The technological revolution will be a significant opportunity for Scotland over the coming years and technology is helping to transform the construction and manufacturing industries.  The range of digital tools making a difference to businesses - both large and small - is growing constantly. 

The rollout of 5G is the next wave and will potentially see huge social, economic and environmental benefits to the whole country. While the UK’s mobile network operators are already investing large sums in rolling out 5G, there must be collective action from both industry and the public sector to ensure that all of Scotland – including rural areas – benefits from this revolution.

A network of 5G hubs was launched in 2019 across Scotland to support the rollout and adoption of 5G services.  Each of the S5GConnect hubs will promote innovation and investment, focusing on sectors relevant to their local areas: www.scotland5gcentre.org/projects. They will work with mobile operators and private network providers to accelerate regional 5G networks, offer a private network with advanced capabilities, as well as access to an accelerator facility and mentoring schemes. The hubs will also provide specific support packages for small businesses, helping them to develop, prototype and test real-world experiments and offer professional support to develop and scale up businesses.

Where will the impact be on the construction industry?

5G brings the technology within more mainstream reach and use – virtual and augmented reality, drones, wearable technologies and monitors for operatives, remote controlled and autonomous vehicles, robotics and incorporating AI with 5G will make construction sites safer and much more efficient. A 10 fold increase in data speeds together with the ability to share information simultaneously and in real-time means that sites can be more connected and thousands of devices can be operated at once.

5G could also facilitate the adoption of new technology in construction which hasn’t even been thought of yet – the speed of the network may enable the development of new methods of working that previously would not have been possible.

Where will value be realised?

5G is an enabler for enhanced information management in construction, giving greater management insight and value and leading to better decision-making and efficiencies.  Sites will become more connected, automated and digital.  It will be possible to monitor activities on-site in real-time. The greatest benefits will be around productivity, project and site efficiency as well as improved health and safety for workers.  There will be improved decision-making at site level, enabling site managers to make decisions almost instantly and faster response times to rectify issues too. This will have a knock on effect on cost savings, helping to improve the profitability of the industry.

At a Health & Safety level, wearable technologies on helmets and clothing will be able to monitor and manage access e.g. to restricted areas, identify hazards and prevent accidents.  They will also be able to monitor the health and wellbeing of staff through blood pressure and ECG monitoring for example.  There is also greater opportunity to keep sites Covid-smart through ensuring social distancing and personnel monitoring.

What opportunities will be created?   

The first changes are likely to see increased use of BIM due to the ability to download BIM models, 2D drawings and 3D models much faster, particularly on-site. This all provides much better richer information and data for faster decision-making.

5G also puts AR/VR/visualisation within reach of SME contractors so will allow more mainstreaming of this technology.  Wearable technologies are now fairly well into adoption, particularly in terms of keeping sites safe in a Covid world.

It’s good to think about the impact of download speeds and faster data transfer.  For example, assuming a site produces around 300GB of visual data each, the upload time would be about 70 hours on a 4G network but just 7 hours on a 5G network.   Project managers therefore get results overnight rather than having to wait 2-3 days for data to upload and process.

‘If you can’t see it, you can’t be it’

The sector needs an education and advisory function around the opportunities and benefits of 5G as well as a project support function supported by the 5G Hubs.  It’s important to get some early stage success stories which help showcase the benefits that 5G brings to a site, supply chain and projects and how SME’s and/are also benefiting. 

There needs to be strong and consistent awareness raising of the benefits that 5G brings in terms of improvements to the bottom line in terms of cost savings, productivity, and profitability together with improved health and safety. 

There is already a good example in Orkney with the 5G Scotland Rural Testbed project with the 5G centre working with a number of tier 1 industry partners including key collaborators Cisco Systems and Xilinx, and local SMEs (CloudNet IT Solutions Ltd, Scottish Wireless Ltd, Ping Network Solutions Ltd) and associate partners).  The anticipated benefits are;

• The 5G equipment and concepts being tested will ultimately help to inform best practices in providing sustainable, operational and viable connectivity solutions for remote rural areas, and
• Secondly, the knowledge and expertise gained will help to position Scotland as a key innovator in the deployment of new technologies for rural fixed wireless and mobile communications.

In addition, there are other good examples with BAM Nuttall & BRE to trial innovative use of 5G in construction with the testing of 5G powered cameras, drones and sensors at sites in Kilsyth, Glasgow & Shetland to monitor construction processes, track assets and ultimately to improve productivity. 

From a recent Make it Smart Hub webinar 'Get ready for Digital construction’ it was also clear from the contributors that change requires the buy in of people and they need to be onboard.  Also, do not fear the ‘resistors’ but focus on the positive outcomes, both corporate and personal.  In addition, when adopting new technology its important to consult with your clients and suppliers to ensure system compatibility and to identify at an early stage any hurdles to overcome.

Are we really ready to digitalise the industry to deliver positive change?

5G will allow the industry to embrace the benefits of data as never before. The network will allow instantaneous transfer of information, allowing real time decisions to be made rather than waiting for reports at the end of the day or week. Information could be shared with individuals not based on site (i.e. design teams, specialist workers) who will be able to act on it immediately and provide expertise when it is required.

The impact of Covid has already shown the construction sector the positive impact that increased digitisation can have on the sector.  It is now time to embrace the roll-out of 5G across the country and see how 5G will act as the lifeblood of the industry in terms of its ability to support collaboration, decision-making and outcomes in how we design, construct and operate our built environment assets.

It’s time to accelerate its use and opportunity to increase productivity, efficiency and to improve the sector’s health & safety record, all through the greater adoption of digital technology, sensors and devices. As we move into recovery post-Covid, the most innovative companies should be exploring new and inventive ways they can use 5G to competitive advantage and to help super-charge the construction sector in its recovery.  Any company or organisation seeking to develop or demonstrate new technologies or applications, should consult with CSIC who, working together with Scotland’s 5G Centre, will provide advice and support.