The construction industry has generally tended to resist digital transformation that other industrial and business sectors have witnessed in recent years, and the adoption of Blockchain technology can potentially address several problems and bring out a slew of benefits upon integration with the current practices.
While it usually finds its relevance with digital cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, blockchain is being seen as an emergent technology that could revolutionize and transform the current digital operational landscapes of the construction industry.
Blockchain is the nexus of a digitized, decentralized public ledger of data, assets, and all relevant exchanges that have been transpired and shared among participants in a network.
Blockchain technology focusses on creating a system that would provide a robust self-monitoring, self-regulating, and cyber-resilient data transaction operation, assuring the ease in operation and protection of a truly efficient data exchange system.
The hypothesis behind Blockchain technology is the creation of a digital distributed accord, ensuring that data is decentralized among several nodes that hold similar data, and no single player holds the complete authority of the network. This improves the transparency of activity and enhances data security.
Blockchain technology, though still in its early developmental stages, holds the potential to streamline and accelerate much of today’s engineering and design practices with a horde of benefits to the individual, organization, clients, industry, and society.
The application of BCT could lead to the effective management and utilization of several tools that would transform the industry culture, and advance futuristic advancements, such as:
- Building information modeling software
- Cloud-based technology (Platforms for collaboration)
- Smart contracts
- Reality capture technology (Photogrammetry, aerial LiDAR, etc.)
- Internet of Things (IoT)
Integration of BIM with Blockchain
Today, BIM is at the forefront of digital transformation in the construction industry, encouraging collaboration and trust, and simplifying data exchange. BIM models display a comprehensive design model of the building that can include all aspects of the buildings, such as architecture, structural, and MEP design areas.
In the days ahead, BIM development will eventually aim to fuse all design and analysis tools in one platform. The followings are the key BIM features that can benefit from the interaction with Blockchain technology:
1. Collaboration using Blockchain
The integration of Blockchain technology in the BIM processes addresses current issues like confidentiality, nonrepudiation, traceability, change tracing, provenance tracking, and data ownership. This ‘evidence of trust’ can be an effective and stable cornerstone for the collaborative design process and the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) strategies.
It is suggested that the complete integration of Blockchain technology in a BIM setting to record all transactions would be the ideal solution to leverage all potential advantages from using a Distributed ledger (DLT). Choosing the appropriate type of Blockchain based on privacy levels (public or private) is vital while implementing DLT in the construction sector.
2. Data ownership using Blockchain
BIM can address the issue of conversion of intrinsic value to digital values by creating added value, coupled with Blockchain’s feature to provide reward mechanisms in the form of virtual currencies that hold validity long after the project completion.
AECoin is a recently developed cryptocurrency coin created specifically for design and engineering transactions. It can be used to measure the added intrinsic and intangible value of a physical artifact and accurately calculate rewards earned by the participant by assessing individual/collaborative project contributions over the product life-cycle.
This concept of monetizing designs through the life-cycle would ensure a superior outcome and can more effectively motivate architects and engineers to deliver their best efforts by providing proportionate incentives.
3. Cybersecurity using Blockchain
BIM comes with multifunctional workspaces that address asset management, performance monitoring, and change management through the lifecycle of a project in addition to the design, planning, and construction phases of the project.
To ease the collaboration among all parties, BIM employs the Common Data Environment (CDE), which provides a single repository for project information that is used to collect, manage, and distribute data for multidisciplinary teams. It requires auditing, monitoring, and tracking of data through the CDE, which will develop throughout the project life-cycle.
Since BIM involves complicated interactions involving collaborative actions and information exchange between users, and processes, it is important to consider cyber-security implications, assess current levels of reliability, address current drawbacks, and reinforce security.
Crucial features of Blockchain, such as asset sharing, utilizing secure cryptography, resilient peer-to-peer network, and auditing trails of data access present a novel and promising emergent method to address cybersecurity in BIM workflow.
Further, Blockchain can enable a secure and transparent method of Proof of Delivery (PoD) with terms to the transport and delivery of assets that can assist in the collaboration between different team members of a design project using BIM.
Benefits of Blockchain in Construction
- Blockchain technology can very well slash administrative costs, effectively shield intellectual property rights, and eliminate unwieldy paperwork, contract execution, and manual verifications. A potentially new line of revenue for design professionals could be generated by assessing and selling designs and workflows.
- Blockchain can facilitate the creation of records consisting of past achievements and qualifications, with a goal to enable comparison of team constellations and thus helping with the decision-making processes for clients and project managers to select a well-balanced team with varied skill sets, experience, and versatility.
- The transparency of data and collaborative decision-making can achieve significant savings in cost, time, human errors, labor, stimulate shared learning, and can radically realign the hierarchical workflow structure.
- The adversarial relationships between various parties involved in a project, distribute a centralized authority that is responsible for most managerial decisions, and significantly change modern economic incentives that motivate firms and individuals to minimize information and preserve their individual interests.
FAQs
Blockchain is the nexus of a digitized, decentralized public ledger of data, assets, and all relevant exchanges that have been transpired and shared among participants in a network.
1. Building information modeling software
2. Cloud-based technology (Platforms for collaboration)
3. Smart contracts
4. Reality capture technology (Photogrammetry, aerial LiDAR, etc.)
5. Internet of Things (IoT)
1. Blockchain technology can very well slash administrative costs, effectively shield intellectual property rights, and eliminate unwieldy paperwork, contract execution, and manual verifications.
2. Blockchain can facilitate the creation of records consisting of past achievements and qualifications, with a goal to enable comparison of team constellations and thus helping with the decision-making processes
3. The transparency of data and collaborative decision-making can achieve significant savings in cost, time, human errors, labor, stimulate shared learning, and can radically realign the hierarchical workflow structure.
Read More:
How IoT can help the Construction Sector? [PDF]
5 Ways Drones are Revolutionizing the Construction Sector
Embracing Digitalization in Construction Industry