistance of cloud computing, engineers, architects and other construction personnel can cooperate more systemically on say a BIM project which could be being executed at the office while the actual project is at a different location.

View Construction & Engineering Jobs

What about costs and sustainability?

Adaptability is vital in construction as corporations and clients look to more sustainable building methods and practices. This would consist of using of more sustainable materials in construction alongside better refined management of waste. Now whilst global demands on the construction industry continue to exponentially increase, efficient and thorough resource management is needed to address new obstacles. Furthermore, the increased complexity of projects, coupled with potentially low-profit margins and an ever changing competitive landscape, have all put an abundance of pressure on profitability and have made cost control imperative for survival. Many construction firms have witnessed project expenses climb steadily over the past several years because of rising material costs, with future costs projected to increase even more.

How do digitalisation and data resources come into play?

It unfortunately has become common knowledge that the construction industry has been relatively slow in adopting new technology at times. However, an understated factor has been that productivity has been stagnating in construction primarily due to a fragmented construction cycle, extensive regulation, and occasionally due to misaligned incentives amongst owners and contractors. Alongside these, thin profit margins have no doubt restricted proper investment into digital innovation in recent years, but now the positive results and productivity-boosting benefits of digital strategies are gradually being realised, hence becoming more widespread in construction.

Now for those companies that have been able to adopt new technologies, their amount of data being produced has drastically increased. Data is swiftly becoming a key asset in aiding coherent, logical decision making. In order to maximise the return on investment for a given project, collected data must be thoroughly managed, stored, and repurposed.

The benefits of cloud computing in relation to architects and engineers include:

• The accessibility to check designs from across the globe.
• The synergy of cloud computing and Building Information Modelling can drastically enhance the productivity of the project team.
• Any suggestions can be provided by architects and engineers to the team executing the project quickly and in real time.
• On-site building professionals can mark-up drawings and manipulate plans as necessary.
• Building Information Models could be examined on mobile or other portable devices, allowing for collaboration with the team of modellers working on them.
• Addressing complications in a project and analysing their current status can be easily communicated to through BIM or other software by architects and engineers.

Common issues in construction and how to address them