8 INDUSTRY NEWS
£1m funding secured for Virtual Reality research
while providing a greater level of collabora- tion and communication between teams and partners on projects. Reducing the need for paper or mobile based handheld devices, the system gives workers a hands free, ‘heads-up’ solution to offer a greater level of safety, while providing real-time visualisation for staff on site. Business secretary Greg Clark hailed the
An industry consortium has secured funding to pioneer virtual and augmented reality in construction. Government body Innovate UK has
awarded £1m to a consortium led by Soluis Group to develop an Augmented Worker System which will enable the “intelligent design, construction, maintenance and whole-life value of buildings, supporting construction and infrastructure growth”. It is hoped the Augmented Worker
System will also realise significant value from Building Information Modelling (BIM) the project is targeting a 25 per cent reduction in cost, 25 per cent reduction in waste, and an increase in productivity of 30 per cent for projects. Soluis Group will work with partner
organisations, including Pinnacle Business Solutions, Carbon Dynamic, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the Advanced Forming Research Centre. The consortium will also be supported by
key industry organisations that will comprise a steering group, such as AECOM, Doosan Babcock, Laing O’Rourke, Autodesk and Microsoft. The Government said that because the
construction sector is key to the UK’s economy, “with considerable opportunities for growth,” it has been investing through its Digital Built Britain (DBB) programme. Through the implementation of DBB, the Government hopes the industry will be able to deliver faster builds to a higher quality, with fewer defects and in a more sustainable manner. The challenge for the industry is meeting the DBB BIM level mandated by the government, but the Augmented Worker System is hoped to provide augmented virtual reality to improve the construction process at every stage, ensuring these standards are met. The Augmented Worker System has been
designed to improve five key areas of construction: Co-design, digital job guidance, progress monitoring, safety guidance and asset management. This intends to allow jobs to be delivered on time, and within budget,
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research, claiming such innovations are ‘at the heart’ of the government’s vision for a modern industrial strategy. “The adoption of cutting-edge virtual and
augmented reality technology in industries like construction will be vital in helping us identify new, smarter ways of working,” said Clark. “This government-backed initiative
will help build the UK’s reputation and expertise in the pioneering use of this technology, while helping make construction projects of the future more efficient, cost effective and productive.” Martin McDonnell, chairman of Soluis
Group, explained the background of the project: “The proof of concept project with Crossrail showed how this technology could be applied and add incredible value to the industry. Our vision was to develop this concept much further and create a set of tools that would form the augmented worker of the future. “For a business like us,” he continued,
“we could only drive this innovation a certain amount, and working with the consortium and receiving funding from Innovate UK will help us achieve this much faster and more effectively.” David Philp, BIM director at AECOM,
believes construction technology is reshaping the way companies deliver and maintain their assets. He said: “It is increasingly helping us
place digital information into the real world in the right context, supporting and augmenting the decision making process. “Real time access to individualised data,
analytics and instructions during the construction and operational stages will greatly improve productivity, quality and also help worker well-being. Creating a frame- work and guidance around the augmented worker is critically important if we are to successfully unlock this value proposition.”
Infrastructure sector hits six- year low
Construction contract values for the sector have reached £2.5bn, but the figures for the infrastructure sector have reached the lowest total for more than six years. The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from Barbour ABI highlights the levels of construction contract values awarded in July across all regions of Great Britain, which totalled £5.4 billion based on a three month rolling average, still well below this year’s peak of £6.5bn from March.
Looking across all the construction sectors in July, it was infrastructure that provided the biggest surprise, producing just £784m worth of construction contract value, a 97 per cent annual decrease and its worst performing month for more than six years. Typically one big value infrastructure project is commissioned each month, which was absent in July.
Outside of January and February this
year, housebuilding figures reached £2.5bn for July - the highest value for any month since Barbour ABI began tracking the series six years ago. Furthermore, four of the top 10 biggest construction contracts agreed this month came from housebuilding. Commenting on the figures, Michael
Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Overall construction figures remained steady in July, thanks to the robustness of the housebuilding sector, producing another strong month. “Across July there were 925 construction projects commissioned, but these did not fall consistently across the sectors, putting an ever-increasing emphasis on housebuilding’s robust figures to make up for the lack of investment in other parts of construction.”
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