Interscale Content Hub – Digital twins in construction make things more efficient, accurate, and collaborative in the engineering sector.
So, as the construction industry changes, it’s becoming essential to use digital twins in new ways to deal with the industry’s long-standing challenges, like inefficiency, safety concerns, and cost overruns.
And as we know, in recent years, there’s been a big push to adopt digital twins. It’s driven by the need for smarter, more connected construction methodologies.
What Is a Digital Twin in Construction?
A digital twin in construction is a kind of digital representation of a physical asset, system, or process that’s always changing.
This virtual model is updated all the time with data from sensors, historical records, and simulations.
By combining different data sources, you can get a complete, up-to-date picture of the asset’s condition, performance, and lifecycle.
In the construction industry, digital twins can represent buildings, infrastructure, or even entire project sites.
These models let stakeholders see what the asset looks like now, predict how it’ll perform in the future, and make smart choices to boost efficiency and productivity.
A digital twin is made up of three main parts: data integration, real-time monitoring, and advanced analytics. These work together to give you a complete picture of the construction project.
You might also want to read “Digital Twins in Engineering: The Sidekick You Didn’t Know You Needed.”
How Digital Twins Work in Construction
Digital twins are used in construction to combine data from different sources, including Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, and historical records.
The Ernst & Young (EY) report “Digital Twin: The Age of Aquarius in Construction and Real Estate” states that the implementation process usually follows three main steps.
The first thing we do is collect data. This involves putting IoT devices and sensors on the physical asset to gather real-time data.
This data includes info on structural integrity, environmental conditions, and operational performance.
For instance, sensors might collect data on temperature, humidity, and vibrations during the construction of a new building, giving a full picture of the current conditions.
Next, we merge the collected data with existing BIM models and other digital records to create a comprehensive digital twin.
By putting all the data together, the digital twin becomes a model that changes and grows with the physical asset.
The last step is analysis and simulation. Advanced analytics and simulation tools are used to monitor the digital twin’s performance, predict future outcomes, and identify potential issues.
This process helps you take a proactive approach to maintenance, optimization, and decision-making.
For instance, digital twins can be used to test out different construction scenarios to make sure processes and resources are used as efficiently as possible, which could help to avoid costly delays and inefficiencies.
How to Use Digital Twins in Construction
The Ernst & Young (EY) report, written by Todd Lukesh, Eric Ottinger, Nipun Bajaj, Jordan Stein, Erica Crandon, Mark Gibson, and Akanksha Jain, states how digital twins play a crucial role in various stages of a construction project.
First, in the planning and design phase, digital twins give us real-time data and simulations that help us visualize, spot issues, and optimize design elements.
For example, architects can use digital twins to figure out the best way to orient the building to save energy and reduce environmental impact.
During construction, digital twins help us keep an eye on what’s going on in real time, so we can spot and fix problems quickly. This helps projects stay on schedule and within budget.
Sensors and cameras on construction sites send data to the digital twin all the time, so there’s less chance of human error or bias in progress reports.
For asset management, digital twins give us insights into how assets are doing and how well they’re performing. This helps us with predictive maintenance and extends the life of the asset.
By keeping an eye on how well different parts of a building are holding up, digital twins help us plan maintenance activities in advance, which means we can avoid unexpected breakdowns and save money on maintenance.
Plus, digital twins help us be more sustainable and efficient by making sure we use resources as well as we can and don’t waste anything.
Construction companies can use digital twins to see how different materials and construction methods affect a building’s energy efficiency.
For instance, you can use a digital twin to test out different HVAC systems and find the one that strikes the best balance between cost and energy efficiency. That way, you can make long-term savings and reduce your environmental impact.
What Are the Challenges of Digital Twins in Construction?
It’s not easy to implement digital twins in construction. There are a few hurdles to overcome.
A paper “Barriers to the Adoption of Digital Twin in the Construction Industry: A Literature Review” by De-Graft Joe Opoku, Srinath Perera, Robert Osei-Kyei, Maria Rashidi, Keivan Bamdad, and Tosin Famakinwa goes into detail about these challenges.
One of the main issues Opoku and others have flagged is how construction stakeholders don’t have much knowledge or understanding of digital twin technology.
This lack of awareness leads to a lot of confusion and hesitation when it comes to embracing this advanced technology.
For example, many industry pros still mix up digital twins with Building Information Modeling (BIM), not realizing how good DT has these cool, dynamic, real-time capabilities that set it apart from BIM.
One other big hurdle is the hefty upfront cost of getting digital twins up and running.
This also includes the costs of getting the right hardware and software, as well as training people to use and manage the technology properly.
Security concerns are also a big issue. As digital twins rely on lots of real-time data from different sources, it’s a big deal to make sure those data is secure and accurate.
Integrating digital twins with existing systems and processes can be pretty complex too.
A lot of construction companies use old systems that just aren’t built to handle the extra features of digital twins.
This kind of integration takes a lot of technical know-how and can be pretty time-consuming and expensive.
There are also some standardization issues when it comes to adopting digital twins seamlessly.
Because there aren’t any industry-wide standards for digital twin implementation, it can be hard to make different projects and platforms work together.
How people feel about change and data collection and privacy are really important when it comes to adopting digital twins. For this tech to take off, it’s got to get the thumbs up from the workforce.
On top of these challenges, the Opoku review also points to other hurdles, like the static nature of building data, the fragmented nature of the construction industry, and the lack of government incentives.
The fact that traditional building data isn’t dynamic means that digital twins can’t be as effective as they could be.
The construction industry is pretty fragmented, with lots of different stakeholders and disconnected workflows. This makes it even more difficult to integrate and standardize things.
While you’re at it, you could read “What If Digital Twins in Manufacturing Could Test Many What If Scenarios?“
Best Practices for Implementing Digital Twin Technology
To successfully implement digital twin technology in construction, adhering to certain best practices is essential.
First things first: we need to be clear about our objectives. Karam M. Al-Obaidi, Amreen Husain, and Amirhosein Ghaffarianhoseini make a good point in their paper “Digital Twins in the Construction Industry: A Comprehensive Review of Current Implementations.”
Setting specific goals for the digital twin, like improving project efficiency, enhancing safety, or reducing costs, makes sure that the technology’s capabilities align with the project needs.
This step helps you figure out how to make the digital twin work for you and makes sure it’ll deliver real benefits.
And don’t forget to make sure the data is of good quality. A digital twin needs high-quality, accurate data to be successful.
To keep the data in good shape, it’s important to have solid data collection and management practices, including regular sensor calibration and data validation processes.
This makes sure the digital twin shows the real state of the physical asset, so you can monitor and analyze it accurately.
Integrating it with existing systems is also something we need to think about. If you want to get the most out of digital twins, make sure they’re compatible with existing Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools and other digital platforms.
This integration lets you do in-depth data analysis and make the digital twin even more useful. It also gives you one place to manage all parts of the construction project.
We really think this integration is key to getting the best results from the project.
Another key thing is to make sure everyone involved gets the training they need to understand how to use and benefit from digital twin technology.
Training programs help build the skills and knowledge needed to use digital twins effectively. They cover data interpretation, simulation tools, and decision-making processes.
Working with experts in the field can help you figure out how to implement digital twins.
Working with tech providers and industry experts can give you the lowdown on the best ways to use the digital twin, help you work out any problems, and make sure it’s right for your project.
That’s why we at Interscale offer comprehensive BIM management solutions to support the integration and use of digital twins in your construction projects.
With Interscale’s supporting system, your construction projects can get through digital transformation faster, be more efficient, and get better results.
We’ll also make sure you get the training and support your team needs.
So, for more info on how we can adjust to your BIM and digital twin needs, kindly read our BIM Management Support Services page.
We’re also happy for one-on-one discussion if you want to learn more about how we can help your project.
Just let us know when it’s convenient for you. We’re here for you 24/7 to help with whatever you need.
In Closing
There are still a few hurdles to clear, but it’s clear that digital twins are making things more efficient, sustainable, and collaborative.
Construction firms can make the most of this technology by following best practices and getting advice from experts. This will help them to be more innovative and to complete projects successfully.
Thanks to the digital twin in the construction boom that’s reshaping the industry and showing us just how powerful this technology can be.
