Episode 06 -
Building smarter

Accelerated call-to-cash and improved customer satisfaction in AEC through digital transformation

In Episode 6 of Scanning Realities, we talk to Sam Dougherty from AECOM to discover how reality capture empowers construction, BIM and Virtual Design professionals to deliver forward-thinking projects that meet client’s requirements.

What does the future of the AEC industry hold? Which technologies will help us build faster, better, smarter?

Advanced large-scale reality capture capabilities are helping construction leaders transform the services they provide, streamline workflows, and impact project lifecycles from pre-construction planning to post-construction management.

One such leader is Sam Dougherty, Vice President and Digital Practice and Technology Market Sector Lead at AECOM. Sam brings extensive experience as a land surveyor to his role supporting the US East Digital Leadership Team. He believes that laser scanning provides a foundation for intelligent 3D modeling – driving greater accuracy and minimizing errors in construction.

In this conversation, we discuss how digital transformation initiatives are helping deliver the future of AEC planning. Let’s unpack some of the key takeaways.

How does AECOM use reality capture?

Sam’s team has scanned over 640 million square feet of property, including warehouses, laboratories, offices and airports. Reality capture helps drive the quality and consistency that make AECOM projects a success.

For AECOM, reality capture is an evolution of the old way of modeling – which was sketch-based – that created inconsistency in model quality. Inaccuracies and errors led to repeat site visits and a hamstrung planning process.

Today, reality capture ensures consistency across multiple stages of AECOM’s project lifecycle. These include:

Planning and design documentation – Reality capture helps AECOM capture as much information as possible to inform design decision-making. It minimizes design time and expedites the construction documentation phase.

Post-construction – AECOM uses reality capture to create as-built drawings, allowing contractors and owners to understand the project’s final components. They can inspect what was installed to modify orders, pay correctly and reduce claims.

What challenges are there for AEC digital transformation?

Reality capture is helping steer digital transformation in AEC – but progress varies massively depending on location, client maturity, and capabilities. In Sam’s words, “digital transformation is a mile wide and an inch deep. Everybody’s doing a little bit of it.”

But what’s slowing down progress?

Security can be perceived as a major challenge. Some executives are put off by any potential risks associated with reality capture, so it is easier to employ it where no strict security governance is in place. However, this does not mean that reality capture technology is unsafe. The manufacturing and process industries – much more advanced in digital adoption – have already demonstrated its safety by embracing it on a large scale.

Other factors, such as how decision-makers communicate the benefits of reality capture to stakeholders, can also suppress adoption. Sam emphasizes the importance of assessing risk vs. reward and ensuring that client needs are put first.

If we want digital transformation in construction to accelerate, we shouldn’t push reality capture wherever we can – we should introduce it when it delivers the most value to the client. This is what will encourage long-term buy-in.

What’s in a digital twin?

‘Digital twin’ means different things to contractors, clients, and makers – so it’s vital to be aligned in approach. AECOM defines digital twins as virtual representations of objects or assets that model real business scenarios, to accelerate decision-making and real-world outcomes.

For a digital twin to drive value, certain criteria must be met. According to Sam, they should measure and track asset data, create a seamless technology ecosystem, and be advanced based on a client’s digital maturity and business needs. AECOM asks questions to assess a client’s objectives and key use cases.

While still relatively new, digital twins are growing in popularity in AEC. Sam reports that his team is seeing movement towards digital twin products and delivery – but this doesn’t always look the same.

“People think of a digital twin as a 3D model – but it doesn’t always have to be the case. We recently did a digital project for an owner where we created a dashboard that ties into AASHTOWare and their existing documentation to forecast interest rates during and after Covid.

“You think about that and you say, well, that’s not a 3D model. Nobody laser scanned anything. But it’s absolutely a digital twin, because it’s living. It’s a digital representation of the infrastructure that they have, and it’s a twin used for data analysis, risk, and predictive outcomes.”

Other recent AECOM projects include:

The Manhattan West Project – AECOM Tishman and Brookfield Developments captured digital twin data for their mixed-use development in New York City. Reality capture enabled a smooth handover to entities who purchased space, helping them integrate and document changes to support decision-making and budgeting.

Campus plumbing system – Existing constructions can also benefit from reality capture. AECOM produced a plumbing system inventory on 2 million square feet of a campus, equipped with a 3D model. This allowed on-site maintenance staff to train in the digital facility using Navisworks, streamlining building operations.

What’s next for reality capture in construction?

Digital transformation supports planning for complex projects, but as the work increases in complexity, schedules shrink. Every organization wants projects to grow bigger and move faster. But for reality capture, the speed of data movement is bottlenecking progress.

Many providers and vendors are moving towards anonymous registration, file shrinking, and other digital solutions to address the speed challenge. Next, Sam believes the industry will accelerate modeling and shorten the time from call to cash, using technologies like AI and machine learning.

Yet, as technology progresses, education must too. Sam emphasizes the need for an informed, multi-disciplinary workforce to understand the impacts of the solutions they use.

Reality capture will help construction professionals better focus on client needs. But we must continue delivering results to build confidence in reality capture. At that point, the industry won’t need to try and sell the client their solution – it will sell itself.