June 24, 2020 -- In-depth project understanding and control have become critical concerns as construction firms’ bottom lines are increasingly jeopardized on every project. Thankfully, the industry is waking up to the necessity of moving in new directions and considering new and better ways of doing things. Chief among these is the adoption of digital construction techniques and solutions.

With the extreme adaptability and customization of digital construction solutions, firms can enjoy the benefits of true fit-for-purpose solutions (FFPS) that are, by definition, tailor made for specific firms and/or projects.

Because construction is largely lagging behind in digitalization, FFPS comes into play throughout the industry and occur in each phase of the lifecycle of a project from planning to decommissioning.

Firms that are hampered by legacy paper and manual processes can find new profitability and risk management through fit-for-purpose solutions. But true FFPS goes beyond just digitizing manual processes. With their real-time monitoring and analytical capabilities—customized for specifics—FFPS delivers in-depth insight into projects and brings improved project control.

Conflict Resolution and FFPS

For an industry plagued with disputes and litigation, FFPS offers single source, trackable project data from start to finish, eliminating the “they-said, they-said” nature of conflicts contractors often find themselves defending against. Access to accurate and timely information greatly lessens the likelihood of such situations by enabling near real-time review of data that can both identify potential problems early on and disclose data-based versus anecdotal evidence, should the need arise.

FFPS and Operations

The use of FFPS digital twin technology and digital twin services enables more efficient asset operation and maintenance for owners. FFPS accelerates the creation of a digital twin which includes all physical assets and process steps during construction and provides a digital handover to the operational phase of the asset lifecycle. The digital twin can be continuously synchronized from multiple sources, including sensors and continuous surveying, to represent its near real-time status, working condition, or position. A digital twin enables users to visualize the asset, check status, perform analysis, and generate insights in order to predict and optimize infrastructure asset performance. Digital Twin Services can include people and technology to capture, process, visualize and analyze the timeline of an infrastructure digital twin.

Formulating a True FFPS

FFPS weds a traditional construction technology and automation solution to meet the requirements of a specific company or project. While digital integrators can often leverage a firm’s current systems, these solutions are typically not available straight out of the box from existing marketplace options and may involve a combination of solutions.

FFPS works by leveraging digitized construction work processes. In the current state of affairs, simply digitizing work processes doesn’t render increased efficiencies. However, FFPS helps validate digitized work-process mapping to key technologies and data. These digitalized mappings translate to schedule and cost reductions on construction projects.

Through FFPS, firms see efficiency gains in the form of increased production, time savings, reduction in waste, and better risk management. FFPS’ high levels of project insights, transparency, and accountability result in better margins.

An essential part of deploying FFPS is to develop an execution plan as early as possible. Starting with a robust digital construction project execution plan is essential to defining the expectations for digital deliverables in the contracts which, in turn, helps identify capable contractors and subcontractors.

Scalability

For a solution to be scalable, it needs to be developed for continuously expanding use. The cloud has driven most solutions to be very scalable today, in that they can benefit from being on premise (local) and can spool up services automatically for higher demand.

By aggregating and automating workflows, applications, digital twins, and other data into repeatable, best-practice solutions, FFPS creates a scalable standardization, which translates to profitable efficiencies on the construction job site.

Start enjoying the benefits of a true fit-for-purpose digital construction solution.  Contact us today to schedule a conversation.