Construction Technology: The need of the hour!

In the past, the construction industry has been extremely reticent in adopting technology. Prime hurdles include education among skilled labour, on-the-job training, use of manual labour instead of machines, and lack of enforceability.

But technology is now transforming the way buildings are designed; modular construction or even advanced technology like 3D printing, robotics, AI, machine learning, etc, can deliver business benefits.

Evidently, technology is here to stay, and we have to ensure that we can utilise it to accelerate what we are intending to do.

Construction World Magazine under the aegis of ASAPP Info Global Group and FIRST Construction Council, is organising the 

on July 22-23, 2021, virtually to identify proven, innovative and globally established construction technologies. CW provides you with an opportunity to join an exclusive community of like-minded professionals, discovering how technology is being used to improve the design, delivery, and operation of construction projects in India.

We are curating three exclusive panel discussions, interactive keynotes, and expert interviews helping you to better focus your day to understand how modern technologies are catalysing productivity, innovation and quality.

Here are highlights of the two-day summit:

  • Avenues for interaction among stakeholders that can open up new areas for collaboration and will facilitate conversion of ideas into market-ready products.
  • Platform to witness paradigm shift in the manner in which construction is perceived in the country.
  • Inviting start-ups to present their solutions at our INNOVATION LAB.
  • DAY 1: 22 JULY

    SMART DESIGN with BIM

    Building Information Modelling (BIM) has made a revolution in the way we design, construct and manage our project’s life-cycle. BIM has far and reaching consequences on both building procurement and infrastructure. This recent emergence constitutes one of the most exciting developments in the field of the Built Environment. These advances have offered project teams multi-sensory collaborative tools and opportunities for new communication structures.

    DAY 1 of the Construction Technology Summit will focus on BIM implementation, its benefits, and application to project life-cycle and tools, technologies, and techniques in BIM.

    Here, Dr. Amarnath CB, President, BIM Association of India & Head-BIM Strategy, Larsen & Toubro Construction, will deliver an industry keynote on ‘2020 – 21: The year for Data-Driven Efficiency’. Data-driven design can increase productivity and drive efficiency in project management processes. What becomes clear is that the real value relies on the data about all relevant building information which are integrated into the BIM model. A quick look through on how data-driven approach adds to the efficiency of design.

    This will be followed by a technology keynote by Kalyanaraman Vaidyanathan, Director–Business Development, Bentley Systems, on ‘Construction 4.0 - Data Driven Project Controls powered by BIM’.

    This will be followed by power-packed panel discussions as below:

    Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Design, Construction, and Operations
    This session fulfills the vital task of bringing together experts from industry, practice, and academia to debate and to develop innovative solutions, and predict future trends.

  • Implementation of BIM and Virtual & Design Construction on the Cloud
  • BIM for Time Management, Cost Management
  • Overcome common processes challenges (poor visibility, BIM compliance, project overruns)
  • BIM & growing need for prefab structures
  • Moderator: Yash Pratap Singh, Partner – Major Projects Advisory, KPMG

    Speakers

  • Amarnath CB, President, BIM Association of India and Head-BIM Strategy, Larsen & Toubro Construction
  • Kasturi Srinivas, Regional Director, Bentley Systems
  • Rohini Kulkarni, BIM & VDC, Digital Transformation Specialist, AECOM
  • Tushar Vagal, CIO & Head Digital, L&T Realty
  • Sonali Dhopte, Director, Excelize
  • Decoding Design Challenges with BIM
    In this session, we look at some of the iconic projects in Mumbai and how BIM was used in planning and designing of the projects.

    Speakers

  • Sachin Kale, India BIM Lead, BuroHappold
  • Muralimanoj Varadhrajan, Conputational Lead, BuroHappold
  • Understanding BIM Challenges in planning and designing
    Moderator: Mr. Nikhil Bagalkotkar, APAC Technical Head, AEC Business, Autodesk

    Speakers

  • Rajendra Hiremath, Managing Director, Synergy Infrasys
  • Sandeep Roy, Head – Design, AIPL
  • Navneet Aron, Founder and CEO, Livio Building System
  • Rupesh Gujarathi, Director, Electro-mech India
  • Evolving Role of the Modern BIM manager
    Reliance on complex software is increasing in the construction industry. This session will explore the traditional BIM management role, and how that role is adapting and expanding with innovative tools and technologies.

  • The evolving role of BIM Manager in AEC projects
  • How is the software supporting the evolution of this role?
  • Upskilling and training required to stay on top
  • How leading firms are using tools such as Digital Twin, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence to take a whole life-cycle approach when tackling building projects
  • Moderator: Jose Kurian, Sr. Project Adviser, Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board

    Speakers

  • Ajith Menon, MD & CEO, BIMAGE Consulting
  • Parveen Sharma, CEO, The BIM Engineers
  • Ar. Venu Natraj, Director, Vesina Construction
  • DAY 2: 23 July

    INNOVATION in CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

    The global construction machinery market is expected to grow from $204.24 billion in 2020 to $226.97 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $321.21 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 9.1%.

