Archive for category: General News

By Mark Schwartz is the Senior Vice President of Construction Enterprise Solutions at Trimble.

More than a year after the launch of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, and its use is being explored across industries—including within typically technologically averse sectors like construction.

Far from being nervous about its applications, many contractors are embracing AI innovations, particularly given their potential to transform end-to-end workflows. From design and construction to operations and maintenance, AI is unlocking efficiencies and helping solve the labor shortage by automating repetitive tasks. It’s optimizing projects and enabling them to be built more sustainably, and it’s streamlining the supply chain—facilitating better relationships between contractors and project owners through enhanced predictability.

While AI used to only be within the domain of large companies due to high upfront costs, the democratization of technology mixed with the sheer number of companies working on developing new AI initiatives has made the costs dramatically decrease. Now, small and medium contractors can more easily afford to experiment with AI, making it much more accessible and impactful.

As we look ahead in 2024, below are a few ways that AI has already begun to make inroads in construction along with projections of how it will continue to positively impact the industry in the years to come.

Helping Solve The Labor Shortage

For the past decade or more, the labor shortage has been particularly acute in the construction industry, leading contractors to look for new solutions. This is one area in which AI has proved particularly helpful, as it can automate repetitive tasks while also reducing the human errors that naturally occur with things like data entry.

Now, instead of a human manually inputting information, data can be quickly scanned and exported into a format that’s usable for multiple stakeholders. This is helpful for repetitive tasks associated with invoicing, order tracking, credit collections or reconciliations—freeing accounts receivable and accounts payable personnel to focus on more important, strategic initiatives.

AI is also helping to solve the labor shortage when it comes to design, as it’s being used to harness and leverage data more efficiently—enabling designers to iterate faster and facilitate better decision-making. For example, architects can now leverage AI to quickly generate conceptual images and photorealistic visualizations of 3D models. This helps inspire the creative process, communicate their vision and build alignment faster.

When it comes to the actual constructibility of designs, AI is also working to automate repetitive actions for things like rebar detailing, which is less generative and more predictive. For example, AI can now suggest specific rebar layouts based on what a detailer has done previously, streamlining the design process. While this doesn’t mean AI is building the actual building, it’s being incorporated into various processes to simplify workflows and reduce overall decision-making and workload.

By augmenting the human experience, AI enables work to be done more efficiently and accurately, with manual checkpoints woven in to ensure the data is accurate. Because the data going out is only as good as the data being used to train the machine learning models that power AI, clean data and manual checkpoints overseen by a real person are imperative to the industry’s trust in AI systems and their success overall.

Enhancing Sustainability

Construction is a major emitter of embodied carbon, causing many contractors and asset owners to look for new ways to mitigate their impact on the environment. This includes a concerted effort to reduce the carbon emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the lifecycle of a building. AI can enable contractors to become efficient and productive, which naturally translates to greater environmental benefits.

One example involves the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which was looking to improve wall insulation across a large number of residential buildings. Instead of creating customized cladding panels for every vent, door and window, the walls were scanned using 3D laser scanning. AI was then used to extract the facade components from the data, and the dimensions were sent to panel manufacturers who produced them off-site. Without AI, the cost of delivering this project at scale wouldn’t have been feasible.

Making The Supply Chain More Efficient And Effective

Amid market volatility and economic uncertainty, companies are also turning to AI to more accurately connect and orchestrate their supply chains. Doing so can improve efficiency and productivity while also creating a better customer experience.

Twenty years ago, many supply chain decisions for retail were based on “tribal knowledge.” The sales manager guessed which goods people were going to buy, the logistics manager guessed the capacity needed to deliver goods to the customer, and the supplier guessed what demand would be in the coming months and tried to prepare accordingly. Careers were built off this methodology, which came with both successes and failures.

Today’s supply chains are much more accurate because they’re digitally interconnected, helping to take the guesswork out. From a construction perspective, this comes into play because contractors are often either storing supplies or waiting for supplies, which can lead to delays and cost overruns.

AI optimizes the supply chain by connecting the entire ecosystem and extrapolating data from it, helping more accurately predict when materials will be available. This can help keep projects on track, improving productivity and strengthening the contractor-to-project owner relationship by providing a sense of predictability.

