Dec 20 2021

Reality capture, BIM and AI – Imerso, XYZ Reality and PointFuse

Nemetschek has led a financing round for Norway’s Imerso, whose platform combines reality capture, AI and BIM – areas also targeted by UK players XYZ Reality and PointFuse.

Having invested in June 2021 in Sablono (post) [Update: and in July 2021 in US-based AI developer Reconstruct*], Germany-based Nemetschek Group has led a financing round  [financial terms not published] for Imerso AS. The Norway-based deep-tech company offers a platform to automate construction quality monitoring through a combination of advanced artificial intelligence (AI), reality capture and BIM technologies.

The solution is said to enable easy, everyday use of industry grade 3D scanners on site. The scanners capture the as-built status throughout the construction phase with point clouds – a collection of 3D data points that accurately digitise real-life physical spaces, such as a building, a floor, or a room. Imerso’s cloud-based platform automatically analyses the captured 3D scan data against the plan in BIM. Combining AI and advanced computer vision, it highlights and lists in real-time any relevant work deviations or issues, so these can be resolved efficiently through re-planning or fixes on site.

imerso – “an efficient roadmap for accurate, as-built digital twins”

By connecting the BIM model directly to the as-built snapshot on site, the company says Imerso delivers an efficient roadmap for accurate, as-built digital twins – with benefits across the building life-cycle.

“Imerso is a perfect fit to our goal of helping our customers worldwide shape the world,” says Axel Kaufmann, spokesman and CFOO of Nemetschek. Tanja Kufner, head of start-ups and venture Investments at Nemetschek says: “We see great synergies, particularly with … Solibri. Both companies are on a mission to improve the quality of construction and to create better buildings. Customers can accurately monitor the project’s progress and efficiently improve the results.”

Combining the technologies of Solibri and Imerso will significant opportunities for owners, engineers, and contractors. They can monitor the progress and quality of work on site at a detailed level and produce reliable final client deliverables for the management of the facility. Frederico Valente, founder and CEO of Imerso, says:

“This is a tremendous step in our journey, as we continue scaling our solution with some of the leading players in our industry. Partnering with the Nemetschek Group is rocket fuel for us to leverage their deep roots in the construction sector and in-depth knowledge, and to accelerate the go-to-market strategy of our technology.”

Research-backed

The Norwegian start-up has been developing its solution in collaboration with leading research institutes and some of the largest industry players in the Nordics. Seven million square meters of floor have already been captured in the platform across several customer projects (Update – 11 December 2022 – see Betonmast case study). Imerso is currently being used on some of the largest and most ambitious projects in Scandinavia and central Europe.

The investment in Imerso is described as a strong continuation of the Nemetschek Group strategy of supporting young companies to shape the future AEC/O market and drive innovation.

In the same space: XYZ Reality and PointFuse

Reality capture tools were strongly in evidence at the Digital Construction Week show in London in November 2021 (post). Two UK-based firms are working in the same kind of territory as Imerso, albeit offering subtly different solutions.

XYZ Reality

XYZ Reality logoIn June 2021, London-based construction augmented reality (AR) technology developer XYZ Reality announced it had raised £20m (c €23.3m or US$27.8m) in a Series A funding round (Irish Times article; see also AEC Business). The funding round was led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from existing investors Adara Ventures, Amadeus Capital Partners, Hoxton Ventures and J Coffey Construction (the company previously raised £4.9m–c. €5.7m or US$6.8m–in March 2020 – EU Startups). New investment also came from Activum SG, Optimas Capital and Tishman Speyer.

To date, the technology has been used on projects worth more than £1.5b billion to date, including data centres, pharmaceutical facilities and airports. Customers include the UK-based Mace group, where its solution is being used in construction of a hyper-scale data centre in Europe.

XYZ Reality products: Holosite and Atom

Holosite from XYZ RealityXYZ’s core product is HoloSite which enables construction professionals to view and build accurately from 3D design models. It combines a cloud platform, AR headsets and propriety software. Holosite has been described as “the world’s first engineering grade augmented reality device”. It allows construction workers to view building information models onsite to 5 millimetre accuracy – eliminating inefficiencies caused when buildings are designed in 3D and then converted into 2D drawings.

The Atom is a powerful, custom-built engineering tool combining a construction safety headset, augmented reality displays and in-built computing power.

The company was co-founded by Irish-born career construction professional David Mitchell, now CEO. He was supported by COO Umar Ahmed, a business process specialist with experience at Shell and Microsoft, and visual technology chief Murray Hendriksen.

Overcoming the BIM to 2D divide

Mitchell says conversion from BIM to 2D creates significant inefficiencies with up to 80% of construction works being ‘out-of-tolerance’. This results in 7-11% of project costs being wasted. HoloSite solves this by improving the feedback loop between site and design by 92% as construction workers are now able to make real-time informed decisions in the field.

“2D is an unnatural language for humans; we see everything in 3D, yet tradespeople are being asked to interpret 2D drawings, conceptualise the 3D asset and then build the asset on-site to within construction “tolerances”. Works are currently validated after the fact through laser scanning. 80% of the time the construction fails to meet acceptable tolerances. With HoloSite, we can prevent errors happening in the first place.”

The funding will enable the company to further improve the user experience by doubling the size of the technology team, and expand its development team across all verticals. It is also building its sales and marketing operation; Andy Hamer, once of CodeBook and Invicara, is a 2021 recruit. The company is planning to use some of its funding to develop its second generation headset. Mitchell says:

“The next phase is assisted reality, where our spatial computing technology will have the intelligence to automatically detect and report issues in the field. And ultimately, the goal is builders building from holograms.”

XYZ Reality: the EE perspective

Bentley Synchro XR and Hololens 2The product name Holosite is immediately reminiscent of the branding of Microsoft’s Hololens, which, since its launch in 2016, has been the subject of various AEC-specific collaborations with Trimble (May 2015 post) and Bentley (November 2016 post) among others. Additional developments followed the launch of Hololens 2 (Bentley and Trimble launch new Hololens 2 products) in February 2019. While this may immediately suggest XYZ is working in the same category as Microsoft’s platform, the latter is a generic technology. XYZ’s is particularly focused on site working in the architecture, engineering and construction sector. Changing the name may also help avoid brand confusion among those with only a passing knowledge of the AR space.

