Construction Forecast Issue Home

March 30, 2000

The push is on to bring technology into construction

Research group says high-tech tools can cut construction costs, maximize quality and reduce project times.

By RUSTY HAGGARD
Construction Industry Institute

Long a dream of major players in the engineering and construction industry, integrating the latest computer, communications and other technologies into construction projects has moved one step closer to reality.

The Construction Industry Institute - a national clearinghouse for construction research - recently formed FIATECH, a consortium to bring about fully integrated and automated technology applications to construction. The National Institute of Standards and Testing, a member of CII, will also take a lead role in the consortium start-up activities by providing measurement and prediction technology tools and is developing a testbed to demonstrate FIATECH-originated systems.

Ken Eickmann, director of CII, says that FIATECH will change the way construction projects are planned and executed. Eickmann, a retired U.S. Air Force general, headed a similar effort between industry, government and academia at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that sought to develop more efficient aircraft design and manufacturing.

"Construction has a disadvantage when you compare it with other industries that are able to use technologies the way they were meant to be used," he said. "We’re not building projects in laboratories, and we’re not building repeat projects time after time. The manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace industries have some built-in advantages that have allowed them to advance dramatically. We think we can take that step with construction, and the potential payback is huge."

CII, established in 1983 as a result of an industry study by the Business Roundtable, is comprised of 86 leading companies from both the owner and the contractor side of construction. The institute provides a forum for the owners and contractors, who normally are on opposing sides in a construction project, to get together to fund research and to find and use new ways that lead to more effective planning and execution of capital projects.

"The vision in the construction industry has long been to take a dramatic step with the available technologies and integrate them into a project from start to finish," explains Eickmann.

The consortium aims to have buildings constructed at 40-percent less cost than today, he said.

"If we can do that, the other benefits will fall into place," he said. "One of those will be improved return on investment. Another will be the ability to use our resources more effectively on the owner’s core business objectives. It’s got all the makings of a breakthrough."

The engineering and construction industry is definitely at the time and place where it could use a dramatic increase in efficiency. Historically, the industry has invested little in research and development, and the pressures of delivering quality projects on time and under budget are almost impossible to provide and still make a profit. A natural fascination with the constructed project, however, keeps the industry healthy and hopeful.

"Our industry is unique," Eickmann says, "and that’s part of its appeal to the public. Everyone has an interest in seeing a project, whether it’s an airport or a new office building, get started and completed. What we’re trying to do is make that project that everyone is watching more effective, more efficient, and more affordable. Integrating technology is going to help us in an infinite number of ways."

Eickmann says the success of FIAPP, and consequently FIATECH, could provide facilities that are more a strategic part of an owner’s business model. FIATECH will integrate current industry-wide efforts.

With the help of CII and NIST in the initial stages, the consortium eventually will evolve into a self-sustaining and self-managed non-profit organization. The consortium will apply leveraged funding to its research and development programs, with members getting first-hand access to the results.

Also, with documented successes from other industries to model and build upon, FIATECH will develop and adopt communications standards that digitally link all phases of design, procurement, construction, and operations and maintenance to achieve cycle time and life-cycle cost reductions.

"The benefits will go to owners, contractors and suppliers," Eickmann said. "Practically anyone who is a stakeholder in a major project will see the up side of what FIATECH can bring."

For instance, owners will benefit from reduced costs and schedules and a dramatic improvement in effectiveness, he said. Contractors may better integrate their processes with the owner’s business objectives and gain influence with software developers. And finally, the suppliers will be able to use common standards, lower their development costs, and make more effective use of their internal research and development sources.

CII is currently recruiting the managing director for FIATECH. CII is based at the University of Texas, but its members have global construction interests and activities. Technology research has long been a part of the CII staple of funded studies, but the integration of the technologies is a major challenge. Although well worth it, noted Eickmann.