Glodon digital transformation solution shared at global summit

The Global Construction Summit, a key annual event for built environment professionals, was held virtually on 22-24 February 2022. Mr. Pierpaolo Franco, Glodon Vice President International Business Development, joined a session discussion on digitalization of the construction industry and BIM 5D implementation at the summit.

Held by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Global Construction Review, the summit seeks to understand the latest trends, learn best practices, uncover innovations and address common issues that the sector’s professionals face worldwide.

Mr. Franco said the industry stands on the verge of a digital transformation, opening a great opportunity to boost productivity and deliver a more sustainable built environment. Technology and the innovative use of data have a role to play in almost all aspects of construction and the built environment. 

According to him, the transformation effects encompassing digital technology implementation are yet fully comprehended, and the construction sector still lags behind. Traditionally, the sector has focused on making incremental improvements, but this will no longer be possible as projects are ever-larger, multisite and more complex. And the growing demand for environmentally sensitive construction also means traditional practices must change.

In the digital age, a Triarchic World composed of Mind World, Digital World and Physical World will emerge with the support of technologies such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, 5G, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Quantum computing, Digital Twins, Mr Franco said, adding this Triarchic World will become a new model to transform the world, the Digital Twin will become a new form of industrial development, data will become a new production element, and the industrial Internet will become a new infrastructure.

“We will see this scientific and technological development promoting social development into the digital era,” he concluded, calling for a collaborative approach.

Two Glodon project cases of moving Building Information Modeling (BIM) beyond 3D into 4D and 5D were also introduced at the session.

BIM is a dynamic process for creating and managing information on a construction project throughout its whole life cycle. The term “dimension” of BIM refers to the type and presentation of information in a BIM model. It is common knowledge that 3D means three-dimensional graphical information; 4D means time and programme information; 5D means cost information. Moving BIM beyond 3D into 4D and 5D can deliver significant benefits in both time and cost.

Glodon BIM5D platform was used in the construction project of Beijing winter Olympic village and the conversion project of the National Aquatics Centre.

It helped maintain the unique historical, cultural and ecological environmental resources in the Beijing Winter Olympic Village project and minimize the disturbance to the mountains and forests in the venue while improving efficiency and safety and reducing workload and cost.

The National Aquatics Centre is the only Olympic stadium in the world that can host both summer and winter sports. A legacy for 2008 Summer Olympics swimming events is transformed into the 2022 Winter Olympics curling competition venue. The Glodon BIM5D platform improved the fine management level of the conversion project, reduced costs and improved project efficiency and quality.

The summit had nearly 1,500 construction professionals registered. Glodon is a partner of the summit.