Unrelated AEC products also include Holobuilder, a US/German platform utilising 360-degree photography, first covered in EE in July 2017 (Holobuilder launches 360 construction documentation solution), and recently acquired by FARO Technologies (FARO acquires Holobuilder, 7 June 2021).

XYZ’s hardhat-based technology is also similar to that developed a few years ago by Los Angeles-based Daqri (read BIM+ 2016 article). It competed with Microsoft’s Hololens, another heavily-backed startup, Magic Leap, plus Google Glass, and was extensively backed by investors. It raised $275m by 2017, but it faced some engineering and industry adoption challenges, and folded in September 2019 (read ENR‘s DAQRI is Closing Up Shop). Many would-be industry adopters baulked at paying anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 (depending on custom-built features) for each Smart Helmet unit. Its Smart Glasses, at $4995, were also not cheap enough to achieve high volume sales. Magic Leap also tumbled in investor’s affections; in 2020 backers were marking down the value of their by 93% on average (source: The Information). XYZ Reality will obviously be looking to learn from Daqri’s collapse and Magic Leap’s fall back.

PointFuse – meshing technology

Also at Digital Construction Week was Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK-based PointFuse, which offers an image-processing technology that helps users make efficient use of laser-scanned point clouds.

Laser-scans are typically captured in files that can be anything from 2GB to tens of gigabytes in size. Combining files to produce more accurate 3D imagery then multiplies the data challenge many times over. And, as the files may be in proprietary formats, special AEC software applications may be needed to process them. A high-powered computer with advanced image processing capabilities and high storage capacity may also be required.

The meshing difference

‘Meshing’ technology, such as that provided by Pointfuse, can make a huge difference. A single flat surface in a point cloud, for example, might be represented by 100s of thousands of data points. Meshing enables a much more efficient representation, capturing the surface edges while combining data points registered across its surface. A user’s view is then made up of a mesh of numerous geometric shapes that can be much more quickly assembled, viewed and explored. Such techniques can reduce files to 1/100th of their original point-cloud size – measured in MB rather than GB – and, with the mesh files being software-agnostic, can be viewed and shared via readily available applications.

For the onsite data user this means rapid access to data at acceptable levels of fidelity using applications on existing desktop and laptop machines, even via tablets or smartphone apps. Site internet connections are no longer clogged by time-consuming downloads, and there are significant savings in local file storage. This all adds up to less time spent data-wrangling on site.

And where meshes are used to check the accuracy of new structures or new installations of equipment against the original design models, these lightweight, software-agnostic meshes can be opened 70% faster in design tools. This accelerates as-built BIM checking processes. Once accuracy has been verified, the next stages of construction or installation can be expedited, potentially cutting hours, even days, from construction delivery programmes.

[Disclosure: I have provided consultancy services to  XYZ Reality and PointFuse. I have also talked about both firms in an AEC Business podcast recently recorded with my AECTech.TV co-presenter Aarni Haiskanen.]

* On 8 July 2021, Nemetschek announced its participation in the series B financing round of Reconstruct, a US-based leader in remote quality control and progress tracking software powered by computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI). Reconstruct secured a total of around $17 million to develop remote quality control for construction and real estate, accelerating Reconstruct’s product roadmap and global expansion.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/12/reality-capture-bim-and-ai-imerso-xyz-reality-and-pointfuse/

Dec 20 2021

Corecon upgrades reporting functionality

Corecon’s reporting upgrade includes new data views and APIs offering access to information across its cloud-based construction estimating, project management and job cost suite.

Corecon logoCalifornia-based Corecon Technologies has announced a major upgrade to the reporting capabilities within its cloud-based construction estimating, project management and job cost software suite. Developed to capture information from all aspects of a construction project’s lifecycle, Corecon’s reporting upgrade includes new data views and APIs offering access to information across the entire system.

Additionally, new reporting and business intelligence (BI) engines provide enterprise grade reporting capabilities that are all accessible via the cloud and no additional software is required. The new BI Dashboards offer an executive overview of project financials, helping to maintain budgets and maximize the project’s profitability. Corecon Technologies president Norman Wendl says:

“Our new data views, Log Reports and BI Dashboards took 16 months to build, resulting in an economical, yet scalable enterprise-grade solution. The new reporting and BI engine will provide contractors with a competitive advantage when presenting information to internal or external team members, giving them the necessary tools to track every financial aspect of a project in real time.”

  • Corecon Detail Reports: Corecon now offers 194 different Detail Reports templates that are based on Microsoft Word templates.
  • Corecon Log Reports: Corecon’s new reporting engine enables 160 new data views for standard and custom log reports.
  • Business Intelligence (BI) Summary Dashboards – 36 new standard BI Dashboards summarize and compare transactions, giving users a distinct view of project financials and budget comparisons.

Update (12 January 2022) – Corecon also has a new integration with DocuSign eSignature for use within the Corecon software suite. The DocuSign eSignature integration can be turned on or off for estimate proposals, client contracts, changes, invoices and all procurement-related transactions. Wendl says: “this process is more secure than traditional paper and delivery methods, and all documentation is stored and retrievable within the Corecon platform.” The integration is free and available immediately for all Corecon subscribers.

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/12/corecon-upgrades-reporting-functionality/

Nov 26 2021

SearchLand secures seed funding

Freshly seed-funded, London-based SearchLand enables property developers, architects and investors to find potential sites.

SearchLand logoLondon’s Digital  Construction Week may have dominated EE‘s attention this week (post), but there are interesting moves in the property technology world that potentially have a construction impact downstream. London-based proptech startup SearchLand has secured a £200,000 seed investment. Angel investors are looking to accelerate its development of what it says is the world’s first fully automated site sourcing tool.

