The development industry has to always maintain pace together with the ‘developments’ all over the world (pun intended?). Whether it is climate change, climate adaptation, sustainable living, or technological Advancements like AR/VR or Metaverse, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)...these are earning new ‘ground-breaking’ innovations in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry.
1. Multi-disciplinary Collaboration with BIM
The AEC industry ofttimes involves a lot of disciplines in a project that it's hard to make a record. Civil Engineers, Architects, MEP Consultants, HVAC Consultants, Contractors, Subcontractors, Clients…finding efficient systems that help from the collaboration of such disciplines turns into a project in itself.
By after the latest technology, from the companies are eradicating this issue. By using advanced building construction technology such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), cloud collaboration across various disciplines and updates in real-time around the various changes and enhancements in the design is currently possible. From conception to completion, and further towards the operations stage, all the information regarding the project can be saved in the type of a collaborative virtual model using BIM.
2. Extending our Realities- AR and VR
Another trend in Civil Engineering and construction has been induced using Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). AR is basically about viewing an inventive world by having a lens. The usage of AR enables planning and plotting sites even before breaking ground (for real on this occasion). VR is approximately creating and accessing the virtual world through immersive technology.
Imagine this: You create an in depth style of assembling your shed using BIM software, and you show it on your clients using VR! Description of how the can walk round the entire project and view everything for their own reasons before construction even begins!
3. Use of Advanced Materials
With constant innovation in technology and construction techniques, as well as the evident climate change and climate change around the world, it is only natural that new materials are now being developed. Several of these previously started to be widely adopted across the construction industry.
Among the best emerging trends in Civil Engineering is the recycling of materials that are tough to dispose of to be utilized as construction materials. Plastics are now being incorporated into roadways and 3D printed projects. Fractional co2 (CO2) that's obtained as a by-product of various industrial processes will be injected into concrete during ‘curing’, mixing to chemicals and forming nanoparticles of limestone imparting with it an incredible compressive strength.
Self-healing concrete is the one other result of innovation in civil engineering and construction. It gets its ‘self-healing’ properties from calcite-precipitating bacteria, which germinate whenever water enters the cracks in decaying concrete to ‘fill the gaps.’
And that's even if it's just the gist than it. From kinetic paving, that generates electricity from footsteps, 4D-printed structures which might be competent at reshaping or self-assembling over time, to smog-eating buildings which might be coated in photo-catalytic titanium dioxide that neutralises air pollutants by reacting with light...other great tales, and also on.
4. The Fab. Prefab. (and 3D-Printing)
It isn't just the off-site work that is experiencing changes and new strategies to doing things. New technology and methods are generating their strategy to the construction site as well.
The scope of prefabrication has increased tremendously over the last decade. Particularly with enough time saved by using BIM during the conception and detailing phase of a project, the various stakeholders ideate over the material alternatives and scope of prefabrication within the project.
Another interesting emerging trend in civil engineering is the latest construction technology of 3D Printing. With innovations in techniques and materials, 3D Printed structures are well enroute to becoming among the cheapest and quickest strategies to construction.
5. Machine Interventions - Decreasing the ‘workload’
The use of machines like robots and exoskeletons is yet another trend in civil engineering. Nearly they resolve mundane tasks without difficulty, they also assist safety and autonomy on-site during construction.
Exoskeletons are ‘suits’ worn by construction workers on site, to help and/or increase their mobility and workability. Using exoskeletons prevents injuries caused by manually handling things and from hand-arm vibration.
Comparatively, Robots completely take away the need for the involvement of workers in certain tasks. Robots are helpful in automating highly repetitive tasks like brick-laying and tying rebar.
6. Building Sustainably
Combined with the utilization of sustainable materials and adopting better construction methods on-site, the current trends in civil engineering are focusing on sustainable buildings.
The application of smart materials embedded in buildings run by intelligent electric grids is developing a system of construction that's at the forefront to creating more energy-efficient housing. The use of innovative ideas like double-skin facades, PV panels etc. can be preparing this. Efficient spatial planning can be in focus. The truth is, considerations of building sustainability are an integral part of the structure Information Modelling system.
7. Smart Designs
The surveys and inquiries are now being accomplished using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or Drones, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning during construction are assisting to improve productivity, safety superiority construction.
The web of products (IoT) is yet another innovation in civil engineering merging a network of structures like smart housing societies that function through detection sensors and energy-efficient methodologies while calculating and analysing their performance for only further improvement in the future. The information Ecosystem created through such systems is assisting in a better demographic and technical analytics of many neighbourhoods.
In today’s point in time, with innovation and technology driving everything and changing in a rapid pace, it might be important to maintain your latest construction technology and its particular implication for your industry. The educational curriculum is often outdated or lacks enough experience such new technology in civil engineering and also other relevant fields.
Since these trends yield instant results and economic benefits for all those stakeholders, employees using a expertise in such technologies are often to determine better career options and faster career growth. Are you aware that employees in BIM roles earn around 40% higher salaries?
For more information check out this useful resource: explore