The Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector remains woefully inefficient when it comes to dealing with the mounds of data stakeholders are accumulating in all phases of their operations.

The Struggle with Data Management

Recent studies indicate that construction firms are generating more data ever before. Firms are producing an immense amount of assets, including emails, drawings, change orders, punch lists, memos and more, but this data goes wildly unused. Researchers polled AEC executives in eighty-four countries about project management through five stages of a project lifecycle: bidding, planning, execution, resource management and portfolio management. The poll reveals that their collection of data is inaccurate, incomplete and inconsistent.

The Economist in 2017 had declared that the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data. Just like oil, raw data isn’t valuable in and of itself; rather, the value is created when it is gathered quickly, completely, and accurately, and connected to other relevant data to maintain the Golden Thread of Information.

As per the recent MACE Innovation strategy, we will soon see a requirement for a ‘golden thread’ on all construction projects that will allow owners and occupiers to trace every element of a build from inception, design and delivery. By 2026,  this will be standard practice in the UK – but to get there we know that many parts of the industry will have to change how they work.

The Hidden Cost of Non Data Management

According to Hexagon AB internal research, out of a single day on a construction site, approximately 33% of work hours are productively spent for direct construction work, 32% of work hours are wasted, spent idle or waiting due to a lag in materials or information delivery, and 35% of work hours are spent on materials, tools and transportation, as well as instruction and personal breaks. The absence of correct data management costs EU firms £62. 18 billion per year (Assumption: Europe 5.19 million construction workers employed, X 2080 hours per year multiplied by 0.32 = 3,454,464,000 hours x average construction salary/hr. £18 = £62.18 Billion)

How to Reduce the Data Gap

Businesses need a data strategy to establish accountability for data that originates or is endemic to particular areas of responsibility. Data management refers to all the functions necessary to collect, control, safeguard, manipulate, and deliver data. Based on research, what is more concerning is that 30% of the collected data is lost entirely. This is called as the Data Gap.

Successful information transfer between field and office is critical to keeping projects on track. If we can help this data become more available, organized, and accessible, we can dramatically reduce time on projects, mitigate budget overruns, and make the construction process more environmentally friendly with less waste and less carbon emissions. Hexagon is building a future where data is fully and autonomously leveraged so that business, industry, and humanity sustainably thrive. We put “data to work” to enable autonomous, connected ecosystems that boost efficiency, productivity, and quality for our customers.

Hexagon has launched Smart Digital Reality™ to tap the potential of the most dynamic and powerful use of data in history. Smart Digital Reality is Hexagon’s strategic advantage and the greatest source of value creation for our customers, empowering them to put data to work in ways that go far beyond what was ever thought possible. It is digital and data driven, delivering an experience that is rich and engaging, immersive and real. It is the digital leap forward that will make all the difference for our customers. Smart Digital Reality is how the real world will intersect with the metaverse, ensuring prosperity, safety, and sustainability for the planet.

For construction projects, Our Smart Digital Reality defined as two worlds, ONE reality! It is workflow driven and provides real-time and autonomous digital twins. This is the fusion of the physical world and the digital world—no longer are they two separate realities. This is the state where all data are digitally available, in one place, in real time, with 360-degree context, providing complete line-of-sight to every situation in an ever-changing world.

By enabling real-time data capture and analyses and bringing the freedom of autonomy to the digital twin, we transform a twin’s function and utility far beyond a static, single source of truth. Autonomous technologies, like machine learning and AI, enable our customers to create systems that reduce and even eliminate human intervention. This is when data does its greatest work, empowering our customers to work in ways that go far beyond what was ever possible!

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