SearchLand opportunity spotting

SearchLand websiteFounded in 2020, SearchLand allows property developers, architects and investors to find potential sites and contact the landowner directly through the platform.

The software-as-a-service platform automates and accelerates users’ hunt for viable plots of land. It lets them search sites based on a range of data, including title boundaries and ownership, permitted development rights, price paid records, and planning application analysis. Using 100s of map layers, users can rapidly pinpoint sites that meet their specific criteria, with workflow tools allowing them to easily contact the landowners of those sites.

SearchLand’s claims experienced consistent month-on-month growth of 30% over the past 12 months. The startup’s funding will be used to hire new sales and marketing personnel, as well as building out its automation tools to further improve the platform.

Taking pain, complexity and time out of site-sourcing

The company is planning for a series A funding round in 2023. Hugh Gibbs, co-founder of SearchLand, said:

“Given the amount of information that must be located and then analysed, sourcing sites is often a huge challenge for property developers; it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. Understanding this first-hand, we created SearchLand to take pain, complexity and time out of the site-sourcing process.

“By putting data in the hands of developers and investors, we enable them to make faster, better-informed decisions. And we’re moving closer to creating the world’s first fully automated site sourcing tool. The strong growth we’ve experienced in our first year, as well as the feedback we’ve received, has underlined that our platform is hugely valuable and much needed.

“We’re delighted to have secured this seed funding. Having bootstrapped throughout the initial development and launch phases, the investment is going to bolster our efforts to grow the team, improve the product, and expand our userbase significantly. It’s an exciting time for SearchLand, and we’re heading into 2022 full of confidence that we can continue to be a disruptive force in site sourcing and property development.”

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/11/searchland-secures-seed-funding/

Nov 23 2021

Previewing Digital Construction Week (DCW) in London

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of London’s Digital Construction Week (DCW) show in 2020, and the event is finally set to take place this week at the ExCEL exhibition centre in east London on 24-25 November 2021.

Among the DCW 2021 exhibitors….

3DRepo

3D-Repo-Logo-Blue3DRepo have been busy lately, running their own British Information Modelling event in London earlier this month, then appearing at AEC Magazine‘s NXT BLD conference, and now at DCW. If the two previous events are any guide, expect to hear more about 3D Repo’s collaboration with Mace, Mission Room, eviFile and academic partners to create a rich visual project control room (see also: eviFile and 3DRepo combine mobile and BIM).

Earlier this year, the London-based firm showed off an infinitely scalable 3D rendering and data delivery platform that allows AEC users to share and view massive and complex 3D engineering models online. This harnesses the Unreal Engine technologies from US-based video game and software developer Epic Games. 3DRepo has also announced the latest release of the 3D Repo platform with updates including IFC4 support, import and export of data validation sets, richer BIM data, and improvements to Civil 3D and Navisworks plugins.

3D Repo has also been working with 4D (construction sequencing) consultancy, Freeform, and the Balfour Beatty Vinci JV to develop a new safety simulation toolset using live walkthroughs of site-specific 4D  visualisations based on existing BIM models. The work, which built on 3D Repo’s Safetibase technology, was funded through an innovation competition funded by High Speed Two (HS2) and managed by Innovate UK. Jozef Dobos, CEO at 3D Repo said:

“Inductions and onboarding in UK construction are usually delivered using generic PowerPoint slides, pre-recorded videos and printed questionnaires. Our new training solution will enable site personnel to quickly and easily generate engaging site-specific induction materials that are easy to comprehend and therefore reduce accidents and near-misses through better quality training.”

Autodesk Construction Cloud

Autodesk Construction CloudA year on from its last major upgrade (Autodesk Construction Cloud is reshaped, November 2020), Autodesk will be talking at DCW about bout new capabilities across its Autodesk Construction Cloud suite, announced last month. The new capabilities include:

  • A new Schedule tool in Autodesk Build – helping teams to centralise schedule management and work from the most up-to-date activities and milestones to keep their projects on track. Office and field teams can instantly share digital schedules, collaborate on updates as they happen and link documents, sheets, photos, issues, assets, RFIs and submittals to their communications for reference. Teams can also filter and search their schedules and view them in calendar or chart formats to see activity status in real time.
  • Sheet sharing across accounts – customers can now connect data across their entire project teams. Linking sheets across different accounts gives teams the ability to share the latest sheets with other external team members including owners and other contractors who need access but may not be part of the main project account.
  • Microsoft Teams in Meetings – customers can now set up Teams meetings directly in Autodesk Build, without having to switch between other applications.
  • Data extraction & analysis – support for sheets, transmittals and design review data extractions using Data Connector, plus new Power BI templates, lets teams analyse and optimize document management workflows for improved design review processes.

Autodesk has also expanded its partner ecosystem, which allows customers to streamline data across workflows. Autodesk Construction Cloud now features over 200 partners leveraging Partner Cards and APIs, including Forge APIs, to deliver integrations for customers who want to simplify data management and make more informed project decisions. Via an expanded partner ecosystem, customers can integrate data from their safety, mixed reality, analytics and reality capture solutions, for example, to Autodesk Construction Cloud and maintain a centralised view of their project information to make decisions with more context.

New integrations also include 3D Repo, Aespada, Airtable, ArcGIS GeoBIM, Arkio, BIM HoloView, DAQS, Embneusys, Geometrid, GoFormz, Google Workspace, Join, Novade (post), Oculo, OpticVyu, ProNovos, Safe Site Check In, Shepherd, SiteKick, Stevenson Systems, StructShare, Tomorrow.io, UpKeep, vGIS, viAct (post) and WakeCap.

Autodesk Tandem ScreenshotIn July 2021, Autodesk announced the commercial availability of its cloud-based digital twin platform, Autodesk Tandem (Autodesk announces Tandem digital twin platform, November 2020). According to Autodesk, the platform enables teams to harness BIM data throughout the design and construction process, then create and handover a digital twin to customers.

