Geospatial and BIM have been identified as key technologies in the digital transformation of the global construction sector which has been underperforming for decades. A recent report estimates the size of the contribution of geospatial+BIM technologies to the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector.
The $10 trillion global construction industry is facing a crisis. For many of the world's advanced economies including Japan, Germany, U.S., South Korea, and U.K. construction productivity has been stagnant or even declining for decades. Virtually all of the funding for infrastructure was sourced from government who were looking for a social return on the investment. Since the mid 2000s, an increasing proportion of investment in infrastructure has come from private sources; pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds which together manage over $60 trillion. These sources of investment are expecting a financial return and that is driving a growing investment in construction technology to improve productivity. A McKinsey report, Imagining construction’s digital future, presents data that shows that large construction projects typically take 20 percent longer to finish than scheduled and are up to 80 percent over budget. Construction productivity has actually declined in some markets since the 1990s and financial returns for contractors are relatively low and volatile. The report finds that construction has been slow to adopt process and technological innovations. R&D spending in construction lags other industries. Construction R&D is less than 1% of total industry revenue compared to 3.5-4.5 % in the auto and aerospace sectors. A McKinsey Global Institute study compared the degree of digitalization of nearly 30 industries and concluded that construction ranked right at the bottom with hunting.
But there are signs of a change. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the world will need to spend $57 trillion on infrastructure through 2030 to keep up with global GDP growth. This is a massive incentive for the construction industry to transform productivity and project delivery through new technologies and improved practices.Venture capital investment in technology startups in the construction sector is growing. 2018 was an inflection point with venture capital investment in the construction sector quadrupling. Two of the technology sectors that McKinsey & Company suggest will be key in the digital transformation of construction are geospatial and BIM.
Building information modeling (BIM) has been applied to design-build construction projects for many years. A growing number of countries are mandating BIM for public projects. While the UK government has said that "...we know that the largest prize for BIM lies in the operational stages of the project life-cycle", until recently there has not been hard data to support this conjecture. Similarly there has been only anecdotal support for an integrated BIM and geospatial approach for design, build, operate and maintain projects. Now we are beginning to see data and analytics that offer evidence for the benefits of an integrated BIM+geospatial full lifecycle approach for construction projects.
A recent study by Geospatial Media Analysis, GeoBIM Market in AEC Industry: Technology Trends, Value Propositions, Market Size, Readiness Index, and Maturity Model, has estimated the market size of geospatial+BIM technology in the global AEC sector which contributes about US$11 trillion to the global GDP. It is estimated that the cumulative geospatial industry's value in the AEC sector is US$71.28 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US$117.59 by 2023. The cumulative BIM market size is estimated to be US$7.9 billion in 2019 and growing at a CAGR of 11.06%. The impact of geospatial+BIM technolgies on construction are significant. For example, it is estimated that geospatial+BIM solutions reduce average design time by 22.2% contributing to overall savings of 5.9% on small scale construction projects. For large scale construction projects GEOBIM solutions are estimated to contribute approximately 13.1 % in overall project savings.
To make the key GEOBIM technologies concrete the report describes a GEOBIM Maturity Model that makes it possible to evaluate and assess the ability of an AEC firm to operate in an integrated geospatial+BIM environment. The GEOBIM Maturity Model extends across the entire construction lifecycle from planning, through design and construction to operations and maintenance. The levels of the GEOBIM Maturity Model increase as more innovation takes place in digital GEOBIM technology and the importance of the integration of geospatial and BIM technologies is recognized. For example, for surveying traditional theodolite and chain is characteristic of Level 0 in the maturity model. As more modern digital technologies are adopted levels rise; total stations (Level 1), laser scanning and GNSS, (Level 2) to mobile scanning, drones, ground penetrating radar and other underground locating and mapping technologies (Level 3). For planning and design, the increasing use of digital technologies compared to drawings and paper maps (Level 0), include CAD and digital maps (Level 1), BIM and 3D point clouds (Level 2) to digital twins of both above and below ground infrastructure and mixed reality (Level 3). For construction, traditional constuction machinery and paper drawings are being replaced by BIM models, digital geospatial maps and automated construction with GNSS, and prefab and additive building.
A survey of the Facilities Management (FM) industry found that while 92% had heard about BIM and 84% agreed that BIM has the potential to deliver value add to FM, over two thirds said that the FM is not prepared for BIM. Evidence suggests that full lifecyle construction including FM is gaining traction in the construction industry. As owners see the advantages full-lifecycle thinking for construction projects and are beginning to changing their procurement practices, construction companies are changing their business processes to optimize facility maintenance and operation. Construction companies that have taken on the challenge of design, build, operate and maintain projects are realizing that there are significant benefits from an integrated BIM+geospatial approach to full lifecycle construction.
In conclusion real world data and analytics are now revealing the benefits of an integrated BIM+geospatial full lifecycle approach for construction projects.
Thank you to Ananya Narain for bringing the GEOBIM Market in AEC Industry report to my attention.
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