GREEN LIVING

Building 4.0 Cooperative Research

Dr Phillip Alviano Sustainability Advisor

The CRC 4.0 aims to help the building and construction sector become more efficient by conducting industry-driven research into new technologies and techniques. It focuses on digitally enabled solutions and new manufacturing products to develop an internationally competitive, dynamic and thriving Australian advanced manufacturing sector, delivering better buildings at lower cost and the human capacity to lead the future industry. The building and construction industry is an enormous contributor to the economy, employing around 1.4 million Australians and representing around 13 per cent of GDP. Australia’s existing high-cost, low-tech building sector is an ideal target for the disruption that most experts agree is heading towards the sector. Building 4.0 CRC will help prepare the industry and place Australia among world leaders in the field. For decades, the building and construction industry has been plagued by rising costs, stagnant productivity, high waste and low margins. These problems are compounded by the record demand for buildings of increasing complexity and higher performance standards, with increased customer expectations and sustainability requirements. The industry needs to meet these demands while finding new efficiencies to lower costs; Building 4.0 CRC has been established to help deliver these needs. As a key industry partner of the Building 4.0 Cooperative Research Centre, Master Builders Victoria sits alongside other project partners, including Lendlease, Monash University, the University of Melbourne, BlueScope, CSR, Schiavello, Master Builders Victoria and others. Master Builders Victoria is invested in the future of the building and construction industry, and the work with the Building 4.0 is part of making this future a reality. MBV is currently involved in the following projects.

ePlanning and eApprovals – Scoping Study (Commenced March 2021).

MBV understands that planning can be a pain point for many builders, and we know that planning and building approval processes are still largely paper (PDF) based. This makes the process inefficient and time-consuming, imposing high costs on both industry and government. This scoping study, as part of the longerterm objective of the CRC’s work in this area, is to embrace the opportunities that digital workflow and digital twin technology provide to design, develop and deliver an innovative digital platform to facilitate effective, efficient and timely planning, building permits, approvals, ongoing compliance with planning controls, building regulations and other regulatory requirements. The scoping study is about to be concluded with a strategic and roadmap report. This report will detail the project’s findings and provide a framework for the required future work to deliver an online planning and approvals network.

Virtual reality/augmented reality technologies in vocational education and training (scoping study) (Commenced April 2021)

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is a major part of Australia’s education system. It is crucial to train practitioners with innovative technologies to gain fundamental critical and creative thinking skills, information and communication technology capability, and intercultural understanding to meet Australia’s future workforce. This project aims to explore the integrated utilisation of VR/AR technologies in the VET system. Innovative vocational education based on VR/AR can provide initial skilling and help workers retrain as jobs and industries evolve. The scoping study will be used to define desirable extended reality technologies for the design and development/ evaluation of appropriate skill training platforms in building construction.

Automated tracking of construction materials for improved supply chain logistics and provenance – phase 1 scoping study

GREEN LIVING

Centre (CRC) prepares for future

logistics and product providence is of high importance for our industry. This project investigates the building supply chain and assesses tracking technologies to determine those most suitable for the construction sector. Recent highly publicised building failures, such as cladding, have been compounded by an inability to trace non-conforming materials. New contracts include requirements for materials to be compliant with several environmental initiatives and antislavery legislation. New modes of data capture allow us to register compliance, track materials to the site, track construction progress, and provide ongoing traceability. The efficiency of the construction process also benefits from being able to track building materials along the supply chain. The location of the materials can be monitored in real-time, highlighting any delivery delays and allowing preparation for on-site arrival. If you would like more information or contribute, please contact Philip Alviano via email at palviano@mbav.com.au or phone 9411 4577.

Building and Construction Lawyers

Andrew Whitelaw - Director hitelaw - Director awhitelaw@wflawyers.com.au

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