Construction World January 2019

G lobally, the infrastructure delivery company is one of the biggest licensed user of major software providers such as Bentley and Autodesk. The addition of VR and AR is complementary to AECOM’s use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), in which multiple design teams produce integrated 3D models. Now both the design teams and clients can ‘walk through’ VR scenes of an actual project, whether an industrial process plant such as a brewery or an automotive assembly plant, as well as commercial projects, Craig Howie, Digital Project Delivery Lead, Buildings + Places, explains. “Our aim was to show it is not really all that complicated. We are all very excited about what technology is allowing us to achieve on our projects,” Howie stresses. The VR system adopted by AECOM uses industry-standard software. An important element of this is that AECOM can visit a client and show a VR scene at their place of choice, as the technology is fully portable, whether for a client presentation or event for training purposes. AECOM now has both BIM and VR capability in its Durban, Cape Town, and Centurion offices. “Until now, we have been using a 3D model displayed on a computer screen to boost our clients’ understanding of a project. VR takes this a natural step further, as it places you literally within the ‘as built’ project,” Howie explains.“ AECOM now offers 3D models as a standard across all of its projects, even though this is not yet mandated in the local construction industry. Commenting on the adoption of BIM and immersive technologies by the South African construction industry in general, Howie points out that, while the digital revolution is being driven largely by the engineering, design, and consulting fraternity, AECOM is working closely with a number of construction companies that have expressed interest in such latest innovations.  A living document For Lukhanyo Ndube, CEO of Kouga Wind Farm, the Commitment Statement is “not a list of items to be achieved to the T – it’s a conversation document, bringing us all together in discussion as an industry.” Everyone who has worked on this document as part of the industry team has a history, he says: during their working career, they’ve seen many missed opportunities to make a difference while making profits, and they bring these individual experiences and passions to this new industry. They hope to make the most of it: “The Commitment Statement is an expression of what we think we can do, and as the conversation unfolds, the document will improve.” According to Hein Reyneke, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power South Africa, the drive to achieve the goals set out for successful bidders had two wellsprings: “Everyone in the industry recognises that we have a responsibility to the country.” On the other hand, there’s also a sense of self-preservation: “If we don’t take up the challenge to meet the demands of the NDP, if we don’t do this properly, then we won’t be able to do what we really want to do – which is produce power. From the outset, we’ve known that this was non-negotiable.” Like most in this fundamentally people-oriented industry, Reyneke spends a fair bit of time in deep rural areas to which wind

installations are bringing opportunity. The poverty trap, he says is very evident. “It’s there, it’s undeniable, it’s in your face.” Seeing this “creates quite a fundamental shift in how you think.” He muses on the difference between the children of this community and his own children: those born into poverty will be unfairly disadvantaged. The wind industry is infused with an urgency to assist with righting this social inequality and injustice. “The Commitment Statement lays the foundations for the culture of the industry,” he says. “It’s a solid guide based on real-life experience, which can be used in the next phase to make pragmatic choices, to find ways to hold each other accountable, and to set tangible, measurable goals.”  “The Commitment Statement is an expression of what we think we can do, and as the conversation unfolds, the document will improve.”

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY'S digital future The potential of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the construction and consulting engineering space was showcased at an event entitled ‘The Digital Future’ at AECOM’s Sandton office on 1 November.

13

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2019