    Most of the construction companies are facing heavy equipment operator shortage throughout the world. Manufacturers are more focused towards technology such as robotics and automation primarily to combat labour shortages along with finishing up their tasks faster, reduce wastage and provide high yields with improved quality. Experts believed that, one of the best solutions to combat labour shortage is to automate construction equipment, especially in remote areas, for repetitive tasks and in locations with significant labour shortages. Therefore, shortage in labour or skilled workforce is driving the Autonomous construction equipment market.

    Further, new construction technology companies are shaking up the industry, from the digital transformation of the design process to preconstruction estimation software, scheduling, predictive analytics, and asset management. With these new technologies and industry-wide digital transformation comes data – and lots of it. The construction industry is experiencing a dynamic era of rapid innovation. In many ways, construction equipment manufacturers are starting to adapt to advances in telematics, autonomous machinery, and electromobility — to name a few. DAY 2 of the Construction Technology Summit is talking about strategic partnerships among equipment makers and equipment users that are driving this change.

    DAY 2 of the Construction Technology Summit will focus on Construction Equipment.

    Here, Nitesh Jain, Director, CRISIL, will deliver an industry keynote on ‘Beyond 2021: CE market in India during and post pandemic’.

    This will be followed by power-packed panel discussions as below:
    Gearing up for National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) with innovation in Constuction Equipment
    The new generation equipment from OEMs is preempting the needs for implementing projects along National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) like DMICDC, Metro Rail, NHAI, Railways, Water, Ports & Airports. Smart Cities and Urban housing projects demand equipment capabilities at compressed job sites. where the equipment features need a compact design and maneuverability. Similarly mega projects need better assessment of the task at hand, better safety, low downtime and high productivity. In this session, let’s take a look at how the CE industry is responding to the needs of infrastructure across segments.

  • CE industry gearing up for NIP
  • Demand for innovative equipment in India
  • Mega Projects need precision, speed, and scale
  • Skill sets available for operating advanced equipment features
  • Moderator: Nitesh Jain, Director, CRISIL

    Speakers:

  • Basavaraj MB, Chief Engineer – Metro, MMRDA
  • Umakant Mahapatra, Dy Project Director, AYESA ING - for Mumbai Metro Project Line 7 & 2B
  • Dr. Vishal Thombre, Engineer, Coastal Road Department, MCGM
  • Atul Bhobe, Managing Director, TPF Engineering
  • Amitabha Bhattacharjee, AVP & Head Asset Management (Urban Infra), TATA Projects
  • Extreme Project Management (XPM) leading construction equipment
    Special projects like those undertaking Mining, Tunneling, Undersea tunnels, or those undertaking projects around hostile borders deserve special attention, Unfriendly sites are more demanding of construction equipment players. Such large and complex projects that are happening in extraordinary environmental conditions sometimes also require the customization of equipment. In this session, let’s look at the challenging situations and how innovation is helping in bringing about optimal solutions.

    Speaker: Prabhu Kumar LT, DGM–Civil, L&T ECC

    Optimising fuel efficiency

    Environmental and energy cost issues demand that the construction equipment industry develop more efficient and energy-saving machines. This session will talk about recent advances and whether hybridization is now on the interim answer to efficiency.

    Speaker: Kumar Gyanendra Mohan, DGM, Montecalro

    Tech Focus

    Speaker: Kalyanaraman Vaidyanathan, Director – Business Development, Bentley Systems
    Most Compelling Tech Interventions
    Contractors, Equipment owners now invest to update their fleet with an eye on most desirable tech internet ions which help them execute projects faster, economically and provide greater accountability and transparency. What features are most compelling that contractors and equipment owners look for in equipment that they use?

  • Working on the cloud to improve productivity
  • Safely integrating new equipment technology
  • RoI vs advanced features in CE
  • Moderator: Sanjay Garg, Partner, PwC India

    Speakers:

  • Mahesh Mudda, MD & CEO, New Consolidated Construction Company Ltd
  • PS Patel, Chairman & Managing Director, PSP Projects
  • Neerav Parmar, Sr. VP – Contracts & Procurement, Shapoorji Pallonji
  • KRR Chandran, VP & Head – Corporate Services – Heavy Civil, L&T
  • Siddharth Dey, Sr. VP & Head – Projects, Adani Airports
  • Evidently, India needs to drive economic activity through infrastructure and a major thrust on infrastructure projects lies in adopting technologies. JOIN US IN DRIVING THIS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY!