Bytes on the construction site

Bytes on the construction site

“Digitalization is here to stay.” For Gerald Beck, Managing Director of Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG) and ARE Austrian Real Estate, one thing is certain: digital transformation is not a passing fad, but rather a sustainable change in the planning, construction and operation of real estate. Walter Haberfellner, Head of Digitalization & Construction Services at Swietelsky, sees it similarly. “Digitalization is no longer a question of if, but only of how. The world is becoming more digital, whether we want it or not,” he says.

Digital tools for more productivity

Experts are certain: Digital tools can make a significant contribution to increasing productivity – and thus gaining a real competitive advantage. This applies not only to the big players in the industry, but also to smaller and medium-sized companies in the construction industry. “Anyone who still works with handwritten notes on the construction site today is making a strategic decision - and it is not particularly far-sighted,” says a construction manager.

The Tyrolean building contractor Anton Rieder has made a strategic decision. He relies on digitalization. Rieder distinguishes between three possible approaches that the international management consultant EY highlighted some time ago: the digitalization of individual processes, the combination of BIM and lean management or the consistent optimization of the overall processes of a construction project - including all trades involved across all phases of the project.

Rieder decided on option three: optimizing the overall processes. "We currently have the following situation in construction: Every project is more or less a prototype. You work with different participants, different methods and different software systems. And the whole thing should work like an orchestra," says Rieder, describing the current situation on the construction sites. Postscript: "It's like playing the New Year's concert without practicing beforehand - and with a new line-up every time."

With the specially developed platform “MyBauOffice”, Rieder wants to bring everyone involved in the project – from the builder to the subcontractors – onto a common software environment. Planning, task management, logging and communication take place there in one tool that everyone has access to at any time. “Everyone knows who has to do what and when – in real time,” says Rieder. The platform is based on Microsoft 365 and should be fully developed by the end of the year. Rieder expects this to result in significantly better collaboration, fewer errors and more efficiency. "The biggest problem in construction right now is silo thinking. We need a radical paradigm shift here."

The clients will not defend themselves against greater efficiency and fewer deficiencies in implementation. One of the largest clients in domestic building construction is BIG. They consistently rely on the use of BIM models. The motto “Comply or Explain” has been in effect at BIG for some time now. BIG Managing Director Beck: "BIM models bring significant advantages. Not every project necessarily has to be planned and carried out in BIM, but there must be good reasons for this." The aim is to provide a clear direction both internally and to the planners. “Just as we previously switched from ink pen to CAD, we are now going from CAD to BIM,” says Beck.

The BIG managing director is pleased with the enthusiasm with which many employees are taking up the topic of digitalization. He refers to digital solutions that were developed in-house and are already used in everyday company life. A group of young colleagues developed an internal BIG GPT that answers questions about organization and technical processes. “It works very well,” says Beck.

The inspection app developed in-house is just as useful: damage to buildings is photographed using a smartphone, an AI recognizes the damage, describes it automatically and prepares the necessary information for the tendering process. “This saves an enormous amount of time and reduces sources of error,” says Beck. He expects a number of other such solutions and major improvements in efficiency in the coming years. But there are no fixed goals for this. Beck: "The development is too dynamic for that. What I plan today will already be out of date tomorrow."

You see it in a similarly pragmatic way with Swietelsky. Digitalization is not an end in itself, but must pay off. This also includes seemingly small steps such as digital hourly control or the integration of ERP systems into the operational process. According to digitalization manager Haberfellner, it is crucial that you not only buy software, but also take processes and people with you. “It’s software, people and process – all three factors have to work together.”

What this means in concrete terms becomes apparent when using AI tools. Although large language models such as ChatGPT are already being used in some areas for protocols or text templates, the quality depends largely on the data material and the understanding of the users. “AI has become a buzzword, but without good data it is of no use,” says Haberfellner.

He uses a specific project to explain how digitalization pays off. During the renovation of a railway line in the Netherlands, the electrical engineering also had to be renewed - among other things, 400 masts had to be reinstalled. “The conventional way of working would have been: inspect on site, excavate, build the foundation, adjust the components if necessary and then assemble,” says Haberfellner. "Instead, we put all the information together digitally, recorded the masts digitally, planned them digitally and sent the metalworking shop exact plans. For example, the assembly of the mast foundations on site only took 15 minutes per mast instead of a whole working day."

Experts agree that digitalization also offers small companies great potential – if they are prepared to invest and change. As a medium-sized company, Rieder Bau shows how it can work. BIG and Swietelsky prove that even large organizations can develop innovative strength on their own. From Swietelsky manager Haberfellner's point of view, there is one very crucial factor for the success of digitalization: "When I use a new technology, I have to analyze it carefully: What is the potential of this technology, and how do I have to change my processes so that I can really use it?"