From rundown buildings to deteriorating roads, it is no surprise that our nation’s infrastructure is in serious need of revitalization. In fact, in a recent 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) report—which highlights the current state of the roads, bridges, power grids, drinking water, and other necessary infrastructure systems in each country—the U.S. received a “C-” grade.
Fortunately, with the recent signing of the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, the U.S. government made a once-in-a-lifetime investment in our nation’s infrastructure by providing funding to accelerate transportation projects, expand access to clean drinking water, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in overlooked communities.
While this funding is essential to revitalize our nation’s infrastructure, it has caused a mounting level of pressure on government agencies and the civilian engineering firms that partner with them on these projects. These organizations are now being asked to deliver a steadily growing amount of complex infrastructure projects despite ongoing staff and resource shortages.
However, technology could provide a solution. A recent whitepaper released by U.S. CAD, “Digital Delivery of Civil Engineering Projects: The New Normal” explains how digital delivery tools can expedite projects, eliminate rework, and enable even resource-strapped organizations manage complex infrastructure projects.
So, what is digital delivery?
According to the Whitepaper, “Forms of digital delivery can vary widely, from simply producing electronic plan sheets to developing detailed 3D models that represent project designs. The latter approach, often referred to as Building Information Modeling (BIM), may also include the development of digital twins—digital replicas of physical products—that continue to provide value after construction via operations and maintenance activities.”
How can digital delivery help public engineering firms manage the steadily increasing influx of complex infrastructure projects?
The whitepaper highlights three ways:
1. Data storage:
Cloud-based platforms such as Autodesk Construction Cloud allow AEC professionals to access and store construction files from any location in real-time. This provides the entire construction team with a more seamless collaboration mechanism to get project designs approved quickly – resulting in faster execution of infrastructure projects.
2. Electronic documents:
Quality control documents are essential for every infrastructure project to ensure that projects are built to specification, delivered on time, and meet all applicable standards and regulations. Instead of passing out paper documents that can get lost or ruined to the whole team, digital delivery tools like AutoCAD and Civil 3D offer the ability to save PDF files that can be reviewed and shared electronically.
3. 3D design tools
3D modeling tools like BIM allow AEC professionals to design key features of infrastructure projects, such as buildings, bridges, industrial plants, and other facilities in 3D. The whitepaper states that, “Owners can use the 3D model for review and approval purposes and contractors can use the same model to build the project. After construction, BIM data can be used to aid operations and maintenance, such as monitoring valves, pumps, and other equipment.”
But can digital delivery really make a difference over the lifespan of a complex infrastructure project? It did for the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT):
How digital delivery technology helped MDT
In December of 2021, a devastating fire demolished the Wolf Creek Bridge in Denton, Montana—destroying one of the two primary access roads to the town. Luckily, two months before this incident, MDT took the initiative to embark on a digital delivery journey with the goal of closing the gap between strategy and execution when implementing digital delivery tools to streamline projects.
Because of their newly implemented digital workflow, MDT and their partners were able to accelerate the design process for the newly reconstructed Wolf Creek Bridge and complete construction within about six months. Digital delivery tools allowed them to make key design changes on the go – which would not have been possible with traditional methods.
“Using a detailed Revit model, the team revised bridge pile and beam designs to adapt to supply chain issues. The seamless manner of implementing and propagating changes throughout the model kept the project on schedule.” The whitepaper continued, “The digital delivery workflow has helped reshape the MDT bridge group means and methods.”
