How Heavy Civil Technology Is Revolutionizing the Infrastructure Boom

It’s no secret that the demand for sustainable, quality infrastructure is growing. Initiatives like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which will provide $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending, only make this demand clearer.

As the pressure for infrastructure continues to increase, so do industry challenges. Significant increases in project size, design complexity, resource scarcity and delivery expectations have added multiple degrees of difficulty to projects. This is making it harder and harder for the construction industry to continue to rely on traditional, paper-based workflows, spreadsheets, inefficient communication methods and aging technology to manage projects during this infrastructure boom.

It is critical, now more than ever, for teams to invest in digital construction solutions to better connect their applications, teams and processes on and off the field.

It’s for these reasons, among others, that the IIJA includes $100 million allocated specifically to construction technology. With more than a trillion dollars of construction projects on the way, now is the time for firms to invest in technology.

Connect field to office with SYNCHRO’s digital construction management solutions

Investing in Construction Technology

The IIJA construction technology funding is focused primarily on advanced digital construction management systems (ADCMS); these are digital technologies that enable construction and engineering firms to better manage, plan and coordinate projects throughout their entire lifecycle—from pre-bid and design to construction and handoff.

According to the IIJA, all ADCMS should include these five capabilities:

• Maximize Interoperability With Other Systems, Products, Tools or Applications
• Manage Complexity
• Boost Productivity
• Reduce Project Delays and Cost Overruns
• Enhance Safety and Quality

SYNCHRO’s biggest benefit is the instant access to and viewing of accurate, real-time project information: the single source of project truth. It benefits us further by positively impacting project costs, scheduling, safety and quality.

Matt Blake, The Lane Construction Corporation

It is imperative to invest in construction technology that connects teams and data throughout the entire project lifecycle. During a recent webinar, representatives from WSB, Lane Construction, Iowa DOT and Bentley Systems spoke about the role of technology in the IIJA. They each brought a valuable perspective regarding how technology meets these five criteria, including cloud-based solutions, mobile field-based applications and model-based workflows.

Managing Project Complexity With Cloud-Based Solutions

Many firms implement point solutions to solve various issues in their construction workflows. The problem is that these solutions are not integrated, creating even more challenges and inefficiencies in the process. Without the ability to clearly, easily and quickly communicate and collaborate with team members and project stakeholders, teams are faced with higher-than-necessary project risk.

Adopting cloud-based solutions that easily integrate with existing internal tools enables teams to maximize the full capabilities of their technology stack while removing barriers to data and project insights.

Managing Project Complexity With Cloud-Based Solutions

Many firms implement point solutions to solve various issues in their construction workflows. The problem is that these solutions are not integrated, creating even more challenges and inefficiencies in the process. Without the ability to clearly, easily and quickly communicate and collaborate with team members and project stakeholders, teams are faced with higher-than-necessary project risk.

With these solutions, you can leverage powerful, insightful analytics for complete visibility into project status and schedule, down to individual activity items. Comprehensive dashboards and reports allow you to filter and explore construction data in seconds. In addition, a single source of truth for project data and insights helps manage daily information so that it remains timely and efficient, expediting decisions and issue resolution while connecting the entire project team, whether they are in the office or in the field.

Improving Project Performance With Field-Based Applications

Gain deeper real-time insights into project progress and resources

Many people on the jobsite collect progress data, document issues and take pictures. Compiling all that data into spreadsheets is incredibly time consuming, often resulting in coordination meetings that take four to five hours as the team works to understand the true project status and areas of concern. That workflow increases risk and is prone to reduced productivity, delays and lost revenue.

Mobile-field base applications can help you dramatically increase productivity, visibility and efficiency on the jobsite, giving you the insight you need into field-based progress and resource usage to make better data-driven decisions, immediate course corrections and improvements. You can even monitor and report on daily costs and production rates in real time.

With mobile applications, a typical four-to-five-hour coordination meeting is now cut down to one or two hours of transparent, highly productive problem-solving.

Enhancing Safety and Quality With 4D/5D Model-Based Technology

Simulate construction sequences pre-build with 4D&5D models

Construction jobsites can be dangerous places, which is why safety is so important. Using inefficient, time-consuming and manual processes increases the chances of accidents. Digital construction technology can increase jobsite safety and quality through improved use of data and enhanced communication and collaboration from the office to the field.

With 4D/5D model-based technology, teams can understand what they are building before they build it, avoiding all the potential risks involved. You can even ensure that the entire team is engaged by inviting the supply chain to participate. Additional benefits of 4D/5D model technologies include QTO bidding, enabling teams to create hyper-accurate bids and reduce the time spent on estimating. Ultimately, this minimizes your risk of overbidding or, even worse, underbidding.

Exceeding the Infrastructure Demands of Tomorrow

Adopting cloud-based solutions that easily integrate with existing internal tools enables teams to maximize the full capabilities of their technology stack while removing barriers to data and project insights.

One thing is for certain: To meet current and future infrastructure demands and deliver profitable projects, heavy civil contractors need to leverage technology that digitizes, automates and simplifies their workflows—on and off the field.

By aggregating all infrastructure construction management in one place, teams can better plan and manage people, materials and equipment more easily and affordably. SYNCHRO’S digital solutions—from field to office—increase the visibility, predictability and productivity of your construction jobs so you can deliver winning projects—from design to pre-bid to project execution and handoff.

SYNCHRO’s complete construction management platform includes:

• 4D/5D virtual construction management
• Cost management
• Performance management
• Project management
• Field management

SYNCHRO'S integrated solutions provide heavy civil teams with real-time insights into the performance, productivity and financial health of their projects so that they can win more projects, deliver them more efficiently and increase profitability.

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