As we’ve been hearing across the media landscape, AI is here to stay. While most people are aware of the digital-first uses of AI for things like ChatGPT and NFL analytics, AI has and will continue to transform traditional industries like construction as well.

However, the stakes are much higher, and the impact could be even greater as AI is used to change the nature of the physical world. This includes helping everyone from architects and designers to contractors and project owners more efficiently build and maintain our most important assets—from the homes we live in to the buildings we work and play in every day.

Source: Forbes

Vienna Airport in Austria has broken ground on its €420m (US$450m) Southern Terminal Expansion project, with the expanded terminal scheduled to commence operations in 2027.

The ARGE Porr/Elin/Ortner consortium will carry out the construction work. Vienna Airport’s 70,000m² Southern Terminal Expansion will enlarge its shopping and retail space by 50% to 30,000m². This area will feature 30 more retail and food and beverage outlets with Austrian and international premium brands and leisure areas.

For the shopping and restaurant area, tenant acquisition efforts have started and are being implemented with digital support. In a virtual 3D tour, interested parties can explore the building’s interior areas and possible commercial space, take a closer look at passenger flows and leisure areas, and get a realistic impression of the entire terminal environment.

Alongside the enlarged retail and restaurant area, the project will create 6,000m² of new and exclusive lounges including a 4,000m² Austrian Airlines lounge and a 2,000m² Vienna Airport lounge, the latter designed in the style of the “Vienna Lounge” and characterized by elements, colors and textures of the Viennese Art Nouveau and Austrian and Viennese culture. According to the airport, passengers will not be confronted with a “sterile terminal building but a modern, high-quality and exclusive terminal environment with charm and a local flavor linking passengers to the destination of Vienna”.

Additionally, 18 bus gates will enable transfer connections between the F, G, C and D gates – 10 for Schengen departures and eight for non-Schengen departures. A security checkpoint will also be added.

Sustainable technology solutions will be integrated alongside thermal insulation and an insulating façade. The intelligent building control system will include ventilation facilities with free cooling and the terminal’s electricity supply will be partly derived from the airport’s photovoltaic facilities, which will provide about 50,000,000kWh of electricity annually starting in 2024.

Construction of the terminal building will be based on the use of digital technologies. The entire building has been fully digitally recorded and virtually mapped out in the Building Information Modelling (BIM) system to reflect construction plans. The building’s digital twin shows the walls, stairways, elevator shafts, as well as all the wiring and connections required in the future for the energy supply, building services and IT in the building.

Preparation work for the construction project has been underway since July 2023. The construction site was cleared, the outer facade of Terminal 3 in the connection area was demolished, cable trays were laid and shaft structures were built. Next, the intensive construction phase will begin. As of February 2024, civil engineering work is in full swing, using more than 900 bored piles, and the foundation is being built. Following this, construction of the six-story building will start, followed by the interior fittings and installation of the building technology system.

Julian Jäger, joint member of the management board of Flughafen Wien, said,

“Our airport is growing, passenger volume is increasing, and we are continuously among the best globally in terms of our service quality. Now we are also upgrading our terminal infrastructure to be top-notch internationally. Thanks to the new Southern Expansion project, we are laying the groundwork for Vienna Airport to join the ranks of the top airports and achieve 5-star status.

“In the future, our passengers will experience a substantial improvement in the quality of their stay in a new terminal environment thanks to a considerable enlargement of the shopping and restaurant offerings featuring renowned Austrian and international premium brands. There will be new and exclusive lounges, large and comfortable leisure areas, new centralized and state-of-the-art security controls, and better transfer connections for transfer passengers between all terminal areas.

“All of this will take place in an exclusive and high-quality terminal environment making Austrian and Viennese elegance perceptible and palpable in a charming way. The Southern Expansion enables us to set new benchmarks in quality and ensure a comfortable stay. This project is yet another airport development milestone following the record results achieved in 2019 and the second highest passenger volume in the airport’s history in 2023.”

Günther Ofner, joint member of the management board of Flughafen Wien, the board member responsible for overseeing construction, said,

“The Southern Expansion is a key project within the context of our quality and investment drive over the coming years. After extensive preparation work, the intensive construction phase for the €420m [US$450m] project will now begin. It will be fully financed from our future cash flows, without the need for any loans.

“Our construction management was completely reorganized in 2012. Since then, it has successfully demonstrated its construction competence within the context of numerous large projects, all of which were finished on time and on budget. When it comes to planning and project management, we rely on our high level of competence in leveraging digitalization and Building Information Modelling (BIM). In this way, we can not only monitor the construction process on a daily basis, but also ensure adherence to costs and the planned timetable. Completion is scheduled for 2027.”

Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Governor of Lower Austria, commented,

“Vienna International Airport is on a growth path. With this project, it is taking important steps to ensure the future development of the airport hub and the entire region. The airport is not only a crucial transport hub for Austria but also the largest employer in the Eastern Region and an essential flagship company for the entire federal state of Lower Austria. Thanks to investments in its terminal infrastructure, Vienna International Airport in Schwechat is strengthening its role as the gateway to the world for the Lower Austrian business, tourism and cultural landscape.”

Source: Passenger Terminology Today

Concerns that industry will not be able to cope in April and moral at “all time low”

New rules around how buildings are inspected following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London seven years ago have been “poorly thought through”

Concerns have been raised that it may leave the industry unable to cope when they come into force on April 6.

Local authority building control officers are lobbying the government to defer new legislation which has been referred to as the biggest change in the profession in four decades but say so far it’s “fallen on deaf ears”.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) which is part of the Health and Safety Executive came into force in 2022 to raise safety standards on all buildings and regulate high risk buildings, adding an extra layer of legislation.

Seventy two people died on June 14 2017 when a huge fire engulfed the Grenfell Tower in West London. It was the worst domestic fire in living memory. A public inquiry found that external cladding did not meet building regulations and contributed to the rapid spread of the fire which also destroyed 151 homes.

Under the new rules, all building control professionals, who inspect everything from WC installation to big stadium builds, will have to pass competency exams to register with the BSR or their contract will be terminated, and they will be subject to greater scrutiny.

The BSR will have the power to investigate and sanction building control teams, suspend them, put them into special measures and bring criminal charges against them.

Speaking to West Devon Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, head of the Devon Building Control Partnership Nigel Hunt said the whole thing had been rushed and it was likely that the country would only have 20 per cent of local authority or private sector building inspectors licenced to carry out the role when the new regulations come in in April.

He said moral was at “an all time low” as surveyors with 30-40 years experience were having to prove their competency in a way that was “alien to them” with online exams that were “not written in a way that is helpful”.

He said some had failed the exam and were having to retake it but admitted that the Devon partnership, which carries out building control functions for Teignbridge, West Devon and South Hams councils, was further on in the process than many others in the South West or nationally.

“It’s not a good place to be at the moment,” he said, adding that recruiting staff was already difficult. “I think the possibility of surveyors being taken to court will also restrict people coming into the industry especially with the salaries we pay.”

Many people were retiring early because of the “complete turnaround in the profession”.

Mr Hunt said his team had always worked on the principle of soft enforcement: “The main reason why we do this job is to talk to people, offer advice and support them. If a small single storey extension doesn’t have sufficient insulation, for example, we tell them what to do  and come back when they have done it.

“All that is changing, we will just be issuing certificates when the work is done and applicants will have to go and find out how to do it themselves.”

He added that the new rules could also mean enforcement action being delayed by several years.

“It’s all been poorly thought through. I am hoping that the deadline will be put back, as a profession we need that.”

Cllr Chris West (Lib Dem, Burrator) said it was unsustainable:

“It’s like a lot of what is coming out from the government at the moment.

“If someone doesn’t put the electrics or a sewage pipe in properly and there is no one there to advise them, it could be a recipe for disaster.”

Soucre: RadioEx

Nuclear Delays, Cost Overruns Imperil UK’s Net-Zero Goals

Électricité de France (EDF), the owner of the biggest construction project in the world—the giant nuclear power plant under construction at Hinkley Point in the southwest of Britain—recently announced further cost increases and delays to its completion, adding to doubts that the United Kingdom can fulfill its legal pledges to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The French government, which owns EDF, wants the UK to chip in billions of pounds to help bail the project out, but London says it has no obligation to do so. This is leading to tensions between the two governments, with French taxpayers objecting to paying for British nuclear power stations when their own nuclear industry is struggling with under-investment and a massive debt burden. It leads to doubts that a second power station of the same size, this time on the Suffolk coast in the east of England, will ever be built.

