Building 4.0 CRC – Projects Update

Master Builders Victoria has been a member of the CRC for Building since it began in July 2020. We joined to provide input and industry perspective on future construction practices and needs. It is also an avenue to keep on top of the latest developments and trends which we can then feedback to our members.

Below is a summary of a number of recently completed projects Master Builders have been a part of.

Project 1 - ePlanning and eApprovals

Commenced: Dec 2020

Completed: October 2021

Reason for participation:

Members are constantly expressing their frustration with the planning system and the resultant unnecessary delays. Delays add costs to projects.

Project Brief:

Project 1 of the CRC is titled ‘ePlanning and eApprovals – Scoping Study’. Its objective was to develop a roadmap for the phased design and implementation of an innovative digital platform to facilitate effective, efficient, and timely planning and building permits and approvals, thereby removing unnecessary delays and costs that impose substantial constraints on the building and construction sector.

Conclusion:

The Building 4.0 CRC ePlanning and eApprovals scoping project found that the limited adoption of technologies in the planning and building approval processes in Victoria has led to avoidable delay, little predictability, and a lack of transparent monitoring in issuing building permits. Digital and information technologies have been identified as core enablers to facilitate effective, efficient, and timely planning and building permits approvals. They found that initiatives in various jurisdictions have demonstrated the opportunities and benefits. Future research directions were identified through a number of recommendations that were developed by the research team into a ‘Roadmap’ document.

Recommendations:

Improving the efficiency of the planning permit system is a common complaint from members. Master Builders should continue to support such projects, such as the current Digital Twin — eComply project being delivered by DELWP which aims to highlight problems with submissions before they are submitted to avoid unnecessary delays.

Full Project Report: https://building4pointzero.org/projects/ eplanning-and-eapprovals-scoping-study

Project 2 - Automated tracking of construction materials

Commenced: July 2021

Completed: January 2022

Reason for participation:

The ability to track the materials from the manufacturing point to installation on site will become increasingly important as it contributes to and associates with increasing contract requirements. Ensuring there is no product substitution and that the product meets the compliance, safety, sustainability, social justice and performance requirements stipulated will be critical to reducing the risk of failing to deliver on contractual obligations. The ability to accurately know where a product is and the delivery date onsite also plays an important role in project management and efficiency.

Project Brief:

This scoping study aimed to understand the state-of-the-art of traceability technology and processes in the construction industry and key stakeholder’s perspectives, as well as to recommend future research. The longer term objective of Building 4.0 CRC’s work in this area is to demonstrate how sensor networks can be used to provide live streamed data to improve project management and validate building compliance through measures used to guarantee provenance of the supply chain. The systems to be developed will be capable of integration with the digital twin of the building.

Conclusion:

The need for safety and quality has seen the food industry be one of the early adopters in developing traceability capability. A number of technologies can be linked to mature processes such as barcodes, RFID, and QR codes. Advanced digital technologies (e.g. IoT and Blockchain) are still under development for traceability applications where the cost is the main barrier to adoption. Furthermore, the slow adoption of digital traceability is also attributed to technological, operational, and cultural obstacles all of which will need to be addressed for integration in construction practices.

Supply chains in building projects were more complex than other industries. These were caused by (i) the complexity and inter-related nature of construction projects and their legal context, normally undertaken by a temporary consortium of firms, (ii) unique activities such as excavation, where the “supply activity” is actually a removal activity, (iii) the active role of the Demand Chain participants in checking and approving the results of Supply Chain activities, (iv) the heavy use of all of a flexible mix of “supply only”, “service only” and “supply and service” subcontracts and (v) the role of the lead contractor (construction systems integrator) in creating and managing a production facility which can change dramatically over the duration of single contract.

An investigation of the current suite of sensor technologies available found that they can be used for the realtime tracking of materials in most scenarios. The technologies currently available are relatively advanced, and the commercial solutions available would easily cater to most construction processes. Cost and associated factors may limit an organisation from adopting such technologies. Real-time tracking information can be made available on smartphones and dashboards by combining multiple sensors (such as GPS, cellular communications, barcode, RFID, and other specific sensors). A number of barriers and challenges for the digitalisation of the construction supply chain traceability were also investigated. The degree to which the digital traceability’s results are visible to the adopters seems to be an important issue. This is the ability to track the transport of the material through the supply chain, to identify delays and aid project management. Some highly critical drivers and benefits (e.g., enhancing supply chain collaboration, and greater supply chain transparency) may only be fully achieved if the entire construction supply chain really engages in the traceability digitalisation. Some barriers and challenges (e.g., short term relationships, and unbalanced risk across the supply chain) may be inherent to the way the construction supply chain is designed and, hence, more difficult to overcome.

Recommendations:

The study suggests that the more companies advance in using supply chain tracking, the more aware they will become of the benefits and challenges. Master Builders continue to promote the benefits of supply chain tracking as the process will become critical to reducing product substitution improving compliance and project management.

Full Project Report: https://building4pointzero.org/projects/ automated-tracking-of-constructionmaterials-for-improved-supply-chainlogistics-and-provenance-phase-1scoping-study/

Project 12 - VR/AR technologies in vocational education and training

Commenced: February 2021

Completed: February 2022

Reason for participation:

To ensure that the BLSC programs and technology is kept up to date with the latest developments in digital technologies.

Project Brief:

Skills such as digital literacy, complex problem solving, judgment and decision making will become essential for VET graduates to respond to 21st century market demands. This will require changes in the educational and training approaches used in the VET sector to ensure that trainees are introduced to real-world scenarios where they can develop or update their workrelated skills to align with 21st-century conditions. In response to these workforce and technology pressures, this project has studied the implications and opportunities of integrating immersive learning in the VET training delivery process to enhance the trainees’ job-related skills.

Obj 1: To evaluate the significant challenges and identify the opportunities for the use of innovative virtual reality/ augmented technologies in existing vocational training.

Obj2: To identify the available digital technologies (VR/AR/MR) for different types of VET skill development in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

Obj3: To develop an appropriate workflow process for translating conventional vocational skill training into a virtual reality/augmented reality environment.

Obj4: To recommend how to adapt effectively digital technologies (VR/AR) in vocational skill training for the building industry.

Conclusion:

The report summarises the most significant factors that VET educational providers should consider when selecting XR (virtual, augmented and mixed realities) technologies to be implemented in VET training programs. It presents a workflow process for translating conventional vocational skill training into immersive learning using XR technologies and virtual reality/ augmented reality environments. Finally, implications for trainers are discussed. Technological changes boosted by the fourth industrial revolution have changed the skillsets required in the construction workforce. Immersive learning arises as an excellent costeffective teaching and learning approach in response to the new digital and jobready skills demanded in construction trades.

Based on an in-depth literature review, the most important criteria influencing the adoption of XR technologies in education was determined. As a part of the recommendations of this research, a decision-making framework was developed to aid in the adoption of XR technologies.

Recommendations:

That Master Builders investigate the decision-making framework to determine if it is applicable to apply to future decisions when considering new training and technology directions.

Full Project Report: https://building4pointzero.org/projects/ vr-ar-technologies-in-vocationaleducation-and-training-scoping-study/