CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

What is Data Analytics?

Data analytics in construction management is a technique for detecting patterns,

trends, and relationships in existing data. Its purpose is to address an issue by
analyzing construction data to acquire a better understanding of the situation and
predict future behavior based on past behaviors.

Data analytics is currently being used in the construction industry to address a wide
range of difficulties, some of which include a dizzying number of variables that are
not always obvious. To make “informed” predictions, data analytics in
construction management examines these variables to discover the relevant aspects
in a data set.
The Importance of Data Analytics in Construction Management

Every day, construction project teams deal with a plethora of moving parts on the
job site, including subcontractors, materials, and equipment, as well as unavoidable
changes in scope and contract amendments. The more sophisticated construction
projects become, particularly in an era of increasingly distant workers, the more
technologies you’ll need to consider for improved communication and data
collection to make informed judgments.

All of this generates a large volume of data that must be filtered and processed
before it can be used by project decision-makers. This can take a large amount of
time and resources to complete manually; enter machine learning and artificial
intelligence. These are data analytics in construction management approaches that
significantly improve the speed and accuracy of analysis and filtering; they
organize data and detect patterns far more efficiently than a human could.

Preconstruction teams can use data analytics in construction management to create

budgets that take into account all probable project variables, including regional
labor and material prices. Data analytics, machine learning, and artificial
intelligence solutions are likely to cause significant changes in how engineering
and construction firms bid on and execute projects; for example, by combining
tender information, current business status, and past performance, data analytics
could support go/no go decisions.

4 Types of Data Analytics

As a construction leader, you should first comprehend the four forms of data
analytics in construction management listed below.

Descriptive analytics: Crews use descriptive analytics to characterize the series of

events that resulted in structural instability. For example, when a wall collapses, it
answers the inquiry “What happened?”

Diagnostic analytics: This explains why something happened. In the above-

mentioned wall scenario, teams may utilize data to determine whether the root
cause was damaged lumber, poor fasteners, or improper assembly.

Predictive analytics: With undamaged boards and proper installation, a wall can
withstand X pounds of pressure before collapsing. Predictive analytics identifies
when this could happen.

Prescriptive analytics: Predictive analytics describes what should happen next. For
example, if a wall is expected to collapse with a certain amount of pressure, how
might crews reinforce it to withstand the load?

How these Forms of Data Analytics May Help Construction

Management?

This is how these forms of data analytics may help construction management:

1. Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics uses previous data from your team or the experience of other
businesses. It can assist crews:

● Accurately estimate job costs

● Develop a timeframe and schedule.
 ● Allocate resources

They frequently play an important role in project planning, with apparent benefits
in generating estimates and submitting bids. Furthermore, they can anticipate
aspects of a work that crew chiefs may overlook if they simply have a low-level
view of operations.

For example, technology can forecast the potential negative consequences of a

development project on adjacent rivers and whether they will necessitate additional
permits near conservation areas. Knowing this from the outset of the process helps
to avoid future delays that can cost time and materials.

2. Quality Control and Risk Management Examples

How do you know when quality control concerns occur? Historically, crews relied
on consumer complaints, which always resulted in conflicts. However, data
analytics in construction management enables you to evaluate construction quality
management data from inspections, testing results, and defect reports in real-time
to discover and correct patterns more rapidly.

For example, employing AI to analyze data can uncover the root cause of a
reoccurring fault that requires final remedy. Identifying and addressing the source
of the deficiency saves money and time spent repeating tasks.

3. Safety and Risk Assessment

Construction is a dangerous profession, second only to transportation and materials
handling in terms of overall risk. Reducing these catastrophes saves families a
great deal of heartache while also saving money on lost work and legal bills.

Data analytics in construction management helps executives understand why

accidents occur, which is critical for determining liability. It also enables them to
make modifications to avoid similar situations in the future, potentially stopping
trouble in real time. Drones in construction, for example, may scan locations for
hazards and notify staff to dangers, allowing humans to be evacuated.

4. Supply Chain Optimization

Part of construction management is getting the necessary materials to the job site
on time. Having plumbing subcontractors hang about waiting for a pipe delivery
wastes time that could be used on other tasks. While variables such as rising gas
prices owing to supply chain challenges or foreign wars influence all providers,
data analytics can decide which provides the greatest job at the lowest cost,
regardless of external pressures.

Data analytics in construction management allows you to better track existing

inventory and predict when to order more. It can also help with contract
negotiations by providing data to support mileage reimbursements and finding the
optimal routes for items to reach your location.

5. Performance Monitoring and Benchmarking

How well does that new piece of equipment perform? data analytics in
construction management demonstrates how a new forklift pays for itself over time
and finally results in higher profitability. It also compares your usage to industry
benchmarks to determine whether you’re making the most of your investment. If
not, what areas can you improve?

You can also utilize data analytics in construction management to monitor

employee performance against key performance indicators, recognizing top
performers for a job well done. Providing bonuses and raises to individuals who
exceed certain benchmarks boosts general morale and productivity, inspiring
others to succeed.
6. Cost Estimation and Budgeting
How do you generate estimates? Many construction industry experts use data from
previous works, subcontractor bids, and financial forecasts to predict material
prices in the next months. Even the finest and brightest make mistakes that can be
costly. However, the correct data analytics in construction management employs
AI integration to do the majority of the job for you, merging data from numerous
sources into comprehensive reports that drive decision-making.

The buck ultimately stops with you, therefore budgeting effectively guarantees that
everyone is paid on time and that the task is finished to the required standard. No
general or subcontractor wants to waste time and resources on litigation fights and
unneeded liens, so use modern technology to create a meaningful project budget
that covers all bases.

7. Resource Allocation and Optimization

Things change quickly on construction sites, so data analytics enables crews to

make the most use of available equipment and workers, reducing downtime and
waste. For example, real-time tracking informs supervisors about delays on one
section of a building site, allowing them to dispatch otherwise idle bulldozers and
backhoes to a waiting area.

Using data analytics in construction management to effectively distribute resources

benefits more than just a crew’s bottom line; it also saves the environment.
Currently, the construction industry accounts for 30% of total waste generation,
significantly contributing to climate change. The same shifts that save you money
also improve the environment.

Important Points About Big Data Analytics in the Construction

Industry

Here are examples that will help you understand where and how big data analytics
in construction management are altering the construction business.

1. Risk Assessment for Construction Project Management

Construction, regrettably, remains one of the most dangerous jobs. In the United
States alone, about 1,000 construction workers died in 2022. Falls, struck-bys
incidents, caught-in-betweens, and electrocutions account for the vast majority of
deaths. As a result, safety remains a top priority on-site to limit risk and the
likelihood of injury or death.

Risk management include not only on-the-job safety, but also project management.
Project management difficulties arise frequently in construction and field service.
Big data analytics in construction management can predict whether a project is
likely to run over budget, be delayed, or fail to reach its objectives. It can then
notify project management, allowing any difficulties to be resolved before greater
concerns occur.

2. Tracking Equipment and Assets in Construction

Prevent goods, equipment, and tools from becoming lost or misplaced. Tracking
who is using what and on which site allows you to spot trends in often lost or
stolen materials. Furthermore, keeping track of all of your equipment and tools
allows you to more accurately assign where those supplies should be for your
present jobs. This allows you to streamline travel and save the cost of shipping or
transferring equipment to job sites that require it.

3. Process Optimization and Data-driven Process Enhancements

It’s reasonable to say that none of the hundreds or thousands of projects you’ve
worked on in your career have gone exactly as planned. But where did each of
these obstacles occur? What could you have done to prevent those difficulties in
the future? It’s undoubtedly easier to say, “We’ll do better next time,” but big data
has the potential to cut through the fog and pinpoint process improvements based
on all of the jobs you’ve already completed.

From faster and more effective travel routes to staff assignments, leveraging data
to drive choices and procedures can significantly improve your organization. This
results in cheaper prices and more money in your pocket.

4. Environmental Impact Assessment

Sustainability is the name of the game in industries other than building. As

scientists and even the UN have warned, the globe is rapidly approaching the
“point of no return” for climate change. Understanding the environmental impact
of construction projects will become increasingly important.

Today’s construction must lower the danger of failure in the face of more severe
weather circumstances such as wildfires, temperature extremes, and other natural
disasters. Similarly, developments must offer possibilities to offset their carbon
footprints and enable their customers to do the same. Big data analytics in
construction management may gather prior endeavors’ information, analyze it, and
reveal a road forward for a more sustainable future.

5. Predictive Analytics in Construction

If you’ve ever had a machine break down in the middle of a project — and who
hasn’t? – predictive analytics is something you should take advantage of right
away. Predictive maintenance may be the most effective application of predictive
analytics. With AI in construction growing more common by the day, one
immediate benefit is having your machines notify you when they require some
TLC, allowing you to service them before they malfunction.

Other applications of predictive data analytics in construction management include

the more paper-based aspects of the organization, such as reporting, financials, and
forecasting. After all, big data is predicated on utilizing all of your company’s raw
data, extracting insights from it, and forecasting the likely future status of your
projects and business.
6. Accurate Budgeting and Planning to Prevent Overruns

If you’re like most business owners, you’re constantly thinking about keeping your
firm profitable. Budgeting is an important aspect of making that venture a success.
However, when supplier costs fluctuate and contractors come and go, as well as a
slew of other external elements to consider, it’s a never-ending battle to maintain
your profit margins.

However, big data analytics in construction management are revolutionizing the

construction business and how it manages finances. Instead of having to pull out a
calculator and manually total each payment to and from your firm to calculate your
profit and loss, software like field service management platforms can not only do
so for you, but also forecast your future numbers.

They can also forecast and demonstrate how your firm is trending during a project,
rather than at the end of the month or quarter. So, at a look, you can see that your
suburban apartment project is on track, while your commercial highrise is going to
be somewhat over budget. This allows you to more easily course-correct and
resolve issues before they become too massive to handle.

