As BIM/VDC adoption rates have accelerated substantially over the last decade, helping to usher the design and construction industry into the digital age, a slew of heralded technologies—from VR to computational design—has emerged to reveal that the AEC world is ripe for a seismic disruption.
At the center of this tech infusion is the smart jobsites movement. BD+C caught up with three construction giants—Suffolk Construction, Robins & Morton, and Hoar Construction—to learn about their latest smart jobsite strategies. Here’s what they had to share:
SUFFOLK’S SMART LABS
Taking inspiration from the science and technology industries, Suffolk Construction has created dedicated spaces, called Smart Labs, to capture and study data, collaborate across project teams, and test new technologies and processes. The firm’s first such space came on line in June 2017, in its San Francisco office, followed by New York and Boston late last year. Labs are opening in Miami and Tampa, Fla., this month, with Los Angeles in the queue.
The Smart Labs function as “operational control towers” that allow Suffolk executives to monitor their projects nationwide in real-time, giving them progress updates and financial data. Each lab has massive video screens across a data wall, with live camera feeds from all 90 of Suffolk’s current jobsites. The labs are also equipped with a CAVE virtual reality area, where team members, clients, and prospects can review projects in immersive 3D environments.
The intent of this first-of-its-kind initiative in AEC is to serve as an ecosystem to harness data to proactively stave off construction problems and to better anticipate scheduling and materials needs. The labs help Suffolk executives make best use of organizational talent and minimize waste and inefficiency by removing the high levels of unpredictability that accompany fluid construction environments.
Suffolk’s Smart Labs function as “operational control towers” that allow the firm’s executives to monitor their projects nationwide in real-time, giving them progress updates and financial data. Suffolk Construction.
“Information in context is much more powerful than information that is plugged in one data point at a time,” says Chris Mayer, Suffolk’s Chief Innovation Officer. “We take this collection of information and have data-enabled meetings across project teams, where we can then fine-tune our forecasting, staffing, planning, and control process to be as close to our customers needs as possible.”
Mayer says the firm’s long-term plans involve writing custom code and developing algorithms that will help better pinpoint service delivery.
ROBINS & MORTON’S SLATPLANNER
Frustrated by the limitations of analog production planning systems, Steve Moore, PMP, PSP, LEED AP, Division Scheduling Manager with Robins & Morton, realized that there was an opportunity to invent a hybrid system. Developed over nine months, he set out to create an offering that allows for the hands-on elements of scheduling (i.e., arranging sticky notes on a wallboard), which encourage collaboration, with a digitized method for collecting and analyzing important project-related data.
SlatPlanner, currently in beta testing, is Moore’s brainchild that enables the scanning of all information arranged on a wallboard and then allows users to see a history of activity that shows the percentage of planned vs. completed work, lists failure reasons, tracks manpower allocation, and automates overall plan feasibility to help eliminate some of the scheduling gaps and guess work.
The subscription-based offering is expected to launch this June, at the AEC NEXT Technology Expo and Conference in Anaheim, Calif.
By mid-2018, the company expects to have six Smart Labs operational at its offices across the country, including in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. One of the featured software is from TouchPlan, seen on the right side of the image above. Suffolk Construction.
To be more Lean-focused, Robins & Morton recently implemented delivery scheduling software from Voyage Control. The firm’s Logistics Superintendent, Rusty Bratcher, explains that the impetus for adopting the software came out of a logistically complex project for the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston.
“The campus is tightly situated in downtown Charleston and is subjected to heavy amounts of pedestrian and automobile traffic, along with ambulances needing to get in and out quickly at all hours of the day,” says Bratcher. “There were big concerns about being efficient across numerous delivery points on site, but for also creating problematic congestion in a cramped environment that includes a busy parking garage.”
To keep from impacting downtown traffic patterns, the Robins & Morton team scheduled all deliveries during the second shift, and none earlier than 5:30 p.m. Having previously used a basic spreadsheet for scheduling deliveries, the firm felt it needed something more sophisticated to maximize efficiencies.
Bratcher says the cloud-based software has eliminated the bottlenecks of crowded gate arrivals with a backlog of trucks waiting to unload their supplies. The firm is able to pinpoint delivery times and coordinate trucks in single-file formation, while knocking out wasted downtime for drivers in the process. Bratcher can book deliveries months in advance, so the team can work around the times when it has shipments that require an elevator.