Earlier in 2021, Autodesk announced other Construction Cloud enhancements:

  • New workflows to help customers comply with ISO 19650
  • An option to store project data primarily in Europe
  • Availability of Autodesk Docs as a standalone subscription

  • A new quantification product, Autodesk Takeoff, joined Autodesk Build and Autodesk BIM Collaborate as part of the Autodesk Construction Cloud unified platform.

Bentley Systems

Bentley logo 2017Bentley Systems has continued its acquisitive streak. Recent purchases include:

  • Imago, a developer of cloud-based software for the capture and management of geoscientific imagery, acquired by its Seequent business unit (3 August 2021 announcement). Seequent was acquired by Bentley in March 2021 (Bentley’s billion dollar buy: geoscience tech vendor Seequent).
  • Minalytix, developer of the mining solution MX Deposit, also purchased by Seequent (14 September 2021 announcement)
  • Mark BewOXplus, a rail asset management specialist headquartered in Veghel, Netherlands, acquired by the Cohesive Companies, the wholly-owned but independently operated digital integrator business unit of Bentley Systems. The 5 October announcement coincided with the appointment of Mark Bew as CEO of The Cohesive Companies, succeeding Noah Eckhouse. Well-known in the UK as chair of the BIM Task Group until 2016, Bew, right, joined Bentley when it acquired PCSG in October 2021.
  • Power Line Systems, a leader in software for the design of overhead electric power transmission lines and their structures, for approximately $700 million (16 November 2021 announcement).

Bricsys

Bricsys logoFairly quiet since being acquired by Hexagon in October 2018 (Hexagon acquires Bricsys), Bricsys has started to market more extensively in the UK. For DCW, it is mainly focused on V22 of the BricsCAD product family – an all-in-one software platform for 2D drafting, 3D modeling, building information modeling and mechanical design.

Since 2018 (Hexagon on Bricsys 24/7: “Watch this space”), EE has been patiently waiting for news of the company’s SaaS-based collaboration environment Bricsys 24/7; apparently “24/7 is currently undergoing a number of exciting changes, and we will be hosting a summit for 24/7 in March next year.”

Causeway

Causeway logoFollowing a significant investment in the company in June 2021 (Causeway secures £120m to expand), UK-based Causeway acquired SpecifiedBy last month (Causeway acquires SpecifiedBy).

It will be at DCW having recently announced what it says is the world’s first live platform for designing site infrastructure for new housing sites. Causeway Live Design is a cloud-licenced platform that integrates all aspects of site infrastructure design, graphical ground modelling, roads and drainage design including hydraulic analysis and 2D overland flow, vehicle swept path analysis, road marking and traffic sign design. Used standalone or integrated with AutoCAD, the new platform has been tested by Brookbanks and Stirling Maynard, having been piloted by engineering consultancy Thomas Consulting on a residential development at Garstang in Lancashire, UK. According to Causeway’s Barry Blake:

“Causeway Live Design is … a game changer, helping to achieve huge productivity savings and … produce optimal value engineered designs. No more time is wasted reworking designs or double-handling data, which is where so many mistakes can be made. Onboarding and training are quick and easy, and cloud licensing makes this solution portable and flexible for our customers’ needs.”

Causeway recently appointed Richard Longdon as non-executive chairman. Longdon was chief executive and subsequently president of FTSE 250 technology business AVEVA plc for 17 years before stepping down at the end of 2017.

Ed Controls

ED controls logoA new name to Extranet Evolution, Ed Controls is a construction snagging product from Netherlands-based Dutchview IT that is said to be used daily by construction workers in the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain and India. The firm exhibited at LondonBuild last week and with a presence at DCW is clearly pushing to raise its profile in the UK.

Glider

Glider logoUK-based Glider Technology is launching its new Glider Information Value Chain at DCW. It says this is a key formula that is applied to the whole life cycle of an asset – from design through to operation – for better building performance at every stage of the project.

A familiar face has joined Glider. Stuart Bell, formerly at Business Collaborator (Bentley buys GroupBC, March 2020) and before that at Union Square (Union Square acquired by Deltek, July 2016), has joined the firm as director of sales and marketing. He tells EE:

“It’s a tremendously exciting time for the business which has secured some marquee clients and projects and grown significantly through the past 18 months (despite the lovely global pandemic challenge!) Amongst other barometers, I see the industry’s adoption and investment into a data first CDE solution as a significant step in the digital maturing from file centric working to data based information procurement.”

Unity logoUnity

Unity will be unveiling VisualLive to the European market for the first time since it acquired the business in March 2021 (Unity acquires AEC AR tech vendor VisualLive). Unity says VisualLive allows users to import models from Autodesk, and to exchange BIM data with Procore. Unity will also be showcasing Reflect Review, an immersive and interactive design review solution, and Reflect Develop, a tool that helps to build custom applications.

EE at DCW

I will be at Digital Construction Week for both days, dividing my time between platform sessions for the Government & Industry Interoperability Group (exhibiting on stand A63) and for the UK BIM Alliance (including a Thursday discussion panel with the Alliance’s Technology Group).

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/11/digital-construction-week-dcw-london/

Oct 17 2021

Causeway acquires SpecifiedBy

Following the UK Grenfell fire disaster, specification of construction product information and the “Golden Thread” is in the spotlight. Product data management platforms such as SpecifiedBy work in this sector.

Causeway logoUK-based construction software vendor Causeway has featured sporadically in ExtranetEvolution over the past 16 years, partly because its software portfolio has not been focused on cloud-based collaboration. During the early 2000s, it offered a SaaS construction collaboration platform powered by OpenText, but it did not gain the traction of contemporary competitors (4Projects, Asite, BIW, Business Collaborator, etc). However, away from collaboration, it has grown a presence in other software areas, and – following a £120m investment in June 2021 – gained a war-chest to make further acquisitions, potentially looking to expand its cloud platform to expand its geographical reach and/or its technological scope.

