How construction tech can help infrastructure projects go green

Climate change has compelled a wide range of industries to put more focus on going green by building sustainability into their products and practices. For construction, when you factor in the massive investment in infrastructure projects, it represents an opportunity to put those in place on a grand scale.

These developments have made construction technology more relevant than ever. From environmentally friendly design in the early stages to delivery of energy-efficient structures at handover and beyond to operations, construction tech in its varied forms is poised to help the industry meet regulatory as well as societal expectations for making green building an achievable reality.

Exploration of sustainable designs and materials

It helps to think of infrastructure projects as having a reciprocal relationship with their environment. Using 3D modelling processes known as building information modelling (BIM), design teams are now able to take a multifaceted approach to designing with that relationship in mind.

There’s no doubt that sustainable materials are better for the environment than traditional materials for many reasons — lower carbon footprint, less potential for pollution and contamination, and so on. But it’s not enough that sustainable materials are used in infrastructure projects; there must be a corresponding reduction in the amount of resource waste produced, including time, money and materials.

And this is where BIM, ever the multitasker, shines once again.

Prevention of wasteful mistakes

Mistakes happen, but their consequences depend on whether they’re discovered and corrected in time to avoid depleting material supplies and further damaging the environment. This speaks more to process than technology; however, two mobile-enabled construction tech options in particular can help keep environmentally unfriendly mistakes from happening or worsening: building commissioning software and punch list software.

When these processes and their respective software are implemented at the start of construction instead of close to the completion date, construction mistake elimination takes a more proactive approach than reactive.

Today, BIM’s systems design and materials exploration processes help create more sustainable buildings that are energy efficient, promote health and wellbeing, reduce pollution and improve indoor air quality. It’s this kind of construction technology that will create meaningful change towards a more sustainable industry now and for future generations.

Image credit: iStock.com/Jub job