How Technology Enhances Collaboration in Design and Construction

Collaboration is important when it comes to infrastructure design and the entire construction process. Unfortunately, email is no longer a sufficient collaboration tool on its own. Contractors want to discuss different ideas and keep track of progress. They also need to share feedback.

Technology provides great ways of collaborating in design and construction processes. Here are some of the ways innovative technology is enhancing collaboration in design and construction.

Building Information Modeling

BMI is currently the future cornerstone of future collaboration in the construction industry. Using open standards of international data like IFC and PDFs, BIM outs data at the core of every solution. As such, stakeholders in construction projects can now use information in large spectrums. They can share detailed information regarding construction projects during their life cycles from the start to the end.

Although BIM has existed for some time, more adoption is required to overcome inherent challenges in the construction environment where collaboration can be complex.

Virtual Reality

Contractors and other stakeholders are using virtual reality to set expectations for construction projects. Most applications of virtual reality in the construction industry focus on simulation and representation of designs. This enables clients to share their experiences with designers. They do so by walking via virtual prototypes of projects at their design stages. Additionally, this technology enables contractors to simulate dependencies and intricacies of construction sequencing.

The Cloud

Cloud-based integration is available for various software types. This has many uses throughout the life cycle of a construction project including sharing project data. The cloud technology saves time by making sharing and shuffling information and files among project stakeholders easy.

Augmented Reality

This technology streamlines non-graphical and graphical data into the vision field of the user in real world. Mixed reality takes augmented reality elements and allows the real and virtual to interact further. Being able to superimpose designs on real space with a mobile device enables designers to demonstrate their visions to contractors and clients in real world, environmental conditions, and context.

Basically, these are just some of the technologies that enhance collaboration in design and construction. Look for technology that will make operations at your construction site run smoothly and efficiently.