KHL Group Deputy Editor Katrin Jones introduces the speakers at the 2024 Construction Technology Summit, to be held on March 19 in Austin, Texas, USA. (Image: Mitchell Keller)
Organized and operated by KHL Group and its publications – construction europe, construction technologyand international construction – This was the first ConTech held in person, bringing together construction industry leaders to hear about the world’s dynamic technology solutions that are shaping their products and projects.
From automation and electrification to building information modeling (BIM) and digital/virtual twins, to insights into the technologies powering one of Saudi Arabia's 'US$500 billion' Neom projects, here are three highlights from ConTech's first in-person summit To do.
1) BIM and virtual twins save Neom marketing costs
Joining ConTech remotely from Saudi Arabia was Paul Surin, Head of Digital & IT for Neom’s Troyena Ski Resort project. As part of the program, he worked with extensive digital rendering and his BIM-enabled software used in his Neom Trojena project.
Located in the northwest corner of the country, at an altitude of 1,500 to 2,600 meters (4,921 to 8,530 ft), the project is located on 60 square kilometers (20 square miles) of mountainous terrain, with accommodation, ski slopes, and wildlife protection. District and artificial lake.
It is scheduled to open to tourists in 2026 and host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
Troyena is just one of 15 projects announced for Neom, a new urban area spanning 26,500 km2 (10,200 square miles) in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk province.
Surin explained how the vast, futuristic-looking structure (estimated to cost more than $100 billion for this section alone) leverages modern technology in both its construction and marketing.
While discussing this plan, project-specific digital user interfaces (UIs), geographic information system (GIS) mapping, and virtual or digital twin videos highlight the usefulness of comprehensive modeling in megaprojects like Trojena. It was showing.
Commenting on the project modeling technology used by Neom, Surin says: “We have many users from sales and marketing to construction.” [and] Project management. ”
Implementing BIM practices early in the development of a project's digital or virtual twin means that even video game-like graphics contain important information needed for construction. It can be accessed by collecting multiple data points.
“[We] We will also bring in live footage from surveillance cameras,” he explained.
Drone footage can also be combined with Oracle's P6 portfolio management software and the company's Aconex construction project software to help create functional digital representations. Point cloud scans were also used to create his 4D renderings.
All together, contractors and workers have a polished, full-scale Trojena rendering with construction data that they can access throughout construction.
“[It’s] Example of combining different datasets to clean up the model [you] You can present the project in a different way,” Surin said. “It makes a big difference. I used it for a presentation. [with] Hiring different contractors will help you understand what goes where. ”
Mr Surin said with a square kilometer project involving more than 1,000 subcontractors, it was essential that everyone worked from a single digital source.
After all, efficiency and cooperation will be paramount to achieving the country's ambitious goals.
“The cost is huge,” he says. The report estimates that the entire Neom project could cost his $500 billion, which means his ambition is to utilize BIM and digital twin technology to offset marketing costs. means it is financially prudent to build
“What is important is efficiency, sustainability, [and] We are looking at innovation,” Surin added. “You can't accomplish much without having data that needs to be secured and solid foundational data. Basically, you just have great photos, great images, great video.”
Deeper cooperation would go a long way in driving technological progress, he said.
“[We’re] Collaborate with different stakeholders and ecosystems, attend conferences like this one, talk to others, and share knowledge and lessons. [and] Breaking old ways of thinking. ”
2) Using 4D planning, the ITER project moves closer to creating an “artificial sun”
Laure Navarro, senior project manager for the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) megaproject, was in Austin to discuss the goal of producing energy through the fusion process to create an artificial sun in southern France.
AEM roundtable discussion on field data at the Construction Technology Summit. (Image: Mitchell Keller)
ITER is an international research and engineering initiative based in Saint-Paul-les-Durances that combines the resources of member states China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Build the “world's largest” experimental tokamak fusion reactor.
The reactor heats the plasma to 150 million degrees Celsius (270 million degrees Fahrenheit), about 10 times hotter than the sun's core.
Mr. Navarro explained the complex process in the simplest terms.
“Fusion exists everywhere in the universe,” she said. “It's the energy source of the sun and stars. In space, this is driven by gravity. To try to recreate that on Earth would require magnetic confinement fusion.”
