There is an ever growing presence of construction workforces and projects worldwide as countries across the globe continue to develop and grow. With all of these new projects, there is increased pressure that’s being received from environmental experts and their worry of how this will impact the future of the environment. This is where green construction technology can be a huge benefit. Firms that work with innovative BIM workflows have the opportunity to adopt these methods and reshape the industry for the better whilst preventing harm to the environment.

Circular Construction

Large quantities of construction materials are sent to waste fill every single year, proving to be a waste of value and building materials. However, the use of BIM will enable construction companies to improve the efficiency of materials and contribute to a more environmentally friendly method of disposing of waste. The materials can also be utilised for longer and reused more often.

Optimization of Construction Planning and Scheduling

The introduction of virtual design and construction has enabled an easier world for contractors and architects when it comes to visualizing and constructing four and five-dimensional buildings. This form of technology has enabled processes to become far more efficient and minimizes the energy of stock going into building projects and waste coming from it too. Construction projects that are taking advantage of this technology are able to cut down costs and timelines to complete the work and better plan the creation of buildings.

Industrialized Construction

Industrialized construction brings efficiency and sustainability to the construction process. It’s a building system that uses innovative techniques allowing components to be manufactured offsite and transported to its required destination. This can save time, money and disturbance. Components will be built in a factory controlled environment which can be energy efficient and can streamline the creation process. There’s also less restriction in regards to specifications and bespoke materials. The creation of a modular building has also shown to perform better compared to buildings that are built on-site, allowing property owners to reduce energy bills with energy suppliers and cutting emissions in the process.

Quantifying Environmental Cost Savings

Utilising green technology in construction is valuable in itself but benchmarking how well a project is doing can prove difficult. With the added pressures of reducing climate change, industries such as construction will need to hold themselves accountable for their environmental influence. It could be seen as a difficult task to quantify energy and material savings considering these need to be converted into carbon emission factors. However, gathering these numbers can be extremely beneficial to meeting regulatory standards and improve informed decision making. AI and machine learning tools will allow contractors to create better decisions when making financial and environmental changes to building projects.

There’s an ever-growing pressure on construction and manufacturing industries to reduce their carbon emissions to better the environment. Technological advances appear to be key in the construction industry as they look to greener methods to efficiently create and plan industrial projects.

This article was written by Alice Porter.

Cover Photo © Unsplash