Advancements in BIM technology have alleviated some of the difficulties with tracking construction progress and monitoring daily site changes but it is still a time-consuming process to update the models and input data. This results in many out-of-date BIM models or models that aren’t updated in a timely manner, leaving engineers and owners out on a limb when it comes time to make an informed decision.
Cupix, a software company striving to build the most flexible and simple-to-deploy platform for digital twins, believes their technology has the potential to unlock the power of 3D modeling and real-time data to completely transform the way progress is tracked by construction companies and engineers. Layered on top of Cupix’s flagship CupixWorks platform, SiteInsights is a new offering that automates progress tracking on job sights to increase project visibility.
“Job sites change daily and general contractors and building owners need to extract high-value insights from progress tracking quickly and easily,” said Simon Bae, CEO and founder of Cupix. “Site Insights delivers that in a whole new way.”
“Using SiteInsights, Cupix customers can take any point cloud data or 360° image capture data and dump it all into the BIM and see where any deviations have occurred. Having that level of granular, timely insights is a game changer for builders and owners.”
Cupix is rolling out SiteInsights in beta testing through a pilot program with select members of the AEC community to develop a comprehensive approach to harnessing the data and getting maximum value from the technology. SiteInsights allows users to derive more value from their BIM models and increase accuracy of their models.
Highlights from the pilot program so far include:
- Accurate As-Built BIM at Handover (plus Error Identification & Rework Prevention) – Increasingly, owners are demanding an accurate as-built BIM at handover. Additionally, without a functionality like SiteInsights, critical errors can be missed or overlooked on-site during construction or renovation. By having an intelligent system that can analyze data captured on site alongside BIM files, SiteInsights can reduce deviation and site misses on a consistent basis.
- Payment Reconciliation – By creating a single system and source of truth that tracks percentage completion of various project elements, owners, project managers and supervisors know when to generate invoices accordingly for general contractors and sub-contractors, preventing delays and removing friction from the payment process.
- Progress & Schedule Updates – With better access to progress data on a regular basis, project managers can better schedule the flow of goods and services and prevent late deliveries.
“For obvious reasons, updating BIM only at the end of construction to match the as-built condition can be a much more difficult task, if not impossible, than doing so on a regular basis during construction. So those dynamics are pushing more and more GCs to embrace the technology. It can’t be beat for accuracy and ease of use,” explained Bae.
“On a more ‘everyday’ basis, one of the most useful ways the technology is used is helping to validate invoices and for payment reconciliations and issuing payments. A project manager can get accurate percentages of a specific subcontractor or trade and track by dates and percentage of work completed. That’s a time-consuming process and a waste of labor hours, that’s now made way easier – and way more efficient.”
To develop SiteInsights, Cupix expanded the capabilities of their data-capture tools which utilize a 360-degree camera-based method and traditional laser capture methods. Getting started with the hardware required to begin using SiteInsights and CupixWorks is a simple, streamlined process. Cupix offers quick-start kits and cameras, templates and on-boarding and training opportunities through their own service teams. Cupix will work with users to ensure they have the right equipment for their job site, whether that’s a helmet-mounted camera or a drone. Making it easier to deploy and use the technology could help spur increased adoption by the engineering and construction community.
“We’re still in the early days in terms of adoption of some of these technologies in construction but the AEC industry, like all industries, is very interested in more remote work enablers and data-driven business execution. So, we expect adoption of 3D digital twin technology to ramp up quickly because of the great results customers are achieving,” Bae expounded.
“Over the last few years, a diverse range of visually focused technology solutions has come to market, each seeking to solve a different problem. However, the challenge has been that many of these solutions are optimized for just one phase of a building’s life cycle—be it pre-construction, construction, post-construction, or maintenance and operation.”
It is through the adoption and expansion of usage of digital tools and 3D technology that Bae and Cupix believe the engineering and construction worlds can reach their full potential and deliver projects more efficiently. Embracing digital trends is the key for capitalizing on the unprecedented opportunity facing the industry in the form of massive infrastructure investment. The companies who are willing to lean in and position themselves as early leaders in the technological revolution coming in the industry will emerge as long-term winners.
“Most people have heard of digital twins, which are a digital representation of something in the physical world. But not all digital twins are in 3D, nor are they all accurate reflections of what that physical space looks like right now. Those two factors, a) being in 3D and b) depicting a real-time representation of the physical reality of a job site, capturing all recent changes or progress are game-changers for professionals in the AEC sector,” Bae wrote.
“The advantages offered by 3D are compelling. With 3D digital twin technology, off-site experts have in-depth access to on-site views into the as-built specifics of a project. Viable for use in pre-, during and post-construction stages, 3D digital twin platform provide up-to-date 3D visual representations of a physical site or asset while enabling as-designed BIM (building information modeling) vs. as-built reality comparison analysis, secure collaboration and ongoing data analytics across the enterprise,” he continued.
The impetus is now on the leaders in impetus is now on the leaders in he AEC community to step up and build smarter with the aid of technology that did not exist a decade ago. This is how the most pressing problems facing the planet can be addressed – through innovation. Billions of dollars are flowing into infrastructure and construction projects and with that comes a need for increased visibility into how that money is being spent. Oversight matters when this level of spending is unleashed. SiteInsights is a solution for that very real problem.
SiteInsights will be extremely valuable to its users when it is rolled out, offering up-to-date 3D models of job sites and assets, automatic quantity tracking to simplify scheduling, budgeting and billing, guarantee complete accuracy of BIM models and data at handover and provide in-depth analytical tools that the industry needs. Long-term, Cupix hopes to add predictive modeling to SiteInsights as the platform receives enough data to power artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer actionable advice and smarter planning and scheduling.
Bae concluded, “I think it can be summed up this way: Job sites change daily and general contractors and building owners need to extract high-value insights from progress tracking quickly and easily. We believe SiteInsights delivers that in a whole new way.”