During the first two months of 2018, Bratcher says the firm used the Voyage Control software for approximately 600 deliveries, with marked improvement over its traditional delivery scheduling method: 83% on-time deliveries vs. 45% with the spreadsheet approach.
Hoar Construction is exploring the use of robotics to improve productivity, including a test run of a Semi-Automated Mason (SAM) on the Poff Federal Building project in Roanoke, Va., which required 470,000 bricks. The machine set 3,000 bricks per day—six times faster than a single mason—and improved overall consistency, according to the firm. Hoar Construction.
HOAR CONSTRUCTION’S CLOUD-BASED PM
Project management is an area that has been ripe for improvement, with a need for greater collaboration and communication among builders, subcontractors, and clients. Hoar Construction recently replaced a mixed bag of project management and field and document management systems with the Procore construction platform.
Paul Walker, Hoar’s Vice President of Information Technology, explains that the consolidation, while “basically a wash” from a cost-savings perspective, has helped the construction giant manage its project data. “What’s important to me is that 10 years from now, I know that we will have our crucial data in one place, and that allows me to sleep better at night,” says Walker.
An added benefit, he says, is the elimination of “tool fatigue” that came with Hoar team members having to learn numerous systems and apps for different needs in their daily routines. This has resulted in greater buy-in (important for morale and productivity) across project teams.
Hoar Construction.
Hoar is also leveraging consumer-driven technology to help enhance client experiences throughout the construction process. Google Street View allows for panoramic views from multiple vantage points, and, as client expectations have risen accordingly, Hoar has deployed 3D scanners to apply a similar capability to its projects.
The 3D scanner initiative has replaced the time and expense of taking weekly and monthly progress still photos. Instead, the 360-degree imagery allows for capture and tagging of all areas within a project. From there, tagged photos can be uploaded and shared through the Procore platform, giving all end-users true visibility in one system.
The digital documentation improves quality control and has eliminated the need for cumbersome binders full of project documents. Clients can quickly find “as-built” updates and take virtual walkthroughs of the project.
Hoar is also exploring the use of robotics to improve productivity, giving a test run to a Semi-Automated Mason (SAM) on a project requiring 470,000 bricks. The tool set 3,000 bricks per day—six times faster than a single mason—and has improved overall consistency. As this technology matures, Walker expects robotics to be used for jobs such as laying tile and increasing the precision of core drilling through concrete slabs.
Hoar Construction.
Related Stories
| Feb 11, 2011
BIM-enabled Texas church complex can broadcast services in high-def
After two years of design and construction, members of the Gateway Church in Southland, Texas, were able to attend services in their new 4,000-seat facility in late 2010. Located on a 180-acre site, the 205,000-sf complex has six auditoriums, including a massive 200,000-sf Worship Center, complete with catwalks, top-end audio and video system, and high-definition broadcast capabilities. BIM played a significant role in the building’s design and construction. Balfour Beatty Construction and Beck Architecture formed the nucleus of the Building Team.
| Feb 11, 2011
Kentucky’s first green adaptive reuse project earns Platinum
(FER) studio, Inglewood, Calif., converted a 115-year-old former dry goods store in Louisville, Ky., into a 10,175-sf mixed-use commercial building earned LEED Platinum and holds the distinction of being the state’s first adaptive reuse project to earn any LEED rating. The facility, located in the East Market District, houses a gallery, event space, offices, conference space, and a restaurant. Sustainable elements that helped the building reach its top LEED rating include xeriscaping, a green roof, rainwater collection and reuse, 12 geothermal wells, 81 solar panels, a 1,100-gallon ice storage system (off-grid energy efficiency is 68%) and the reuse and recycling of construction materials. Local firm Peters Construction served as GC.
| Feb 11, 2011
Former Richardson Romanesque hotel now houses books, not beds
The Piqua (Ohio) Public Library was once a late 19th-century hotel that sat vacant and deteriorating for years before a $12.3 million adaptive reuse project revitalized the 1891 building. The design team of PSA-Dewberry, MKC Associates, and historic preservation specialist Jeff Wray Associates collaborated on the restoration of the 80,000-sf Richardson Romanesque building, once known as the Fort Piqua Hotel. The team restored a mezzanine above the lobby and repaired historic windows, skylight, massive fireplace, and other historic details. The basement, with its low ceiling and stacked stone walls, was turned into a castle-like children’s center. The Piqua Historical Museum is also located within the building.
