Digitization in the construction and real estate industry

For a long time, the construction industry was one of the sectors least affected by digitization. In many areas, there is still a high degree of inefficiency due to a purely project-oriented rather than process-oriented way of thinking and working. In addition, the construction industry is very small-scale, specialized and fragmented, which means that the introduction of technical innovations for the mostly small and medium-sized companies is associated with a very high level of effort or risk that is difficult to calculate. Change happens only slowly. At the same time, digitalization and technologization are opening up many new optimization potentials for the construction industry and thus opportunities for cost savings. The so-called 4th industrial revolution is also gaining momentum in the construction industry.

In the multitude of digital possibilities, it is very difficult to maintain an overview, to assess trends and potentials, and to recognize correlations. This report therefore aims to describe the current state of the art and the market assessment of promising digital technologies. Information is provided on concrete use cases, added value and challenges of the respective technologies. The analyses presented serve to assess the potential and set the strategic course for the integration of the currently most important digital technologies in the construction and real estate industry.

The intensive literature research and the survey conducted on the Austrian market represent a snapshot of digitization in the construction sector. Very different levels of maturity and potential were found, both between the different technologies and in the application of these, by different process participants. However, it has been shown overall that the construction sector is making progress in adopting digital technologies.

Effective use of digital data is critical to the digitization of the construction sector. To view the digital transformation in an overview, it is helpful to cluster the different technologies into groups. A distinction can be made between technologies and methods for data acquisition and processing (laser scanning, sensor technology, IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), etc.), information delivery options (building information modeling (BIM), digital twin, common data environments (CDEs), virtual / augmented reality (VR/AR), etc.) and process-oriented technologies such as 3D-printing, robotics and drones.

The market surveys show clear application preferences for information delivery capabilities, followed by data generation technologies such as laser scanning. The area of automated work processes is almost lagging behind, as international studies also confirm - the use of robots or 3D printing processes in manufacturing are only in the development phase from a technical point of view.

Project leader

• DI Dr. Steffen Robbi
  Digital Findet Stadt GmbH