White Paper on Accelerating Digital Construction

Recommendations and Root Issues

January 2023

Accelerating the advancement of digital construction technologies and standards across the country should be a priority of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), state departments of transportation (state DOTs) and industry to reduce risks, costs and to support the scalability of digital workflows and data required to manage infrastructure assets of the future. Much work has already been done to help advance these efforts, including provisions in the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Every Day Counts (EDC) program and the “Advancing BIM for Infrastructure Roadmap.” ARTBA’s Innovation and Technology Forum created a Digital Construction Policy Statement that was approved by the Board of Directors in May 2021. This document is meant to expand on those ideas and provide specific recommendations to advance digital construction in transportation.

Government agencies should continue to inform, encourage and support this acceleration through financial incentives, the adoption of digital technology for projects, and specifically model based delivery of projects through BIM. State departments of transportation should receive accolades for moving their state of practice forward and reap the benefits of cost, schedule and improved sustainability and resilience of our roads, bridges and highways through the use of better, faster, safer technology.

We can accelerate this process further and can do better if: state DOTs elevate this mission as a priority; the current level of national leadership and resources continue; and transportation agencies work with industry to leverage their capacity and innovations. Furthermore, activities should be actionable and should focus on technology deployment. It should also be noted that innovation can be spurred by providing a mechanism for the use of developing technologies.

The following recommendations list specific actions and root issues that need to be addressed to accelerate this process as outlined above.

Use Funding to Leverage Proven Technologies and Advance Programs that Can Lead to the Acceleration of Digital Construction.

The establishment of a dedicated source of funds on projects to accelerate digital construction is a prerequisite for successful adoption of digital construction. We applaud the provision in the IIJA referenced as “Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems” (ADCMS), which includes funding that is intended to support the use of proven digital construction technologies to help state DOTs advance their experience and practice around model-based delivery of projects. This incentive funding of $100 million over five years will have a catalytic effect on accelerating digital construction throughout the Federal Aid Highway Program.

Overall, special attention should be given to advance the following:

a. Leverage industry knowledge to help state DOTs develop, configure and/or update their back-end system in order to accelerate adoption of specific digital technologies. There are many reasons why states cannot move quickly, including the lack of resources to procure, configure and set up systems in a timely manner; lack of expertise in a particular technology for developing standards and training programs.

b. Incentivize use of digital construction on projects. This would be similar to incentives for pavement smoothness and early completion of construction. Contractors and state DOTs split the incentive in half – this way both parties have buy-in. Incentives are issued upon validation that all data has been delivered per the contract specifications.

c. Develop a construction specification for digital as-builts. In some states, adding a collection of digital as-builts to the contract has worked well – as long as the requirements are well defined. This is typically handled through a construction standard or special specification.

d. Encourage the investment in open data standards that provide proven flexibility and scalability for projects with consistent data formats. Open data standards can go a long way towards creating more competition in the marketplace, which will result in the more economical implementation of digital construction. Adoption of ISO standards will help drive the overall process and set the stage for how some of the related standards should be developed.

e. Organize peer exchanges to help states mainstream digital construction (see more details below).

 

Contractors Must Be Able to Rely on Digital Files and Realize the Benefits. Standardization and Interoperability are Key Factors.

Contractors are one of three legs of the stool (including contractors, owners, engineers/designers) that make up the backbone to delivering projects and must be represented throughout this acceleration process if we expect it to be successful. Contractors who do more alternative delivery are perhaps more accustomed to working through scenarios where they develop their own digital files and are therefore more familiar with the process and benefits. However, most projects in the United States typically follow the Design Bid-Build (DBB) model and are more likely to engage firms that may not possess the resources to develop their own files.

Given the smaller nature and lower budgets of the DBB projects, contractors specifically must be able to rely on the data provided to them from the owner so their time can be best managed and allocated to specific areas and high-risk portions of the project that require the most attention. Reliance upon digital files by all participants is paramount so the project operations can function more efficiently, in a costeffective manner, that carries everyone’s best interests forward.

