DiCtion: Digitalising construction workflows
One of the reasons for inefficiencies in construction is that situation awareness is lacking. Construction managers and workers typically have insufficient information about the current and planned states of work on the construction site.
A poor flow of information seriously hinders construction workers. They waste the bulk of their time on the jobsite in activities that do not add value. Instead of focusing on their core tasks, they are searching for and moving materials and tools, or trying to find information.
Aalto University’s Department of Civil Engineering leads the project consortium and is the research partner together with VTT. The business partners are Bonava, Consolis Parma, Fira, Ruukki, Sweco, and Trimble.
DiCtion studies, develops, and field-tests data models, processes, and technologies that improve construction site and supply chain productivity. The project aims at a future in which every stakeholder in a construction project has access to real-time information about the past, present, and future events of a project–the shared situation picture.
Aalto’s 12-person research team is headed by Olli Seppänen, Professor of Practice. The project is funded by Business Finland. The two-and-a-half year project will be completed in June 2020.
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Transparent processes between stakeholders, distributed situational picture, and linked data with shared ontologies will transform the building industry. They will also enable new business models in the construction sector. Those were the key outcomes of the DiCtion project, which has released a compendium of its research results.
Reports
Read the final report of the studies carried out within the DICTION consortium.Why is DiCtion essential and timely?
Construction is one of the least digitalised industries. Advances in digitalisation have predominantly taken place in the design phase. Building information modelling, for example, is gradually becoming mainstream. However, digitalisation has not increased the overall productivity of construction. This is mainly due to poor digital support for the work on construction sites.
What is DiCtion?
DiCtion is a research and development project that aims at a future in which every stakeholder in a construction project has access to real-time information about the past, present, and future events of a project. The shared situation picture is made possible by digitalising construction workflows and using common data models and ontologies.
DiCtion applies technologies from three domains: building information management (BIM), construction management (CM), and supply chain management (SCM). Until now, these technologies have been separated, with little data-level interaction between them. DiCtion creates connections between these application areas, which is a game-changer in construction information management.
Who are in the Consortium?
Research
- Aalto University’s School of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
- VisuaLynk Oy
Housing developer
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Bonava
Construction
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Fira
Engineering design
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Sweco
Manufacturing
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Consolis Group / Parma Ltd
- Ruukki Construction
Software development
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Trimble Solutions Ltd
Who will benefit and how?
Better productivity saves time and money for all stakeholders involved in the USD 10 trillion construction industry. Building owners and users get better end products, delivered within budget and on schedule.
DiCtion helps construction software and technology developers deliver improved products, which in turn reduce development costs as they can use the data models and process definitions created and tested in real life in DiCtion. The cross-pollination between BIM, CM, and SCM systems opens opportunities for new products and services.
The researchers get invaluable data and information from real-life case studies. DiCtion sets in motion new research and development that is necessary for the future success of construction.
What will DiCtion deliver?
The project delivers data models, guidelines and software applications that advance the digital transformation of the industry. Key deliverables include:
- an ontology, a common model for information sharing
- shared information architecture and requirements for ontologies
- a common generic workflow model
- a model for collaborative planning
- definitions related to the situation picture
- a shared collaboration plan.
In addition, contractors and software companies develop and test software that makes use of DiCtion data models and best practices.
What’s the timeline?
DiCtion started in January 2018 and will be completed in June 2020.
Who funds DiCtion?
Business Finland funds the research project.
Who`s Doing DiCtion at Aalto?
Antti Peltokorpi
Antti Aikala
Behnam Badihi Olyaei
Risto Kärkkäinen
Muge Tetik
Rita Lavikka
Joonas Lehtovaara
Ana Reinbold
Petteri Uusitalo
Jianyu Zhao
Reports
Read the final report of the studies carried out within the DICTION consortium.
RECAP final Reports
Browse the final reports of studies conducted under the RECAP project. Content mainly available in Finnish only.
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