Digital transformation across the RIBA Plan of Work, part 4: stages 6-7

This article covers stages 6-7 of the RIBA Plan of Work; click here to see our articles on stages 0-1, 2-3, and 4-5.

Some may groan at the thought of stage 7 of the RIBA Plan of Work; after all, the building is completed at stage 6! To those of the old school, stage 7 might feel like the equivalent of staying behind after school to do extra homework while everyone else is out enjoying the playground, but it's an increasingly important stage to consider. It's in the Plan of Work because the choices you make during design and construction can have an enormous impact on the overall costs and environmental impact - not to mention overall convenience - of running the building.

Since those factors are of increasing importance to owners and operators of buildings, it serves those in construction well to think carefully about how they can influence stage 7, and so make their buildings as attractive as possible to all those involved in its use.

In this article, we'll be continuing to look at how digital technologies can help you across the RIBA Plan of Work - in this case, at stages 6 and 7. In particular, and building on our last article, we'll be looking at the concept of the ‘built in cloud' building, and how technological choices you made earlier in the process have a big impact on how the building is operated.

Whereas the digital model initially informed the real world, now the real world is informing the digital model."

Stage 6 - handover

At this point, you won't be making any major decisions about technology - but you will be seeing the benefits of decisions made at stages 0-5. The technology you've both deployed on the project and built into the structure will help ensure that handover is quick and smooth - and far more comprehensive than the client might be used to. This is because you're not just handing over a physical building here - you're also handing over the digital twin that you used to construct the building, which we believe is as valuable as the building itself. That repository of information includes:

• Scans of the building and surroundings taken throughout the project.
• The original plans, and all the associated documentation.
• Detailed information about the different products used in construction (such as the types of windows and doors).
• Relevant regulatory documentation.
• Spatial data, including the dimensions of every room and object in the building.

Most importantly, because you made the decision back at stage 1 to build a true digital twin, and built an IoT hub at stage 2, your digital model is collecting live data from the building real time. That could include data on the health of various systems, energy usage, sensors designed to tell you when certain components are failing, even car park or meeting room occupancy. Combined with the intelligent data gathering and analysis that's powered by your Azure Data Factory, the model can even proactively tell the owners when they need to think about replacing windows, or light bulbs. Whereas initially the digital model informed the real world, now the real world is informing the digital model too - and that's incredibly valuable to facilities managers in helping reduce downtime of components and running the building as cost- and environmentally-efficiently as possible.

The biggest headache for any construction firm at stage 6 is undoubtedly snagging, which can take up to a year after practical completion. But, because you've used a BIM plan which made spatial coordination, clash detection, and technical design much easier, and because you used technologies including LiDAR scanning and VR during stage 5, you should find that snagging is greatly reduced, and in an ideal world would be eliminated entirely. This has obvious consequences for both the timescales and the cost of the projects, given that rework is often as much as 5% of the total cost of a building and around 7.1% of total hours spent on the project.

It's even possible for the building to order its own services and replacement parts, in a similar manner to fridges that sense when you're running low on milk."

Stage 7 - use

We've already talked a bit about how the 'built in cloud' philosophy will have a major impact on the way the building has run - and now all that talk comes to life. The operator of the building has full access and control over the digital twin handed over at stage 6, and can use that to quickly find any information they need about the building. The building systems themselves, built on high-speed, cloud-based infrastructure, are very cost-efficient to run, and energy efficient too, drastically reducing running costs for the building. Those costs savings and the overall built in cloud concept could be used to attract new clients with competitive rates, to boost profitability, or reinvested in keeping the building running.

The digital twin, combined with the building systems, will allow for predictive maintenance as we've discussed. Facilities managers will be notified when a component is likely to need replacing, or need servicing, keeping those systems running smoothly for longer. It's even possible, by connecting the digital twin to manufacturer's catalogues, for the building to order its own services and replacement parts, in a similar manner to fridges that sense when you're running low on milk for you.

Because the digital twin contains accurate spatial data about the building, facilities managers can also use the model to create floorplans and add those back in to the digital twin. Those floorplans can be used for activities such as reorganising office spaces, calculating maximum occupancy, monitoring footfall, and more. The construction firm will likely not be involved in these activities unless they also have a contract for ongoing management of the building. However, they may ask for some of the data to be passed back to them in the early stages of building ownership that might inform future developments.

The story concludes...

Throughout this series of articles, we've followed the journey of Bill Dings Ltd, the possibly-made-up construction firm that has partnered with Claranet to deliver a fully digital construction project and built-in cloud project. Over the series, we've followed them as they've used the very latest and greatest digital construction technology and IT infrastructure to streamline their project, reducing costs and timescales, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the project and the building across its lifespan. Now, the story finishes, as Bill Dings enters the final stages of the project.

Bill Dings has now finished construction of its office building, and prepares to hand it over to Lee Sing PLC, the company that will run the building and populate it with tenants. Lee Sing is given access to the digital twin, the building manual, the Azure Data Factory, and the cloud infrastructure that runs all the building systems. Lee Sing decides to continue to partner with Claranet to continue getting value from the data in the Data Factory. As a priority, they use Claranet's GreenOps and FinOps services to calculate likely running costs of the building and environmental costs; these figures are significantly lower than other buildings, and Lee Sing decides to use half of the projected savings to invest in the ongoing maintenance of the building, and half of them to make their leasing rates more competitive.

As tenants start to fill the building and use it, Lee Sing makes use of anonymised security camera footage and HoxtonAI footfall technology to monitor which areas of the building were most- and least-used, and to analyse the flow of people through the building. Six months into the building's use, Lee Sing works with Claranet's Data Practice specialists to analyse this information. They identify areas where the building can get crowded and, using the floor plan information generated from the digital twin, they make a plan to increase space and improve the flow of people. That data is also passed back to Bill Dings, who are working on another office building and use the information to adjust their new building plan accordingly.

As the months turn into years, the team at Lee Sing find that the digital twin helps them stay on top of maintenance. It notifies them when sensors indicate a leak in the refrigerant lines in the HVAC system, three weeks before the monthly checks that might have identified the issue normally. The system also notifies them when it's time to replace lighting elements, with enough notice to book the people and machinery to do the work (such as cherry pickers to reach lights in the atrium) so that the repair happens at the right time. This sort of predictive maintenance enables Lee Sing to reduce its energy bill by 20% each year, and keeps his tenants far happier.

Want to make this world a reality?

You could be forgiven for thinking that everything we've covered in this series of articles is blue-sky thinking. But the truth is that all of it is possible right now - if you've designed your building correctly. The key to making these h cloud-delivered smart systems a reality in your project is to ensure you have the right underlying infrastructure in place from stage 0 - and, often, that you work with a partner that can give you guidance and support at every stage of the Plan of Work.

After all, your expertise is in construction and in the specifics of that process - not in the planning of a next-generation building systems IT network. The investment in working with a partner will pay itself back many times over as you find the projects you work on mobilise faster and complete ahead of time, with less cost, and with more interest from clients who are keen for energy efficient buildings with a low TCO.

Thankfully, those next-generation systems and IT networks are Claranet's speciality. Our team is focused on helping any organisation that works in the built environment to embrace the cloud and cutting-edge digital construction tools. With a wide network of industry partners, we are able to support firms with consultative services that help you shape your approach to digital construction and gain deep insights into costs and the environmental impact of your work, and by introducing you to technology providers who can equip your team and your buildings with the very best in smart building systems, BIM technology, and digital twin solutions.

Find out more about how your organisation's IT supports digital construction and the digital built environment and speak to one our cloud experts today.