The overoptimistic miscalculations made by EDF mean the cost estimates for the Hinkley Point project have now doubled from the 2015 estimate of £18 billion (US$22.8 billion) to between £31 and £34 billion. But that makes the problem sound better than it is: the figures are calculated in 2015 prices, and the true cost with inflation is now said to be £46 billion (US$58 billion) and still rising.

EDF is faced with making up this funding gap when it is already deep in debt and needs vast capital reserves to modernize its own fleet of more than 50 reactors and start a promised new build program. Just before the French government re-nationalized the company last year, its debts were already a staggering €54.5 billion (US$59 billion)/

When the Hinkley Point power station was first planned, the company famously predicted that UK consumers would be cooking their Christmas turkeys on power from the station by 2017. That date has been revised several times, and stood at 2027 until the third week in January. Now it has slipped back in the best case to 2029, but more likely to 2031. As one commentator put it: “The turkeys would have died of natural causes by then.”

The problem is that both governments are relying on their nuclear industries for a large part of their emission reductions. Both have to reach net-zero targets by 2050. Hinkley Point would in theory be producing 7% of British electricity by 2030 as an interim target date, displacing existing gas stations. But Hinkley Point was only part of the net-zero plan—EDF is in partnership with the British government to build a second  identical power plant at Sizewell, on the Suffolk coast.

Both Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C are twin European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs), designed by EDF. Each station is supposed to produce enough power to supply six million British homes. But it is a design that has proved difficult to construct. EDF started one in Flamanville in Normandy in 2009 which was expected to be running in 2013, but is still not complete. Yet the UK is intent on continuing to allow EDF to build four reactors of the same design in Britain.

The British government has so far sunk £2.5 billion into the Sizewell C project but is not making a final investment decision while it looks for private investors. Up to now, it has found no takers.

So while the future of this power station remains in doubt, the timetables are slipping badly, and even if it does go ahead not many would bet on it producing power before 2050.

One of the odd aspects of this situation is that, in an election year in Britain, there is no political debate about what looks like a serious crisis for the nuclear industry and the UK’s climate targets. The Labour party supports the building of nuclear power stations, too, and will not be drawn into debate for fear of antagonizing the trade unions in the sector that are strongly in favour of giant power stations.

Suffolk campaigners, however, are not so reticent. “Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C epitomise the definition of insanity—doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” said Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C. “EDF and its EPR reactors are an unmitigated disaster, and it stretches credulity that Sizewell C is affordable. Indeed the government seems too embarrassed to publish the cost of Sizewell C. It should cancel the project immediately instead of handing over scarce billions that could be used instead for renewables, energy efficiency, or—in this election year—schools and hospitals.”

Stop Sizewell C and a number of other groups are challenging the Conservative government in the courts over its failure to fulfill its legal obligations under its own law that bound the UK to reach net-zero by 2050. Further delays to the nuclear power station construction program may add to the campaigner’s case.

Last month, the UK government produced a new nuclear roadmap projecting a massive new build program to bolster the industry, both for these large reactors and dozens of small modular reactors. The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) remains optimistic about the nuclear industry despite the delays, but said it would not be bailing out EDF.

Hinkley Point C “is not a government project,” the department said in a statement, so “any additional costs or schedule overruns are the responsibility of EDF and its partners and will in no way fall on (UK) taxpayers”.

For the first time, the department’s nuclear road map was honest about why Britain and France are still so keen on nuclear, as opposed to much cheaper renewables. The roadmap mentions 14 times the link between civil and military nuclear power and the need to strengthen ties between the two to reduce costs. This military link was consistently denied in the 1990s, and in the earlier years of this century.

While Labour, which has a massive lead in the opinion polls going into election year, refuses to engage in a nuclear debate, it does differ from the Conservatives on the role of renewables. The current government encourages offshore wind and some solar power but has effectively blocked onshore wind farms for nearly a decade. Since this is the cheapest form of electricity production in these windy islands, and the public overwhelmingly support onshore turbines, Labour says it will at least overturn this blocking policy.

Source: The Energy Mix