Authored by Paul Wallett, Regional Director for Trimble Middle-East and India Region
As data-driven analytics and turning data into action is becoming more salient in the construction industry with the rise of AI, ML and Big Data aided technologies, the digital transformation of the industry is taking a more concrete shape. In this transformational journey, Digital Twin is recognised as a concept that can challenge the status-quo and address the long-standing problem of productivity, efficiency and value. There are numerous benefits of this technology in this sector, the major one being the enhancement of analytical capabilities of BIM. Digital Twins can help improve the quality of BIM models by giving stakeholders access to a project’s real-time status, working conditions and information on physical assets. For professionals in the construction industry, Digital Twins has become an important technological development.
The use of Digital Twins in the construction industry reduces the construction project duration by 20-30% while improving quality and reducing construction costs by 5-10%. The use of digital twins can also help in reducing construction waste by 40-60% and energy consumption by 20-30%.
Digital Twin provides the ability to create virtual replicas of potential and actual physical assets, places, people, places, processes, and devices that can be used for various purposes. They are a great way to store, organise, and access massive amounts of data and information generated by complex infrastructure projects making them accessible and actionable for all stakeholders and project owners involved. When a Digital Twin is paired with reality capture representing the physical construction site, many operational inefficiencies that plague the construction industry could be mitigated.
According to a recent market research report, the digital twin market size in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow from USD 144.3 million in 2020 to USD 402.6 million by 2025. The growth of the construction industry, particularly in countries such as India, is driving the demand for digital twins in the region.
In coming years, full-scale adoption of Digital Twins in the construction industry, will allow for a two-way flow of data, making it a strong cooperation tool for all project owners. Because real-time data is easily available, teams from different locations can manage and effectively aid this situation by seeing the actual pieces of equipment used in the project. Digital Twin integrates with artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR), paving the way for better resource management, predictive assessments, and process monitoring. Thanks to the generation of ‘Digital Twins', construction is becoming smarter by the day.
It has the power to enable a secure working environment for teams. It allows workers in hazardous zones to be tracked in real time, preventing them from using risky and dangerous procedures or materials. Furthermore, Digital Twins make it possible to predict the risks of structural failures and take necessary steps. By providing an accessible platform to connect information from different sources and stakeholders, Digital Twins can enable construction project players to foresee scenarios by using algorithms and data collected from smart IoT sensors to generate necessary predictions and take preventive measures in the construction project lifecycle.
Going further, project owners working can also use this model or digital twin as a SSOT (Single Source of Truth), to guide, communicate and make educated choices for the project, and all of this is made possible using advanced BIM software like Tekla Structures.
But Digital Twin’s role does not cease when the project is handed over. Digital Twin can facilitate real-time tracking through its ability to integrate heterogeneous data sources and, thus, achieve traceability of the construction project and its multi-varied components. This means that a digital twin can be continuously updated with operational data and process data. Knowing a project’s current state, this reality-capturing model uses predictive learning technology to identify failures before they happen and offer solutions on how to prevent them from happening at all.
At the simplest, Digital twin’s ability to mirror real-life counterparts can accelerate risk management and can solve a lot of operational and maintenance problems in a project while
It seeks to digitise and connect workflows throughout a project’s lifecycle with the goal of completing it with minimal overruns and by maximising productivity and efficiencies.
Digital Twins can revolutionise workflows entirely. It’s not about replacing humans, it’s about allowing them to perform better and reduce re-work by keeping a track of processes right from the start. Furthermore, Digital Twin technology is also growing popular in urban modelling. Cities and municipalities are using digital twins to create smart cities. We believe that Digital Twins is moving forward as a fusion of real-time, people-focused data sets which can deliver value to customers.
Overall, digital twins in the construction industry have the potential to transform the way construction projects are managed and executed. By providing real-time insights and reducing the risk of project delays and cost overruns, digital twins are helping construction companies to increase efficiency, improve quality, and reduce costs. The growth of digital twins in the construction industry is expected to continue in the coming years as more companies adopt these technologies.