SpecifiedBy blue logoThe business has just announced its latest acquisition (terms not disclosed): SpecifiedBy, a building products information platform launched in early 2013 (SpecifiedBy planning Q1 UK launch).

Founded by Darren Lester, SpecifiedBy raised further funds in early 2014 (AEC startup SpecifiedBy closes funding round) and in November 2015 (SpecifiedBy raises further funding), but it faced competition from various construction product information providers. Newcastle-based NBS’s National BIM Library and BIMstore (BIMStore revamps, January 2019) provided domestic competition, but were also up against Sweden’s BIMObject, Cobuilder’s GoBIM from Norway, the US’s SmartBIM, BIM&Co from France and MagiCAD Cloud from Finland, among others, as well as manufacturers’ own object-hosting websites.

SpecifiedBy deal

With over 2,600 suppliers and 65,000 active monthly users, Causeway claims SpecifiedBy leads the UK market in digitised product information. Phil Brown, Causeway CEO, said:

Phil Brown, CEO of Causeway“Bringing SpecifiedBy into the Causeway portfolio further strengthens the workflows we are digitising between specifiers, buyers and suppliers across pre-construction intelligence, procurement, delivery and payment processes. This deal also delivers strong synergies with our earlier acquisition of Enhance, a specialist construction telemarketing company that generates qualified, actionable leads for manufacturers.

“Through all these initiatives we are linking every stage of the construction process with technology. This is a vital step towards achieving our platform vision where pre-construction and procurement phases are fully integrated, giving buyers and suppliers increased process efficiencies and data insights.”

Darren Lester, chief executive and founder of SpecifiedBy, said:

Darren Lester - SpecifiedBy

“From our very first conversation, it was clear that Causeway’s ambitions very much aligned with our own: to digitally connect the construction supply chain, and to transform the industry for the better through innovative software solutions.

“In just a few years, we’ve established SpecifiedBy as a leading product within a competitive space, through product innovation and a laser focus on the needs of our customers and users. Joining forces with Causeway’s experienced team and complimentary [sic] products will ensure we continue to build on this position, increase and expand the value we provide to both specifiers and construction product manufacturers, and in the long-term, play our part in digitally enabling the global construction industry.”

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/10/causeway-acquires-specifiedby/

Jul 08 2021

Graphisoft expands BIMcloud with SaaS option

Alongside Archicad 25, Graphisoft has announced enhancements to its BIMx model viewing and BIMcloud design collaboration applications, though these are consciously not ‘CDE’ products. 

Graphisoft logoHungary-based BIM software giant Graphisoft, part of the Nemetschek group, has announced (7 July 2021) the release of the latest version of its BIM software, Archicad 25. It has also released significant enhancements to its BIMx model visualisation technologies and to its BIMcloud hosting and collaboration product, including an SME-oriented BIMcloud Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering.

BIMx

Graphisoft BIMx logoBIMx is based on technologies originally developed by Swedish developer Zermatt Virtual Reality Software, acquired by Graphisoft in 2010. The first Virtual Building Explorer, for ArchiCAD 13, was launched in late 2013 (post) and enabled users of Apple iOS devices to view and navigate around building information models. Over time the solution has been extended to include support for Android devices and web browsers, plus a desktop application. Some services were made available via free iOS or Android apps, while others required a paid-for BIMx PRO application (iOS only)

BIMx is described as bridging the gap between the design studio, the client’s office, and the construction site.  It features the BIMx ‘Hyper-model’ – a game-like navigation tool that helps anyone easily explore the building model and understand project deliverables. And it offers real-time model cut-throughs, in-context measuring, and project markups in the model.

Huw Roberts - GraphisoftAt a press conference chaired by Graphisoft CEO Huw Roberts (post), the company announced that BIMx now features a 3D engine available for Android users. With BIMx, Android users join iOS users with the capability to:

  • Get precise data from the 3D model or 2D plans with the Smart Measure function.
  • Play animated Archicad client presentations in BIMx Presenter mode.
  • Access BIMx hyper-model elements from outside of BIMx.
  • Get photo-realistic views with real-time illumination calculation.
  • Open models in no time thanks to a faster startup.

In addition, new BIMx PRO in-app subscription plans available in BIMx unlock the following features:

  • Open 3D models of any size and complexity.
  • Save favorite 2D and 3D project views for later easy access.
  • Create BIMx presentations using favorite animated sequences and still views.
  • Print hard copies of any 2D and 3D project vie

 

BIMcloud

Graphisoft BIMcloudSoon after BIMx’s introduction, Graphisoft launched its cloud computing option, BIMcloud, in Tokyo in March 2014 (news release). As a BIM collaboration platform, BIMcloud allows teams to collaborate on native BIM data in real-time regardless of location, with file element differences fast-tracked via Graphisoft’s Delta-Server technology, with secure local caches to further reduce network delays. It could be deployed on-premise as a private cloud solution or in the public cloud as a cloud service.

Since 2014, BIMcloud has been in continual development. Multi-disciplinary design capabilities enable sharing of architectural, structural and MEP elements, plus the integrated analytical model. Model Compare and Rollback help users quickly identify what has changed between models and, when necessary, to annotate and revert to previous states.

Integrated with Archicad 25, Graphisoft says BIMx and BIMcloud are now better than ever. BIMcloud has been rebooted with an expanded file capacity per instance. Users can host up to 100,000 project files in one location. And the BIMcloud desktop application incorporates the BIMx desktop viewer for 2D and 3D file viewing.

BIMcloud SaaS license transfer

Smaller practices and sole practitioners can take advantage of a new “BIMcloud SaaS license transfer” — enabling them to pool resources while delivering projects in joint ventures, without any hidden costs. With a flexible a Graphisoft ID, architects and engineers can identify themselves across the BIMcloud SaaS network, and bring their own BIMcloud license to participate in projects. Graphisoft says this will enhance designers’ competitiveness so that they can form flexible design teams and work on much larger projects together.

