Future Ready Features: Digital Innovation Edition

As business imperatives change, technological capabilities accelerate and customer expectations grow, we need to look beyond traditional ways of working to drive efficient and sustainable outcomes.

BIM on the move

Architects, engineers or builders who have spent any time managing the complexities of designing and constructing a building can attest to the value of leveraging Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the process. In addition to providing full digital project visualization and greatly enhancing collaboration among technical disciplines and construction trades, BIM provides:

• Real-time access to critical information, increasing efficiency and productivity.
• Streamlined planning and precise output, reducing errors and rework.
• Coordinated design, enabling early detection of conflicts and reducing on-site clashes and modifications.
• Simulation of construction processes, reducing construction time and cost and improving quality and safety.
• Evaluation of a structure’s environmental impact, enabling the identification and incorporation of sustainability measures.

Digitally representing the physical and functional characteristics of a facility, BIM has helped the building sector address some of the more intricate challenges inherent in project development and delivery. So, it was only a matter of time before it traveled.

Over the past decade, BIM has been increasingly adopted by the transportation sector. And though slow to fully take hold — owing to factors like entrenched practices and a lack of information or guidance on applying it in context of infrastructure projects — there are efforts afoot to realize its promise.

A new Federal Highway Administration report studies the effectiveness of BIM-based workflows for transportation projects and the efficiencies of centralized BIM libraries.

Fingerprinting forever chemicals

Growing environmental awareness has put a sharper focus on the need to take better care of our planet. However, we must often address our industrial past first.

The media spotlight on the emerging contaminants, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, primarily focuses on one issue: drinking water. The migration of PFAS into drinking water is becoming one of the most prominent environmental challenges of our time. The synthetic coating invented to resist heat, oil, stains and water has earned the nickname “forever chemical.”

As our understanding of its prevalence grows — at least 45 percent of tap water could contain PFAS according to a U.S. Geological Survey study — so does preventative action. The federal government is taking historic steps to establish the first-ever nationwide, legally enforceable drinking water standard for PFAS at 4 parts per trillion.

For reference, that is an amount smaller than a drop of water in an Olympic-sized pool.

At the same time, innovative approaches and digital technologies to detect, trace and destroy PFAS to protect community health are advancing. Machine learning is quickly becoming part of the solution to enhance PFAS cleanup efforts. Algorithms are changing how we make sense of vast streams of data, determine how the “fingerprints” of water source(s) are related and understand which areas of a site are in most need of remediation.

Leveraging digital predictive analysis to confront the PFAS challenge is significantly improving mitigation planning to create better outcomes for our communities.

Leveling up traffic IQ

The dreaded traffic jam! Most have sat in one for way too long. For many, it’s an everyday annoyance. And at one point or another, the thought that there must be a better way to manage it occurs.

Thankfully, transportation agencies across the U.S. are thinking the same thing.

To improve safety, efficiency and sustainability of their networks, these agencies are deploying intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Comprising sensors, computer hardware and software, and communications systems, ITS connects vehicles and infrastructure to control centers to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, prevent accidents and provide drivers with real-time road condition information.

In addition to providing a valuable tool for efficient traffic management, ITS systems can inform motorists of hazards, gauge traffic speeds and suggest alternate routes, provide better roadway maintenance information and offer driver support and guidance.

Of course, like almost anything new and cutting edge, there are hurdles to implementation. The biggest of those include developing a clear, equitable and well-evaluated strategy for connecting disparate systems, services and operational approaches over multiple funding cycles, technology trends and leadership changes.

Fortunately for motorists, forward-looking transportation agencies are tackling these challenges to realize the benefits that ITS can provide and taking a proactive approach to developing policies and evaluating scenarios for various advanced technology futures.

Is this goodbye to the traffic jam? Maybe not yet. But ITS solutions are starting to pave the way to a better and safer driving experience nationwide.

Modernizing asset management

A critical tool for almost any agency, asset management is a lifecycle approach to extracting value from critical assets.

Successful asset management identifies organizational needs and justifies investments necessary to achieve identified goals, while balancing costs, risks and performance. This is increasingly important as owners, managers and operators of fleet, facilities and infrastructure are faced with the challenge of doing more with less.

The benefits of a sound asset management program are numerous, including better decision making, improved sustainability of assets, more accurate forecasting, improved regulatory compliance and eligibility for federal grant funding. And as the need for high performance asset management increases, the demand for innovation increases in tandem.

There are a variety of advancements in the practice, but as effective asset management relies on good data, improving that data is a direct path to maximizing its value.

One such area of focus is the incorporation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into as-built documentation. While serving as the final record — detailing the location and specifications of physical assets after construction — traditional “as-builts” can fail to meet the demands of today’s digital and data-driven environments. Integrating GIS enhances these documents with spatial data and advanced analytical tools, enabling a more accurate and interactive representation of assets. This transformative leap provides agencies with:

• Enhanced visualization, not just of an asset’s location but its relation to other assets.
• Improved accuracy, including real-time condition monitoring.
• Comprehensive data integration, consolidating disparate data into a single, cohesive system.
• Enhancing end deliverables, from construction stakeholders to end clients.
• Continuous feedback and updates, allowing for continuous improvement of the GIS-based as-built documentation.

Learn more about how this and other developments are modernizing and revolutionizing asset management for the future.