A Year in Review: The Democratization of Data Insights and the Labor Divide

By Nathan Patton

The old adage that necessity is the mother of invention is never more applicable than in the construction space…particularly this past year. The challenges engineers and contractors face are many and complex. The persistent labor shortage is just one high profile example. About 94 percent of firms with openings for hourly craft workers reported difficulty filling those positions, according to a recent AGC and Arcoro workforce survey. That is an increase from the 85 percent of firms that reported difficulty in the association’s 2023 survey. 

At the same time, the global population is expanding rapidly, creating a growing demand for new buildings, roads and other infrastructure. While investment is there for many sectors, particularly infrastructure, the cost of materials continues to rise. 

These hurdles, along with economic ups and downs and the ever-growing importance of sustainability, has necessitated that industry professionals rethink conventional practices with help from technology. From small and mid-size firms to the largest global enterprises, this has been a year of data gathering, management, and most importantly, insights.

The Reality of Refurbishment

In the last year, there’s been a marked increase in the number of retrofit and refurbishment projects, particularly in urban areas. Rather than demolishing and rebuilding, owners, both public and private, see value in repurposing existing structures, a move driven by both environmental and economic considerations. 

One of the most high profile is the One Wall Street project in the Financial District of New York City, reportedly the largest office-to-residential conversion project in New York City’s history. The project team is transforming the 90-year-old, 564-foot-tall Art Deco skyscraper from its commercial roots into luxury residences. It’s one of many such projects, many of them sparked in part by federal, state and local incentive programs. For instance, programs such as HUD’s Community Development Block Grant includes funds to support the acquisition, rehabilitation, and conversion of commercial properties to residential uses and mixed-use development.

However, for engineers and contractors, refurbishment projects present unique challenges. These projects often lack accurate detail about the existing structures. Without proper plans, engineers and detailers have to make assumptions, which leads to disconnects and issues down the line—a major cause of rework, cost overruns and scheduling delays. 

These challenges have led to the increased adoption of reality capture technologies like laser scanning and point clouds. Reality capture allows contractors to accurately map and design around the existing infrastructure, identifying features like HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems that need to be integrated into the new design.

This year, we saw a growing array of purpose-built reality capture solutions that simplify technology adoption, by focusing on improved data sharing and accessibility via the cloud.

The Augmented Reality Adjunct

Along with reality capture, augmented reality (AR) solutions have become more widely adopted in the construction industry this last year. AR allows field workers to view design models overlaid on the real-world environment, helping to validate that the design fits the existing conditions.

A notable advancement has been the improvement of LiDAR sensors in mobile devices that empower the capture of point cloud data directly from smartphones and tablets. That data can then be integrated with AR visualization. Ease of use and data accessibility/visibility are two reasons why field crews have adopted AR technology this year. 

Firms like Hensel Phelps are leveraging more connected AR on projects such as the Denver International Airport for a range of activities including facilitating owner walks.

AI and Automation

AI is the trendy tool of 2024, and the advancements this year have been impressive. AI algorithms are now available to support estimating, contract reviews, construction management, and building information modeling (BIM).  This year, we saw growing applications of AI to improve jobsite safety as well as optimize workflows, reduce costs and improve quality. 

Just one example of new capabilities this year is Trimble Business Center’s automated pavement condition reporting from mobile mapping data, rapid stockpile volume calculations using drone data, and tailored deep learning segmentation for AI-powered classification. Advancements in automated segmentation and classification of point cloud data, as well as more intuitive data visualization are examples of AI-driven innovations. 

In particular, the use of deep learning algorithms has made a huge difference for many of Trimble’s customers. Too often, finding features in a massive point cloud has been an extremely manual process that takes hours and hours to perform—with AI it’s all but eliminating that time out of the workflow. With AI, users can train their own datasets to automatically identify and extract specific details (i.e., anchor bolts, steel columns, light stands, fire hydrants). 

As well, bleeding edge techniques such as Gaussian splats took on greater prevalence this year. This AI-enabled visualization and rendering technique is a more intuitive and visually appealing way of representing complex data like point clouds. It can generate high-fidelity, high-resolution models from sources like high-quality photos, making the data more accessible and understandable for non-technical stakeholders. 

AI will continue to be essential to the construction industry as it strives to manage the massive amounts of data that are produced and gathered across the lifecycle of a design and construction job. 

The focus this year and the coming years will be increased attention on automating data processing and extraction, improving data visualization, and enhancing collaboration and decision-making through conversational AI interfaces to address the labor shortage and improve efficiency.

The Connected Data Conundrum

Integrating data across workflows has long been a challenge in the industry. This year, the industry realized some significant and visible progress. The overall goal of democratizing data is to enable more people on the job site and in the office to have a shared understanding of the real-world conditions, based on the data being captured. This helps break down silos, facilitate better collaboration, and allow stakeholders to focus on problem-solving rather than just identifying issues.

In many cases, project teams have all the pieces of the puzzle but can’t connect them in a meaningful way to gain insights. The importance of a common data environment took on greater significance this year, allowing teams to seamlessly sync data from office to field and back. 

We have seen a growing trend of large and mid-sized construction companies actively adopting connected, cloud-based platforms to manage their workflows and data. This is driven by the need to find efficiencies, reduce rework and improve collaboration. European countries including Norway, Finland and the United Kingdom have taken the lead. Several years ago, Norway’s Randselva Bridge made history as the longest bridge to be constructed without a single 2D drawing. Beginning this year, Ireland now requires BIM on projects over €100 million. These mandates necessitate some form of connected workflow and data sharing. In the US, while BIM is not mandated by governments yet, the shift is ongoing and was particularly notable this year.  

The more accessible the data, the more likely it will be used across the lifecycle of a project and the greater chance of breaking down familiar barriers.

This year, we’ve seen technologies such as reality capture, AR, AI and common data environments really take off. They are helping owners and project teams do more than streamline design and construction tasks—they’re helping shift the industry away from an “adversarial” mindset. The shared access to data and insights that are enabled with this increasing democratization of data insights enables more collaborative decision-making, where all parties can focus on finding the best possible solution, in the most timely, sustainable, and cost-effective way.  

Nathan Patton is Product Marketing Manager, Field Systems at Trimble. Recently named one of xyHt’s Top 22 Young Geospatial Professionals, Nathan is an energetic and effective product leader. Passionately working to deliver tangible value through cutting-edge technologies that connect the digital and physical worlds. After completing Trimble’s Rotational Leadership Development Program in 2022, Nathan joined the Buildings Construction Strategy & Innovation team as a Product Manager where he focuses on turning moonshot ideas into practical realities to solve the construction industry’s biggest problems.