No Graphisoft ‘Common Data Environment’

However, these are not ‘common data environment’ (CDE) platforms. Extranet Evolution asked Roberts whether BIMcloud constituted a CDE and, as well as models, was able to share other files and workflow content. He said:

Huw Roberts“The way to think about BIMcloud is that it is a design hub. It is about connecting the design team and the design experience, whether that is issue resolution, sharing models, or integrating the work of different team members. It is about supporting that whole design team experience.

“I think the common data environment – a buzzterm in the industry (if you ask ten people in the industry you’ll get 20 answers what that means) – is fundamentally about being able to store information somewhere. Sure BIMcloud can do that: you can put all your information in there and get to it. BIMcloud has workflows and added benefits that are specifically designed to design teams.”

Graphisoft's Ákos PfemeterÁkos Pfemeter, VP for Technology Partnerships, expanded on Roberts’s response:

“A number of years ago, we learnt from one of our UK customers (CDE is a UK invention) that they actually run six CDEs because they work on six different projects with six different clients, and the CDE is decided by the client in most cases – or the contractor. It is not like there is one CDE for one customer… . BIMcloud is more geared to collaboration and active work on the BIM data as opposed to the core functionality of CDEs … documenting, archiving.”

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/07/graphisoft-expands-bimcloud-saas-option/

Jul 07 2021

Building Safety Bill opens opportunities for Operance

UK software vendor Operance has been involved in the development of practical solutions to deliver ‘the Golden Thread’ as part of the UK Government’s Building Safety Bill.

Much of the attention on this week’s (5 July 2021) publication of the UK Government’s Building Safety Bill has understandably focused on the ongoing repercussions of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire disaster and the highlighted need to replace aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding. However, in the four years since the disaster, significant changes including digitisation of aspects of UK building safety have also been set in motion.

Hackitt recommendation 8.1‘The Golden Thread’

Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building regulations and fire safety, Building a Safer Future, was published in May 2018. She recommended a digital by default “golden thread” approach to the management of building information.

This recommendation was a timely encouragement to the UK construction industry to maintain, even hasten, its digital transformation. With respect to building information modelling (BIM), the 2016 ‘BIM mandate’ had passed two years earlier. But there have been signs that the pace of BIM adoption has slowed, despite the continuing development of international standards such as ISO 19650 (eventually launched in January 2019), the publication of the UK BIM Framework (launched in October 2019), the pan-sector National Data Strategy (September 2020 post), and the exhortations contained in the Construction Playbook. (Published in December 2020; this initiative and related themes were explored at the April 2021 NBS Construction Leaders’ Summit; read NBS Summit: accelerating digital transformation.)

Product data

In parallel, other bodies have been hard at work. For example, the Construction Products Association has been developing proposals to help suppliers and manufacturers digitise product information to comply with new regulatory requirements for the construction products market (see also the CPA’s proposed Code for Construction Product Information, CCPI). Alongside, in a project led by Su Butcher, the IET has also been developing a ‘plain language guide to product data’ (see IET blog). And – addressing Hackitt’s call for data to be “appropriately open and non-proprietary” – the Construction Innovation Hub-backed BIM Interoperability Expert Group (BIEG) explored interoperability issues, producing an Information interoperability: business benefits case tool in February 2021.

These and related developments are, of course, being closely monitored by software vendors, including through the Technology Group of the UK BIM Alliance,* keen to ensure that such initiatives are compatible with their products and services. In the past, considerable investments were made by many manufacturers in creating BIM objects with firms such as BIMStore (post), NBS’s National BIM Library, SpecifiedBy (posts), BIMObject and Cobuilder, among others. Meeting Golden Thread requirements is another major industry challenge.

Operance and the Golden Thread Initiative

Operance logoOne project involving construction software vendors has been the Golden Thread Initiative (GTI). Hull, UK-based Operance (March 2020: Operance releases smart building manual) has been providing technical and consultancy support to a team sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The group has been testing methods of producing a standardised digital Golden Thread for building safety information that will satisfy the requirements of the Building Safety Bill.

The eight-month initiative, led by housing association L&Q on behalf of the MHCLG, was launched in November 2020. Working groups with industry experts from particular specialisms have been exploring different standards and ways of creating a working prototype of the Golden Thread. Operance was represented across several of the groups, focusing on information management technology, project management, information and process mapping and asset information collation.

Software development

The company is also developing its own software to define, coordinate and audit building operations and maintenance (O&M) information. Chief product officer (and a member of GTI’s Information Management Platform working group), Scott Pilgrim says:

Scott Pilgrim - Operance“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise with the GTI to help transform the construction industry, making buildings safer and protecting lives. Our vision to create a digital Golden Thread is completely aligned to that of the GTI. … As well as being able to provide our own insights, … Operance’s participation in the project means we can listen and learn from all of those involved to understand fully what the industry needs. This will be a huge benefit to the development of our platform….”

Johnny Furlong, BIM strategy lead for L&Q, said:

“L&Q is leading the GTI initiative with the MHCLG to pilot ways that organisations can produce a standardised digital Golden Thread of building safety information for their HRRBs {high-rise residential buildings}. The development of a digital Golden Thread has the potential to revolutionise the built environment. We invited experts to join the GTI because it is crucial we have the best available expertise available to us. Operance have had a valuable part to play, bringing their expertise to several of the GTI working groups. We are looking forward to reporting back to the Government.”

Blockchain-powered: Operance O&M

Operance FMReleased in Summer 2021, Operance O&M is a purpose-built desktop application to define, curate, audit and maintain information about a building from design to occupation. The solution provides an immutable ‘quantum ledger’, built on blockchain technology, to produce a secure lifecycle record of high-quality building safety and asset information.

Accurate and easy to understand building and asset information will be shared with owners, operators and occupiers via the companion mobile app, Operance FM, providing users with crucial detail in real-time via smart building and home user guides. With this building information at their fingertips, users can easily search, share, update and utilise their data to operate and maintain their facilities, whilst managing risks and continuously developing the Golden Thread.