A “tokamak” is a term used to describe a donut-shaped nuclear reactor that uses plasma and magnets (magnetic confinement fusion) to fuse hydrogen molecules to produce energy.
The entire ITER campus is located on a 180 hectare site in the south of France. The project, which includes a 23,000-ton (46,000-pound) tokamak, will cost $20 billion and construction will be completed in 2025, Navarro estimates.
The project relied on photogrammetry software and 4D planning, a process that combines information model components with schedule information in 3D space. Photogrammetry is a method of creating 3D representations using a camera rather than a scanner.
Using a combination of scanning technology, cameras, drones, and virtual reality augmentation, the ITER team was able to plan a functional model of the tokamak that will be used during the construction process.
Similar to Surin's point about the Neom project, Navarro said these 4D interpretations will help communications and marketing teams.
“But we also [it] For the actual planning and sequencing work,” he said, showing renderings of the reactor installation. “Remember that we have never built such a large tokamak in the world, and no matter how small it looks, all the parts weigh hundreds of kilograms.
“We have to be really careful about what order we put things together, and we have to make sure we can continue to put things together without getting in the way,” she continued. “We do all of this with 4D planning every week. [and] This is shared with all stakeholders, construction managers, and schedulers and provides excellent feedback to validate the sequence before it is actually executed. ”
Mr. Navarro showed how 4D planning is used in the parts assembly hall. Within the project model, parts are placed digitally and the software proactively identifies where problems may occur.
“Here we are validating the sequence and making sure that we are not interfering with the next step by introducing components of huge size,” she said. “We identify conflicts in sequences and verify available space in gathering areas.”
She said the 4D strategy helps optimize the limited space on the site and improve coordination between project stakeholders.
3) Practical experience in adopting new technical assistance
One of the biggest obstacles to the construction industry moving quickly toward automation, electrification, and remote operations is the uncertainty that contractors and operators have about the product.
Joel Honeyman, Doosan Bobcat's vice president of global innovation, said consumers can be distrustful and even fearful when it comes to costs, productivity, health and safety.
He pointed out that hands-on experience with new technologies could help change the scenario.
Honeywell used an exercise rooted in psychology to explain how public perceptions about electrical machines and novel technologies are changing (and can change).
“New technology…some people like it, some people don't,” he acknowledged.
Honeywell played a video of a social experiment in which Doosan Bobcat gave anti-electromechanical contractors the chance to drive the company's latest model, the T7X, the “world's first” all-electric compact track loader. .
However, the machine was disguised as an older model to limit potential operator bias. The video showed operators extolling the machine's power and capabilities.
“Their perception changed in 10 minutes,” Honeywell said of the experiment. “They came into our building with their skeptics. [and] They left… believers. ”
Caterpillar, the world's largest OEM, provided a unique hands-on experience at ConTech, where event attendees had the opportunity to remotely control a skid steer located approximately 2,092 km (1,300 miles) in North Carolina, USA, in real time. I did. East of Austin.
ConTech representatives tried out Caterpillar's Cat Command Station, a remote taxi that controls machinery, in North Carolina, USA. (Image: Mitchell Keller)
Using a Cat Command branded “Command Station,” ConTech’s demo operators were guided through the training site, including moving and picking up materials.
The Command Station allows operators to work at off-site locations across the country utilizing a simulated cab with joystick operation and digital display.
“This gives our customers the opportunity to remove operators from potentially dangerous situations,” said Matt Magness, Caterpillar technology specialist. He added that it can also be done.
Although the demonstration at ConTech looked like a large-scale video game, Todd Farmer, Caterpillar's product manager for construction digital and technology, emphasized that it's not just for fun.
“This is the real deal. You can buy this starting today,” Farmer said, noting the company has a steady level of orders.
Farmer said he believes that given “awareness and time,” remote operations like Cat Command will become commonplace in the field.
He said demonstrating Cat Command's capabilities, as he did at ConTech, could help “change society.” [contractor’s] We focus on thinking about how we want to use technology. ”
And some have already fully embraced it.
“We have some customers that are running all day long,” he said.
Check back for more information on the 2024 Construction Technology Summit.
