At the end of April, we took part in Rebuild Madrid – the leading innovation event for the building industry in Spain. Attendees from all corners of construction came together in Madrid to share insights about digital transformation and the role construction plays in Spain’s sustained economic growth.
The dynamic three-day event was jam-packed with everything from industry presentations, in-depth master classes to live networking with leading construction influencers. We heard experts discuss the key issues facing the built environment in Spain, focusing on how to build back better, smarter and more sustainably in a post-pandemic world. Here are three top takeaways on the future of construction.
The construction industry is swimming in data. While we have more data than ever, most of it is merely contained, rather than connected. Did you know that 95% of all data captured in the construction and engineering industry goes unused? To make data valuable, it must be accessible from a central location, updated in real-time, and connected across projects, teams, and organisations.
Having connected data and workflows is critical when it comes to uniting design and site teams. Without this, data loses value and silos are created between project collaborators. These practices result in risk – data silos lead to more mistakes and lost information. And, with the Spanish government’s measures in place to ensure the availability of affordable, energy efficient and quality housing – connecting project teams to harness the power of data will be more important than ever before.
Building information modelling (BIM) is a tool which can foster collaboration from the start of a project in the design phase all the way through to building operations. Connecting data in one central source of truth enables team members to stay up to date with all of the project information they need. Team members know which issues to resolve and are able to make decisions faster.
With a strong focus being placed on the fight against climate change in Spain, the benefits of connected construction in collaboration extend beyond just productivity. They also improve the output of your design process allowing better designs and a reduced need for rework – all factors adding to the construction industry’s carbon footprint. Real-time visibility into project information allows designers to coordinate activities across teams to create designs that also meet client expectations. Similarly, construction teams benefit from a shared understanding of the design.
The advent of the cloud has improved the ability of teams to share complex model geometries, collaborate in real time, and coordinate with more accuracy using a common data set. Reducing the reliance on manual upload processes means less errors. And the better connected these project team members and stakeholders are, the more efficient and less error-prone the process. This has created a future where insights will cycle from operations back into the hands of architects, engineers, builders, and owners.
Digital transformation isn’t just about modernising the paper process, but instead true digital transformation happens when you use platforms such as Autodesk Construction Cloud to centralise project data, workflows, and teams so people are empowered to work better and make smarter decisions.
For construction firms in Spain, better insights into the design, build and operate phases of a project allow for more predictability and transparency when it comes to delivering better outcomes. To support resiliency and continued growth across the country, and to deliver the major rail and road projects underway, capturing valuable insights to inform the build process will be vital for delivering on time and on budget in this new era of construction.
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