Operance has also offered social housing associations and other organisations the opportunity to test the software and help shape features to suit their needs. The business is also offering help with strategic digital transformation and BIM consultancy services to enable organisations define and articulate their digital estate ambitions.

Update (11 December 2022) – In April 2022, the Operance parent company, BIMSense, raised £250,000, from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, to further enhance its platform before the introduction of new rules to improve the safety of high-rise buildings. This was on top of the initial 2020 investment to launch Operance. The latest investment was expected to enable the company to create four new jobs in Hull.

[* Disclosure: I have been chair of the Technology Group of the UK BIM Alliance since summer 2019, and was also involved in the work of BIM Interoperability Expert Group.]

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/07/building-safety-bill-opens-opportunities-operance/

Jul 06 2021

Procore expands into the Middle East and North Africa

Procore is expanding into the Middle East and North Africa through a strategic partnership with its Abu Dhabi-based investor Mubadala.

Procore logoSome six weeks after the May 2021 initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (post), US-based construction management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider Procore has continued its international extension. It has today (6 July 2021 news release) announced its expansion into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor and existing Procore shareholder, will partner with Procore to drive its expansion into MENA. The partners say their venture will advance the opportunity for Procore’s platform to connect information and teams, drive performance, and ensure the safety of workers in the region’s construction industry. Procore says it has over 10,000 customers running in excess of one million projects around the world.

Executive perspectives

Tooey Courtemanche, Procore founder and CEO, says:

Tooey Courtemanche, Procore CEO“Procore builds software for the people who build the world. We are excited for our next phase of growth across the Middle East and North Africa in partnership with Mubadala. Procore is already used in over 125 countries, and expanding globally will enable us to better partner with construction leaders around the world. Our mission is to connect everyone in construction on our global platform, so that our customers can build faster, safer and smarter.”

Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures and growth at Mubadala, said:

“The construction sector in the Middle East is ripe for disruption as it remains largely undigitised. Procore’s platform is a game changer, and we are excited to support them on their mission to connect everyone in construction on a global platform, bringing significant efficiencies to the industry across the region.”

Procore has appointed Mohamed Swidan as Procore’s head of MENA to build regional operations with all customer touchpoints in the team. Swidan is a former regional executive at Uber, and was previously a regional head of cloud at SAP. He said:

“Construction businesses in MENA today are accelerating their digitisation and innovation. As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, owners and contractors are under continued pressure to drive innovation while controlling costs and improving productivity. … With Mubadala we have a unique opportunity to expand our one platform approach to a growing construction market, working closely with their team to respond to market needs.”

The Extranet Evolution perspective

Procore’s global numbers look impressive, but just 12.2% of its 2020 revenues was generated from customers outside the United States. It launched in Australasia in 2017 (post), and subsequently (from 2018) established a strong UK and Ireland operation, but its presence in many of its stated 125 countries is otherwise thin.

Mubadala may feel the MENA region is “largely undigitised”, but, buoyed by the presence of numerous overseas consultants and contractors, it has long been targeted by AEC contech vendors. The Middle East was a lucrative market during the growth years of the early 2000s, but the Global Financial Crisis seriously impacted several vendors (UK-based BIW* never recovered from the hit, and, financially troubled, was eventually acquired in 2010 by Germany’s Conject, then itself later, 2016, bought by Aconex – who were among the first to build a MENA footprint).

In the MENA region, Procore faces significant competition from longer-established and now well-entrenched AEC SaaS businesses offering largely similar functionality, plus additional applications (including extensive support for BIM – still not a Procore strength). From the English-speaking world, Autodesk, Oracle (now embracing Aconex), Trimble and Bentley Systems all have strong multi-application user bases in the Gulf region, alongside long-established SaaS niche players like Asite.

Nonetheless, the support of Mubadala is a strong endorsement, and a reminder of the growing appetite for construction technology investment in recent years.

[* Disclosure: I worked for BIW Technologies, 2000-2009, and was in Dubai (post) as the first wave of local job losses due to the financial crisis began. I have undertaken past consultancy projects for Procore.]

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/07/procore-expands-middle-east-north-africa/

Jul 06 2021

RIB Software: leadership changes

RIB software logoStuttgart, Germany-based RIB Software − since July 2020 part of French multinational Schneider Electric (post) − has announced that René Wolf will become managing director and CEO of the company with effect from 1 February 2022, succeeding Tom Wolf, who will step down as MD on 31 March 2022.

René Wolf, 47,  has many years of experience in the development and sale of international software solutions and in the digital transformation of traditional industries. He has worked for the Siemens Group in North and Latin America as well as in Germany in various management positions and corporate divisions.

Tobias Hamacher, 40, has been appointed managing director and CFO with immediate effect. Hamacher has many years of finance experience in the Schneider Group, and succeeds Michael Sauer, who will also step down on 31 March 2022.

RIB regional revenues, 2020Tom Wolf and Michael Sauer intend to remain members of the administrative board of the company until the end of their term in 2025, with Wolf retaining his position as chairman of the board.

In the year to 31 December 2020, RIB grew its revenues 24% to €254.6 million (c. £217m or US$301m) from 2019’s €214.6m and its operating EBITDA grew 27.5% to €65.3m (c. £56m or US$77m), and it continued to expand internationally, with a quarter of revenues now derived from north America (read RIB Group grows revenues 24% in 2020 – April 2021).

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/07/rib-software-leadership-changes/

Jun 30 2021

viAct: AI-powered construction safety

Recently receiving US$2m in seed funding, Hong Kong-based startup viAct is aiming to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create a “zero risk” smart construction site.

Founded in 2016 and based in Hong Kong, viAct has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based cloud platform that provides construction sites with round-the-clock visual monitoring for quality, security, safety and productivity management purposes. The application combines computer vision, edge devices and a mobile app. Computer vision detects potential safety hazards, construction progress, and the location of machinery and materials. Real-time alerts are sent to a mobile app with a simple interface, designed for rapid assimilation of information by users in noisy and dynamic working environments.

In March 2021, the startup announced (TechCrunch) that it had raised US$2 million in seed funding, in a round co-led by SOSV and Vectr Ventures, with participation from Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Artesian Ventures and ParticleX. By this time, viAct had more than 30 construction industry clients in Asia and Europe. Current customers include BTP, Swire Properties and China State Construction.

It plans to use its latest new funding for research and development, product development and expanding into neighbouring southeast Asian countries. These include Indonesia and Vietnam, both seen as growth opportunities over the next 5-10 years, with their governments planning for smart cities and new infrastructure. Singapore is also a target as it has mature developer customers willing to adopt AI-based technologies, as is Japan and Australia. Longer-term, the company aims to expand into Europe, encouraged by early adoption of its technology by firms from Italy and Spain

The viAct story

Gary Ng - viAct CEOThe company was founded by Gary Ng, CEO – right, and Hugo Cheuk, now chief operating officer. Both graduated in building engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2002 (see also this January 2021 StartUp.Info interview). Ng then joined an engineering consultancy firm before making a switch to technology businesses (he had senior roles at two Israeli-backed companies: Stratasys and EFI Optitex). Cheuk worked in range of media and manufacturing firms, including a major Asian cosmetics business.

In 2016, the two friends decided to start their own business, combining their engineering and technology experiences, and after identifying construction enterprises as ripe for technology adoption, began testing AI monitoring solutions for construction in 2019. Company-bespoke AI models were too expensive and time-consuming to develop, so they focused on building a standardised AI cloud platform that construction companies can deploy in minutes. Ng told Extranet Evolution that the viAct application analyses video outputs from existing site cameras (usually static devices, but also from drones, tablets and smartphones), using image recognition algorithms built upon a growing database of tens of millions of construction site images – captured during over 30,000 hours of construction activity.

COVID-19 impacts

Interestingly, expansion of the viAct team was not hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. With employees forced to work from home locations, viAct adopted a what Ng called a “remote first” culture. This also enabled it to recruit the best staff regardless of location (it now has some 40 staff, including people working from India, Thailand, the Philippines, even Argentina). And they also apply a more international perspective to viAct’s work.

In January 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, viAct was the first Asian company to develop a face-mask detection solution for construction sites. Speaking about the latest funding round, SOSV partner and Chinaccelerator managing director Oscar Ramos said:

“COVID has accelerated digital transformation and traditional industries like construction are going through an even faster process of transformation that is critical for survival. The viAct team has not only created a product that drives value for the industry but has also been able to earn the trust of their customers and accelerate adoption.”

How viAct works

viAct Product shotDepending on use cases, viAct can capture video and image data for real-time processing or post processing.  Captured data is streamed directly to AI engines for data analysis and to generate alerts – typically sent within a minute. Warnings help workers to protect themselves. viAct also helps safety managers or site agents monitor onsite incidents, while allowing senior management oversight of multiple project sites.

Anyone without AI knowledge and coding background can set up the viAct system within five minutes. Its simple to use, highly flexible, plug & play technology makes it easy to onboard new users, says Ng.

To date, viAct has developed over 50 AI modules relating to a wide range of construction environments, plant and equipment, materials and processes. Some are generic (safety modules relating to wearing of personal protective equipment, PPE, for example), while others are specific to particular environments (viAct has modules developed for deployment in tunnels during infrastructure projects, for instance). viAct aims to eventually have a library of AI modules for most processes and working environments. Ng says customers can see how many workers have been deployed, what equipment is operating, the location of materials and tools, etc – many activities which used to rely on human monitoring can now be automated.

Deployment

viAct sells just its cloud platform, to which customers connect their existing cameras and online systems. As a cloud service, viAct customers pay according to the volume of images monitored by the system’s modules. Cheuk, below right, says:

Hugo Cheuk (COO, viAct)“Some projects start with feeds from just two or three cameras and use just two or three modules. A basic deployment at that level for six months will cost under US$5,000 – less than £1,000/month. More cameras and more modules will naturally increase customers’ use of our AI service and increase the cost pro rata, but the cost benefits in improved safety, quality and productivity usually mean a rapid return on investment.”

Cheuk adds that, once deployed, the system can be constantly updated.

“Our software has a drag-and-drop interface that allows users to quickly select the modules they want to use, and they can swap between modules at any time – vital as dynamic projects progress, deploy different equipment and manage different processes.”

The company featured in CEMEX Ventures’ TOP 50 most promising startups of 2020. It is also an Autodesk development partner, and has created an integration between its AI platform and Autodesk BIM 360.

The competitive space

viAct has few local competitors in southeast Asia. Its major international competitor is a Boston, US-based firm, SmartVid.io, founded by Josh Kanner (who co-founded Vela Systems – acquired by Autodesk in 2012, TechCrunch, to form the basis of Autodesk’s BIM 360 field mobile application), and also employing former ConstructWare and CTSpace executive Gary Greenberger (April 2008 post).

Also exploiting construction site video content using AI is Dublin, Ireland-based Evercam (April 2020 post: Evercam : site imagery, AI and BIM), which deploys AI image recognition tools to help construction site managers monitor vehicle movements, and, in a COVID-19 context, people movements.

However, viAct is located in one of the fastest growing global construction markets, and has deep local and domain-specific experience – and, perhaps more important – it also has huge volumes of data. Moreover, its business model is geographically very agile, not reliant on existing technologies, and its AI modules seem highly customisable to different corporate and country-specific compliance regimes. Domain-specific expertise and experience can be critical in attracting investors, and will be important in markets, such as SE Asia, with big growth potential (in April 2021, Bentley Systems justified an acquisition for its Asian region-specific challenges and project dynamics).

Update (12 January 2022) – Viact has published a white paper covering areas including: what are the major pain points on construction sites, the impacts of COVID-19, what stimulates technology adoption, and growth trends in the contech market. Register here to get the paper.

Permanent link to this article: http://extranetevolution.com/2021/06/viact-ai-powered-construction-safety/

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