| Feb 11, 2011
Justice center on Fall River harbor serves up daylight, sustainable elements, including eucalyptus millwork
Located on historic South Main Street in Fall River, Mass., the Fall River Justice Center opened last fall to serve as the city’s Superior and District Courts building. The $85 million facility was designed by Boston-based Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc., with Dimeo Construction as CM and Arup as MEP. The 154,000-sf courthouse contains nine courtrooms, a law library, and a detention area. Most of the floors have the same ceiling height, which will makes them easier to reconfigure in the future as space needs change. Designed to achieve LEED Silver, the facility’s elliptical design offers abundant natural daylight and views of the harbor. Renewable eucalyptus millwork is one of the sustainable features.
| Feb 11, 2011
Research facility separates but also connects lab spaces
California State University, Northridge, consolidated its graduate and undergraduate biology and mathematics programs into one 90,000-sf research facility. Architect of record Cannon Design worked on the new Chaparral Hall, creating a four-story facility with two distinct spaces that separate research and teaching areas; these are linked by faculty offices to create collaborative spaces. The building houses wet research, teaching, and computational research labs, a 5,000-sf vivarium, classrooms, and administrative offices. A four-story outdoor lobby and plaza and an outdoor staircase provide orientation. A covered walkway links the new facility with the existing science complex. Saiful/Bouquet served as structural engineer, Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers served as MEP, and Research Facilities Design was laboratory consultant.
| Feb 11, 2011
A feast of dining options at University of Colorado community center, but hold the buffalo stew
The University of Colorado, Boulder, cooked up something different with its new $84.4 million Center for Community building, whose 900-seat foodservice area consists of 12 micro-restaurants, each with its own food options and décor. Centerbrook Architects of Connecticut collaborated with Denver’s Davis Partnership Architects and foodservice designer Baker Group of Grand Rapids, Mich., on the 323,000-sf facility, which also includes space for a career center, international education, and counseling and psychological services. Exterior walls of rough-hewn, variegated sandstone and a terra cotta roof help the new facility blend with existing campus buildings. Target: LEED Gold.
| Feb 11, 2011
Chicago high-rise mixes condos with classrooms for Art Institute students
The Legacy at Millennium Park is a 72-story, mixed-use complex that rises high above Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. The glass tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, is mostly residential, but also includes 41,000 sf of classroom space for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and another 7,400 sf of retail space. The building’s 355 one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom condominiums range from 875 sf to 9,300 sf, and there are seven levels of parking. Sky patios on the 15th, 42nd, and 60th floors give owners outdoor access and views of Lake Michigan.
| Feb 11, 2011
Iowa surgery center addresses both inpatient and outpatient care
The 12,000-person community of Carroll, Iowa, has a new $28 million surgery center to provide both inpatient and outpatient care. Minneapolis-based healthcare design firm Horty Elving headed up the four-story, 120,000-sf project for St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital. The center’s layout is based on a circular process flow, and includes four 800-sf operating rooms with poured rubber floors to reduce leg fatigue for surgeons and support staff, two substerile rooms between each pair of operating rooms, and two endoscopy rooms adjacent to the outpatient prep and recovery rooms. Recovery rooms are clustered in groups of four. The large family lounge (left) has expansive windows with views of the countryside, and television monitors that display coded information on patient status so loved ones can follow a patient’s progress.
| Feb 11, 2011
Grocery store anchors shopping center in Miami arts/entertainment district
18Biscayne is a 57,200-sf urban retail center being developed in downtown Miami by commercial real estate firm Stiles. Construction on the three-story center is being fast-tracked for completion in early 2012. The project is anchored by a 49,200-sf Publix market with bakery, pharmacy, and café with outdoor seating. An additional 8,000 sf of retail space will front Biscayne Boulevard. The complex is in close proximity to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the downtown Miami entertainment district, and the Omni neighborhood, one of the city’s fast-growing residential areas.
| Feb 11, 2011
Chicago architecture firm planning one of China’s tallest towers
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners was commissioned by developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. to design a new 294,570-sm mixed-use tower in Tianjin, China. The Tianjin R&F Guangdong Tower will be located within the city’s newly planned business district, and at 439 meters it will be one of China’s tallest buildings. The massive complex will feature 134,900 sm of Class A office space, a 400-key, five-star hotel, 55 condominiums, and 8,550 sm of retail space. The architects are designing the tower with multi-story atriums and a high-performance curtain wall to bring daylight deep into the building, thereby creating deeper lease spans. The project is currently finishing design.
