Enhancing worksite connectivity with a truly constructible process
The most successful construction projects follow a genuinely constructible process that ensures you work with the most accurate data and the most integrated workflows. Collaboration and connectivity are also essential, increasing understanding and knowledge sharing among team members to improve a project’s overall quality.
The real value of constructible data
One of the significant challenges construction workers face – both at the office and onsite – is the lack of accurate information needed to execute their job. Many hours and resources are often spent searching for the latest version of a drawing or a report or trying to find a particular detail needed for the work to progress. In the worst-case scenario, some construction projects even fail onsite when somebody discovers that a critical component is missing, or does not fit in place as described in the drawings.
The capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of the construction plan throughout the different stages of your project guarantees that you, your team, and your project stakeholders have all the information needed to get the work done efficiently. Information is key. However, it does not add much value to your project when the information you get is outdated, incomplete, or isolated. This is when constructible data makes the difference, as it provides you with a deeper view and insights to make better decisions.
Constructible data bridges the gap between the office, the field, and the factory – enabling greater team collaboration and connection. BIM data is the backbone of a constructible process. However, the constructible process itself goes deeper than 3D modeling. Constructible data includes financial, procurement, logistical, geospatial, and part-and-material based information. All this together helps you to create a comprehensive and up-to-date view of a construction project.
Constructible data helps you to increase your planning accuracy and control while reducing human error, duplicate effort, and unnecessary rework. Projects using constructible data typically have better production efficiency, lower expenses, and shortened timelines.
Constructible data for a better-connected workflow
Data is everywhere. Drawings, reports, lists, calculations, prints – you name it. The common practice in the construction industry is to create data in silos. For example, somebody may use specific apps to create certain project deliverables for just one phase of a project, or they may only save files locally so that nobody else can access them. When data is fragmented in this way, then the construction workflow is fragmented too.
No one can execute a construction project alone. Human processing, interpretation and collaboration are needed to create input for downstream processes. A constructible process enables you to develop how you create, maintain, and distribute the data you and your stakeholders need to succeed in your project.
A constructible model plays an essential role in this process by empowering you to see your project in a deeper dimension. The constructible data lets you know if the building you designed can indeed be built. It provides you with information about geometries, locations, quantities, and other logistical requirements with a broader perspective than simple 3D models or drawings.
The constructible model also serves as a tool for communicating with different stakeholders. You can present your project to prospects and customers during the bidding phase, enriching the model with various components and information. You can use the same model to communicate with all the different parties involved in a construction project.
The constructible model enables one to see the project in its totality – from the tiniest component detail to how it all fits together as an integrated whole.
The process and the model walk hand in hand – breaking down silos, enhancing the team’s information flow, and keeping all the data and processes connected.
Connectivity: ensuring construction efficiency with Trimble Connect
Accessing data is the first step to enhancing collaboration among your team members and any other stakeholders. Sharing information and getting insights from the collected data is crucial in ensuring the efficiency of a construction project.
Trimble Connect is an open collaboration tool that connects the right people to the right data at the right time – enabling informed decision making and enhancing project efficiency. The tool serves as a central information source where different documents – such as drawings, IFC files, and models – are available for all the personnel involved in a project. Trimble Connect lets you securely view, manage and share all the information with your project team members. In this way, you can help your team and any collaborator to understand your project’s details without the hassle of sending multiple emails or files. Team members can find, view and share information at any time from any location.
By sharing information on time, you can encourage different stakeholders to actively participate in the planning and discussion phases, improving collaboration and getting everyone on board from the very beginning. Accessing the latest information reduces guesswork and misunderstandings and opens an opportunity to raise concerns, find clashes, and solve issues before construction begins. The best of all is that with Trimble Connect you can pull up your project wherever you are on any device – straight from the cloud.
Construction sites often do not have an adequate internet connection, and therefore you sometimes need offline access to information and data. The Trimble Connect Sync tool helps to maintain local copies of all critical files and data.
Trimble Connect lets you see the model itself, providing you with a visual picture of the whole project and even the tiniest detail. Before building, you can review the site elements and components, and ensure alignment with the various construction processes. Trimble Connect’s accessibility capabilities enable you and your team to access and view the data on mobile and on tablets, so you can easily take it to any site or customer meeting.