Owners and clients who spend more time properly developing digital files that adhere to a uniform and standardized format will provide contractors, sub-contractors, and vendors information that can be heavily relied upon for accuracy and thoroughness. If contractors can anticipate the level of detail they will be receiving on all projects, they can best prepare their business strategy and allocate more resources to be more competitive. This would allow them to setup their own internal systems to better work with the data/files they receive, hire appropriate personnel who can perform known necessary tasks, and create digital workflows that will extract value, safety, and added quality for projects moving forward. Too often, contractors spend most of their time on a DBB pursuit understanding the project and files the owner has provided them and quantifying the needs and materials necessary to build the project. Historically this cycle provides little time at the end of the pursuit and bidding process for doing what is most important, assessing risk and appropriately pricing the project.

If standards for digital files could be developed at the Federal level, in alignment with ISO 19650, and implemented downstream across all state DOTs, the efficiencies gained would be monumental. This would drive open and interoperable data sets and applications and result in significant savings in many areas including direct and indirect costs, schedule and impacts to the public. Furthermore, it would enhance the ability of the workforce to work across geographic boundaries without causing disruption due to a lack of understanding of local specifications. Workers would become more “mobile” on projects across the country because the standards have been established and implemented across the board, to a level that helps streamline the delivery of needed infrastructure.

 

States are Challenged by a Lack of Staff and Training. We Need More Digital Technology Education.

Labor shortages are one of the single most challenging areas affecting state DOTs ability to execute model based digital delivery for projects. Current lack of staff is a difficult issue to overcome, but funds could be used to develop and incentivize the workforce. Examples include:

a. Developing certification programs. Offer bonuses for current staff who become certified in digital technologies. Part of the certification could include a requirement to train others within their organization.

b. Working with trade schools to develop associate programs for digital construction, including modern surveying practices (e.g., using GPS, UAS and lidar), BIM (3D modeling specific to linear infrastructure), e-Ticketing, construction management systems, etc.

c. Working with universities to establish certification programs for engineers in GPS, UAS and BIM for linear infrastructure.

d. More action from technology companies and organizations to provide education and training programs for digital technologies. These programs should have an overarching “Open BIM” type of focus as we are moving to that type of environment.

e. Driving the technology further down into the field, like ensuring field personnel have properly equipped smart devices to enable the various components of BIM for Infrastructure is key. Based on the success and adoption of e-Ticketing at the state DOT level, there is remarkable technology transformation and adoption on the producer/contractor side.

 

Promote Model as the Legal Document – the Digital Deliverable Needs to be the Contractual Deliverable.

This should be a major priority. Many state DOTs still have legacy requirements (i.e., printing out multiple copies of a submission, document, etc. and hand deliver), which they then waive once construction starts. If the specification requirements were geared towards the electronic delivery of documents and correspondence, it would be a strong initial step to set the tone that this digital movement is serious. This includes supporting secure technologies to digitally sign models to replace the manual sign off process we use today to sign plan sheets.

 

Organize Peer Exchanges to Capture Lessons Learned and to Deliver Tangible Outcomes.

The EDC program offers these opportunities, but industry needs to be more involved across the board. Having “Digital Delivery Centers of Excellence” either on a regional or State level will help facilitate the change. This would include champions of change within state DOTs that are driving change and will provide a more formal structure. Peer exchanges or regional workshops should include state DOTs, local agencies, consulting and contracting communities, sister agencies, and software/technology firms. States that are using digital construction technologies should lead these efforts in order to help get more states comfortable with digital construction and the need to mainstream it. These programs should include more formal guidelines than may have been included previously – the development and continuous information sharing should be helpful. For example, they could require digital models and some type of an “exit” document detailing findings, lessons learned, etc. to be delivered after the project and made available to the public. Overall, the exchanges need to have tangible outcomes and takeaways to help owners accelerate digital construction in their states.

State DOTs, design firms and contractors need project based, real world examples of how to move their practice forward with technology and digital workflows. Leveraging real industry project teams and data is the one of the most efficient means to do this for those seeking to learn. This also creates an industry network effect, connecting experts within state DOTs with those looking for expertise in digital delivery.