7. Construction Product Development

As building materials and methods evolve, whether to meet building requirements
or just to increase efficiency or design, the construction industry adapts. We surely
do not build things like we used to. Companies driving these improvements
frequently employ technology, big data analytics in construction management to
determine what those developments should be.

Consider the most inventive structures over the last few years. From dramatically
altering how sustainability is integrated into the architecture to determining how
effectively a construction can resist hurricanes and earthquakes. The level of
advancement we can attain currently is entirely dependent on data from prior
efforts.

8. Optimizing Contractor Performance

Contractor efficiency and performance are crucial, especially in smaller residential

projects that may comprise single structures and a significant amount of travel
from site to site. Even on larger projects, you don’t want your contractors losing
time due to mismatched skill sets or bad planning. You can use operations
management software to track individual contractors, the jobs they’re working on,
success rates, timeframes, and other details.

You may then evaluate all data analytics in construction management to see what
is and isn’t working well, and make changes to improve performance. Provide
more training. Assign people to jobs that better match their skill set. Overall, your
contractors perform better, which saves you money.

9. Construction Robotics in Modern Construction

If you’ve ever considered 3D printing a house, some are now officially available in
the United States and other parts of the world. However, robots building houses
one layer of cement at a time are not the only ones in the construction industry.
Robotics is rapidly gaining traction in the business; for example, masonry robots
can lay bricks and perform heavy lifting significantly faster than human
counterparts.

Aside from housing, robotics can speed up operations like surveying and scanning
building sites, removing the need for humans to navigate difficult terrain. The
industry is also seeing the introduction of driverless trucks and vehicles, as well as
AI-augmented forklifts and loaders.

While working, these robots may gather information on their building sites. Then
you may evaluate information to constantly enhance not only the robots’
functionality but also site and employee efficiency and safety.

10. Construction Planning and Modeling

Being efficient and effective in construction is critical to success in the industry.

Not only with your own operations, but also with the end product of your efforts:
buildings and structures. Another benefit of incorporating big data analytics in
construction management into construction is that it can aid in planning and
modeling better buildings.

Engineers and architects can produce a building that is better adapted to the needs
of customers and consumers by feeding a big data model information about the
structure’s intended purpose, the site itself, and other essential planning and design
factors. However, one structure is only the beginning. Building Information
Modeling (BIM) is assisting in the development of better construction projects on a
city-wide scale.

11. Warranty Analysis, Product Quality, and Dependability

Not all products are created the same. To get the most out of the products your
staff utilizes every day, your organization must continuously balance quality and
cost. Understanding what your warranty covers, especially for more expensive
equipment and machines like vehicles or specialist tools, is an important aspect of
selecting the correct product for the job.

Alternatively, the materials you choose to build your projects may come with
warranties and vary in quality and reliability. By collecting all of the data and
conducting a cost-benefit analysis, you can help enhance work profitability, project
success rates, and even customer satisfaction by matching the appropriate supplies
and hardware to each job.
Selection of Data Technology for Construction
Three steps of successful selection of data technology for construction:

1. Choose the Correct Analytics Tool for Projects

With an expanding number of data analytics in construction management available,

it’s critical to choose which one is best for your purposes. Standard standards for
tools in construction include covering schedule, cost, and risks. Aside from that,
technologies might help with on-site health and safety management, or they could
focus on executive-level summary data for portfolio management.

2. Concentrate on Your Main Project Objective

Focusing on a particular area is the simplest method to begin employing data

analytics in construction management tools for your next project. An oversupply of
data analytics adoption may set you back, resulting in lost effort and disarray.
Begin by focusing on one or two key areas where you wish to increase project
predictability.

3. Organize and Standardize Your Data Collection procedures

To get the most out of data analytics in construction management, consolidate and
standardize your data and procedures. The higher the quality of your data input, the
higher the quality of your data output, and consequently the greater the value
provided to the end user. This could need the establishment of a common data
platform (or pool) with uniform data entry and organization methods in a shared
environment. With such a massive volume of data being analyzed and entered,
good input arrangement can significantly speed up the analysis.

The Future of Big Data in Building, Including Upcoming Trends

Aside from the previously highlighted benefits of big data analytics in construction
management, a number of new trends are developing. For example, augmented
reality (AR) and virtual reality are reducing the physical needs for some jobs and
tasks in construction while also breaking down barriers and facilitating
communication between on- and off-site workers.
Natural language processing (NLP) is assisting in the discovery of all hidden data
inside the construction business. For years, the industry has collected data in many
sorts of files, making it impossible to understand all contained within them. NLP,
which processes huge volumes of language and text data to assist computers in
better understanding people’s natural ways of communicating with one another,
excels at delivering useful insights.

Finally, artificial intelligence is gaining popularity daily, with far-reaching

implications for the construction industry and beyond. From making big data
analytics in construction management more accessible through AI-assisted
graphing and charting to spotting construction project obstacles in real-time. AI
provides huge development potential to organizations that use it.