It typically takes a few years to get a major capital project underway—and a handful more to physically create it. Once complete, however, the results stand for decades. When it comes to sustainability in construction, emerging technology is playing a larger role than ever before. Sensors, drones, artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual reality can help enable environmentally responsible processes while reducing costs and improving data reliability. The sooner these technologies are incorporated the better.

Capital construction is a dynamic process. Sustainability doesn’t end when a new building is finished—it’s constant. New innovations are increasing the viability of sustainable buildings from design and building materials to construction and operations. As a project moves from conception to completion and beyond, however, it becomes more difficult to modify. To ensure the capability for alternative energy sources and other resource-efficient processes, putting plans in place as early as the design brief is recommended.

Emerging technologies have the ability to design, develop, create and analyze vast data sets as well as communicate across far-flung design teams and supply chains. These technologies are automating mundane processes and impacting change at clear and measurable rates. They can also be harnessed to advise stakeholders to make more informed decisions.

Sensors

The internet of things is providing data from sensors that not only track the location and usage of material and on-site labor, but can also sense when concrete has sufficiently set—allowing the next trade to proceed. In operations, sensors are capable of making real-time, fully autonomous decisions to enhance environmental quality for the occupants inside the building. Natural lighting, for example, can be maximized and energy costs limited using sensors to measure live data such as indoor and outdoor climate, head count and lighting.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the operations of buildings alone account for up to 40% of total final energy consumption worldwide. In addition, the average building wastes 30% of the total energy it consumes annually. The use of sensors acting together through a connected network to collect and analyze live building data and automate core building functionality can greatly eliminate global waste.

Drones

Drones have the ability to monitor large-scale infrastructure developments such as pipelines and transmission lines—eliminating the laborious task of sending crews to “walk the line”—and can also easily reach otherwise inaccessible locations. How many leaky roofs could have been avoided if a drone had reported a buildup of water or blocked gutters sooner?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

The potential data that is now digitized at the conclusion of a capital project can form the baseline for maintenance and sustainability of the asset. Applying AI and ML to these datasets, usage and deterioration patterns can be identified and workflow interventions can be initiated automatically. This is especially important as many new innovations will occur over the lifetime of a building.

Virtual Reality

Change is going to happen over the life of the asset. When changes are proposed, using virtual reality can make them faster, easier and more effective to assess. Virtual walkthroughs can quickly demonstrate to stakeholders what a particular concept would look like and also produce a guide to the potential cost and schedule to achieve it. Modifications could be made before a costly design team is created.

When considering emerging technologies, it’s important to identify the mission aimed to achieve as it relates to sustainability. Is it technology during the construction and/or operations phase? Is the sustainable goal related to the people in the building or the people and environment around the building? It's vital to take the time to understand these questions innately. Doing so will create guiding principles for the mission, making it easier to find the ideal technology solutions that align with them.

During the concept and design phase, several different options are often proposed. Emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning tools can be used to quickly establish which option is more sustainable in the long run and ideal from a sustainability point of view in its construction. As construction is underway, sensors and drones can be used to monitor proper recycling of waste or demolished material.

Once in the operations phase, it’s important to be able to leverage and repurpose the data already established—not only as a suitable baseline for decades to come, but also to avoid the recreation of data. How many times have surveyors been called in because the existing as-built drawings don’t exist or are inaccurate?

Additionally, companies contemplating technologies to enhance sustainability should keep in mind the following.

• Explore the options. Find a suitable technology partner that not only knows the tech, but also the industry. A system agnostic partner with construction experience can offer the expertise needed to effectively lead and manage a digital transformation.
• Start early and start small. It’s too late to demand 3D models of groundworks after excavating has already begun. Also, when rolling out new technology, consider starting with a local $3 million warehouse rather than a $15 billion petrochemical project on the other side of the planet.
• Begin with the end in mind. It’s not about getting the first concrete poured or the first item off production. Emphasis should be placed on how the asset can be created in a sustainable way and maintained in a world that will have increased scrutiny and expectation in regards to sustainability.

Sustainability is a long-term goal. Its mission doesn’t start and stop in a single phase, but rather is built throughout the process. It’s embedded in the culture of the building and its people—and spans for the life cycle of the asset. By constantly evaluating how the technology is being used, it can be ensured that handoffs from one phase to another are done properly with clean data and all technologies are being leveraged to their potential.