The Future of Digitization in Construction belongs to Platforms

The future belongs to platforms. The potential of digitization in the construction industry is enormous. We can only achieve maximum productivity if all data of the entire building life cycle are available at one single point of truth. Platforms are the key to linking all processes and players.

There is enormous potential for increasing efficiency and quality in the construction industry, as productivity has generally hardly increased at all in recent decades. It is not uncommon for construction projects to be completed with cost and time overruns or with quality deficiencies. There is also a lot of potential in the subsequent phases of property operation and management.

So there are big challenges in the entire building life cycle of assets and portfolios. The lack of process standardization and the lack of transparency makes management, controlling and above all the improvement of processes more difficult.

Who has all the data of construction projects and assets available in digital form?

Digitization has the ability to transform and revolutionize the entire construction industry. It is the biggest lever for increasing productivity and saving time and cost. The main benefit is transparency through digitization, which thus enables efficient management and controlling, such as:

• Early recognition of problems and risks and a proactive counteraction and avoidance.
• Improved cooperation and coordination of all suppliers and partners throughout the entire life cycle.
• Optimization of processes in terms of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act), because you can only improve what you can measure.

Digitization and BIM is already established in the construction business, but the industry is still struggling with many challenges that make digital transformation difficult:

• Complexity of processes due to the size of the projects and the large number of players and suppliers.
• Different ecosystems, software applications and the lack of data exchange between them.
• Acceptance by employees, who often only fear an additional effort.

Digitization with Building Information Modeling (BIM)

BIM is the core of digitization in construction. It is a collaborative working method where all information relevant to the life cycle is captured, managed and exchanged. The basis is a digital model where all data are collected.
BIM brings benefits throughout the entire building life cycle - for planning, construction, facility management, space management, renovation, etc.

BIM is Lean
Everyone sees all the information and everyone sees the same thing. BIM thus enables cost and schedule reliability, improved planning and execution quality and a reduction in defects. Therefore, BIM can be regarded as Lean.

Platforms: BIM only works when all are connected.

The construction industry is literally being flooded with new digital solutions. There are numerous, great digital solutions. But many of these solutions are only isolated solutions and therefore only one piece of the puzzle of the entire life cycle.
Therefore, it requires platforms that map the entire process and integrate all processes and players - a single point of truth. This is the only way to leverage and maximize the benefits of digital solutions.

Digitization platforms - Example NeoTwin

NeoTwin is one of these platforms and specifically addresses owners of real estate and infrastructure assets. At its core, Autodesk BIM360 and Microsoft solutions are used for documentation and collaboration. An intelligent interface enables the connection of all relevant processes and applications. Asset owners thus have all data, key figures and statuses for their construction projects and asset portfolios available.

NeoTwin is an owner-platform which manages projects, assets and portfolio. The proptech solution is connecting all players and processes over the entire building life cycle.

Visit www.neotwin.com