Necessary digital shift in the construction and civil engineering industry
Norway is lagging far behind in the digital shift in the construction and civil engineering industry. Lack of expertise and data is the biggest obstacle. Several initiatives, such as new digital solutions for the geo industry and internal learning cultures, are now changing the construction and civil engineering industry. The winners are climate and environment, economy, and societal security.
With a common cloud solution, it's possible to have better control over data from field and laboratory investigations about ground conditions in projects. ( (NGI))
"For NGI - the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, developing innovative digital solutions for the geo industry is an important strategic focus area," says Kristin Paulsen, head of NGI Digital.
Geosciences, such as geotechnics, environmental geology, and rock engineering, are usually crucial disciplines in construction projects that directly influence what is possible to achieve. Therefore, the geosciences must take their share of responsibility for the digital shift in the construction and civil engineering industry.
"To harness the power of new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), we must first confront and solve the industry's challenges related to data quality and availability. That's why we established NGI Digital, a dedicated department with experts in digital product development and technology," explains Paulsen.
Cloud-based data platform for geotechnical site investigation data
Instead of having data from field and laboratory investigations about ground conditions in projects in many PDF documents and Excel sheets, often stored in different systems and folders, NGI, in collaboration with users, has developed a new, common digital solution: Field Manager.
"Field Manager is a mapping tool tailored to organize all information from geotechnical field and lab investigations and provides better control of the data," says Truls Martens, product owner for Field Manager at NGI.
Field Manager initially targets geotechnical engineers. The goal is to eventually include other types of geosciences, such as environmental geology and engineering geology. Consultants, contractors, and clients show interest in the software. Since the summer of 2023, Norway's largest consulting engineering company, Norconsult, has been using the tool in all their projects.
"What's groundbreaking is that instead of exporting and importing information, we can now share the information stored in the cloud solution Field Manager with other consultants. This allows us to work within the same project," says Henning Firman, leader of the digitalization group in the geotechnical department at Norconsult.
Safer and more predictable
The sharing of data and the structured and high-quality nature of the data in the software are important benefits that can contribute to increased societal security.
"The ability to share information means that response times can be reduced, for example, in a landslide event," says Mats Kahlström, geotechnical engineer and product developer at NGI.
In addition, better overview early in projects could help prevent major cost overruns and ensure a more predictable economy.
Important investment, says Statsbygg
"The construction industry taking action and managing to develop good digital solutions is enormously important," says Cathrine Mørch, Director of Digitalization at Statsbygg.
She highlights how small percentage improvements in the industry can yield significant positive gains for society as a whole, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
"Therefore, the construction industry in Norway must take action and understand more of the potential in new technology and new ways of using data. If we can reduce, for example, material use, we can significantly reduce the CO2 footprint. To achieve this, we must work differently than before and utilize new digital solutions and artificial intelligence. Therefore, Statsbygg supports good initiatives throughout the industry, such as NGIs," says Mørch.
Learning for leaders and employees
A survey in the construction and civil engineering industry shows that lack of expertise is one of the biggest barriers to achieving the necessary digital shift. Both Statsbygg and NGI have initiated competence development measures. The measures target both employees and leaders.
"If high-level leaders don't have the necessary digital skills, they also lack imagination about how technology and data will impact the business model," says Mørch.
"We must understand that digitalization is at the core of the business. And the importance of domain experts, users, and technologists working together," says Paulsen.
"And we must build on unity and a culture of sharing so that collectively we can drive the industry forward," says Martens.
Listen more in NGI's podcast "With a View to the Ground" and our two episodes on digitization of the construction and civil engineering industry and the geosciences:
"What is the role of the geosciences in the digitization of the construction industry?"
Guests: Kristin Paulsen, head of NGI Digital, Truls Martens, product owner for NGI's digital platform for site investigations, Field Manager, and Cahtrine Mørch, Director of Digitalization at Statsbygg.
Host: Liv Røhnebæk Bjergene
"How can digital solutions provide better control over ground conditions in projects?"
Guests: Truls Martens, product owner for NGI's digital platform for site investigations, Field Manager, Mats Kahlström, geotechnical engineer and product developer, NGI, and Henning Firman, Norconsult, leader of digitalization strategy for geosciences.
Host: Liv Røhnebæk Bjergene
