b'COVER STORYTECHNICAL EVOLUTIONSBY MATTHEW BRADFORDENHANCED OPTIONS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT, PROGRESS AND SAFETYhe prime objectives for anycontributing to safer and more and safety plans, or assessing work tasks T construction project are theefficient jobsites. for health and safety risks, says David same: to stay safe, on targetDunham, Regional Safety Advisor for and on schedule. Thanks to severalThe age of cloud computing has alsoNorthern BC with the BC Construction technological innovations and advances,spurred software as a service (SaaS)Safety Alliance. As the technology project teams can access smarter, moreofferings. These are on-demand ITbecomes more widely adopted, we sophisticated and more connected toolsresources (e.g., data storage, datashould expect generative AI [to] be a to meet these priorities. analytics, project managementstandard component of most of our platforms) that construction teams canexisting software programs and tools.Construction project managementcommission from a remote third-party is ever evolving, thanks to a suite ofprovider. Using a SaaS eliminates theOne of the more compelling uses of AI new and emerging technologies. Theseneed for contractors to deal with thein construction project management include increasingly advanced enterprisecosts and requirements of managingis making optimal use of a companys resource management systems (EPRs) ordata on their end. data. Contractors are awash in all-in-one construction managementdata from numerous sources (e.g., tools that can be used to plan,operations, clients, projects, etc.), track, monitor and analyze a projectTHE AI ADVANTAGE which live in various places across an throughout all stages of the build. Artificial intelligence (AI) is doing itsorganization. AI equips organizations part to enhance project management.with the tools to dig through the Digital construction managementThrough AI-enabled buildingnoise to collect, centralize, organize platforms arent necessarily new.information modelling (BIM), forand secure that data to inform project However, advances in cloud computingexample, historical and real-time projectbudgeting, procurement, scheduling,computing services and resourcesdata can be analyzed and used to helphuman resources and otherthat can be accessed online instead ofteams optimize their constructioncritical functions.managed on sitehave given rise toplans and schedules, and large language even more advanced integrated digitalmodels can be advantageous in hazard platforms (IDPs). These all-in-oneand risk assessments. Similarly, AI- DIGITAL TWINNINGproject collaboration hubs bring allenhanced platforms and algorithms areOne of the more compelling project stakeholders into one digitalbecoming relied upon to streamlinetechnological advances in construction environment, where they can sharerepetitive manual tasks in the is the practice of digital twinning. documents, review progress, trackback office. Much like it sounds, digital twinning key performance indicators (KPIs)refers to the tech-savvy process of using and work jointly on key tasks. TheThere are plenty of reasons to beginphotogrammetry or LiDAR (Light result is stronger communication,experimenting with AI in construction,Detection and Ranging) to create an more streamlined activities andwhether that be for bid evaluations,exact 3D computer-generated replica greater oversight and accountability,generating first drafts of constructionof a structure or construction site using 18 SOUTHERN INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION'