This article is part of a blog series on the Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) world and what we can expect it to bring to the construction industry

Stanford University created VDC in 2001 to increase productivity in the construction industry.

What Is Virtual Design and Construction?

VDC is a digital technology that strategically integrates various approaches to manage construction projects:

• information systems
• processes: design, model, plan, budget, and schedule
• people and 3-D modeling
• information workflows between and among project teams.

Overview

VDC is dedicated to improving how the AEC industry organizes, conceptualizes, and executes design and construction to:

• improve the decision-making process
• address the construction’s productivity issues
• innovate to build quality constructions.

The VDC's new approach is that planning and constructing are reviewed digitally, at an early stage of the design phase before any real construction happens to save time and money. Owners, designers, contractors, subcontractors, and the maintenance team:

• are involved in the project strategy
• collaborate in a virtual environment
• evaluate various options such as materials and sequencing.

In VDC you build your project once digitally and once physically, and you apply that concept to the entire construction process.

A growing market

VDC demands in residential and commercial construction, the increasing complexity of customer requirements, and the complexity of building processes are fueling the growth of the global VDC market.

Combining VDC and BIM allows the automation of construction processes and puts the focus on modeling the project and how the construction will appear and work when in use.

The covid-19 pandemic and the shortage of skills experienced by the construction industry have drawn attention to technology and tools that drive productivity. VDC is a possible solution to:

• deliver projects on time and within budget
• improve the building experience at every stage of the project’s life cycle
• translate client expectations and performance objectives into a Building Execution Plan (BEP), to deliver a coordinated implementation and delivery of the project.

Modeling

The process of VDC modeling of a project:

• starts during the design phase
• describes and visualizes the construction details
• determines the construction process including the operation of the building.

Without BIM and VDC, you will struggle to:

• interact and collaborate
• visualize the project
• describe the elements that make up the building (floors, walls, beams, etc.)
• define the different teams that will execute the activities
• achieve the objectives of the project.

What is a VDC team?

VDC involves multidisciplinary teams. A VDC specialist generates VDC models and coordinates the various disciplines involved in a project. If your firm does not have a VDC specialist, you can outsource the VDC functions to an external consultant. The role of the VDC specialist consists of:

• coordinating the work of all the teams
• moving planning and decision-making to the beginning of the construction process
• reducing risk
• assessing performance
• mitigating costs
• scheduling overruns
• digitally working out the big problems in the design phase.

Technologies used to create a VDC model:

They are:

• product and process modeling tools
• organizational visualization software
• online collaboration tools
• photo-realistic representations of built spaces
• communication via video conferencing.

For example, Mortenson Construction, a U.S.-based, top-20 builder, developer, and engineering services provider serving the commercial, institutional, and energy sectors, is using VDC to solve design problems and deliver better services to its clients.

Use of VDC in the construction industry

The Singapore VDC Guide is a worldwide reference, in terms of guidelines for the implementation of VDC. The Framework aims at defining the following objectives:

• establishing a common understanding of the definitions, components, and principles of VDC
• providing a framework to guide VDC implementation in building projects or for organizational improvement.

In the construction industry, according to the ConTech survey, 45% of project management workflows rely on spreadsheets, even in large, complex, and innovative construction projects. Making the process very vulnerable as programming a spreadsheet is difficult:

• errors are challenging to catch before it becomes a problem
• it is arduous to limit users' access rights
• wrong information is onerous and painful to trail. You need to know when was it inputted, by whom, and why.

To illustrate our point, here are some statistics of issues in the construction industry that can be resolved with VDC:

• reworks represent 4-6% of total project costs and make up 300% of productivity losses
• poor communication, rework, and bad data management cost $177B annually

These problems can be mitigated by using management software on the cloud like Plannerly. Such systems will solve issues with integrations and interoperability, data integrity, planning, and decision-making.

Due to strict deadlines, it is easy not to plan early, or plan at all, during the planning and design phases. So:

• critical decisions are not made
• changes, reworks, and decisions have to happen when issues are uncovered
• stakeholders have very little control over the consequences of those changes.

Virtual design and construction methodology and lean management are the solutions to these issues.

Lean construction methodology

Lean management is a methodology used in VDC that helps construction companies to:

• schedule delivery times with the consent of all team members
• use the right materials
• agree on tasks collaboratively
• reduce waste (57% in some cases).

Lean construction principles

They consist of:

• elimination of non-added value activities
• alignment with and understanding of the client’s requirements
• standardization, automation, transparent, and streamlined processes
• optimization of collaborative workflows
• the adoption of continuous improvement.

Lean construction benefits

The advantages of using lean construction are as follows:

• improved productivity
• reduced costs
• contract terms agreed upon and adhered to
• enhanced safety and quality
• boosted customer satisfaction
• adoption of collaborative work
• generation of higher profit

Lean teams build virtual models and timelines to:

• understand concepts
• meet expectations
• achieve performance goals
• develop a digital twin of an asset
• work out construction task sequencing
• define, plan, design, construct, operate, and share data
• capture dependencies in various models when changes are made.

The future of VDC processes

How do VDC benefits add to the bottom line and ensure its future?

Increases safety

Visualizing construction in 3D or immersive technologies helps to identify and mitigate potential safety risks that could arise during construction or once the building is occupied and operational.

Implementing safety measures could:

• avoid damage to the structure
• limit legal liability for project owners, designers, and construction teams
• predict hazardous situations before construction starts to prevent accidents.

Reduces waste and rework

30% of the building materials purchased for construction projects end up as waste, due largely to inaccurate estimates and rework. To reduce waste with VDC you can use processes like:

• collaboration
• modeling the integration all subsystems and building components
• cross-functional design reviews.

Decreases site visits

VDC minimizes site visits by architects, engineers, and other professionals as they can assess construction issues and risks remotely, preventing delays and saving costs.

Improves in-use building operation and maintenance

The VDC handover process to a project owners upon completion of construction includes a 3D model, which is superior to traditional drawings or blueprints. These models help plan and guide both routine maintenance and required repairs.

Mitigates risks

Identifying project hazards in traditional construction projects is based on prior experience and risk management expertise. VDC accurately identifies the potential risks of each project to minimize surprises and keep schedules and timelines on track.

For example, Mortenson construction was able to reduce schedules by 32 days on average using VDC.

Improves sustainability planning

VDC permits project teams to:

• assess different energy efficiency scenarios
• reduce carbon emissions by using innovative and reused materials
• mitigate environmental impacts by running simulations for scaling up electricity consumption in the future.

Optimizes resources

VDC provides total control of the design and construction process by:

• limiting unforeseen events in the construction process
• speeding up construction times
• optimizing economic and professional resources
• adding value to the project.

Clarifies responsibilities

VDC focuses on understanding the responsibilities of the various groups and disciplines to:

• improve the detailed model and construction process
• facilitate the distribution of tasks and objectives amongst all stakeholders
• enhance the coordination of trades
• avoid overlaps and unforeseen events.

Improves collaborative work

VDC improves collaboration working on a single model by:

• facilitating the coordination of the different disciplines
• seamlessly transmitting information among all those involved
• standardizing criteria
• creating a collective awareness of the status of the project.

For example, all stakeholders do not know how to interpret technical drawings and documents. VDC allows governmental municipality leaders without a technical background, and members of the general public to understand what a project encompasses, using visualization tools and animations.

Gets more winning bids

The virtual model of the proposed design and a great BIM Execution Plan allows to:

Impress owners

Sales and business development teams leverage the VDC model to show the owner or developer alternate design and material options with the ability to make decisions and see differing results instantly, eliminating useless revisions between the VDC team and the sales department.

Improve estimate accuracy

VDC produces estimates that are reliable for bid purposes, post-award project planning and budgeting, and winning bids resulting in a profitable project.

Accurate planning and scheduling

The transparency gained through collaboration, and the integration of virtual design and BIM software allows cost estimates:

• to evolve through the life cycle of the project
• to deliver full profit potential.

VDC limitations

Project size

The size of your construction projects will affect the ratio cost/benefit of the VDC, so before implementing VDC you should make sure that it is justified. The construction industry's mentality is to implement new systems or tools only if they produce a high short-term return on investment. VDC projects are adding value and making better use of resources, which can take some time to materialize.

Large construction projects in many countries are always late and over budget, for example:

• In Boston, the “Big Dig”, a highway project to decongest the town center ended up five times over its initial budget
• Montreal Olympic stadium, built in 1976, costs were so hugely over budget that it took 30 years to reimburse the debts
• Brandenburg Airport project in Berlin started in 2006, and the first flights took off in 2020, ten years later than scheduled.

The main reasons for these overruns are:

• lack of communication
• poor definition of activities
• low productivity.

High implementation costs

Investing in VDC implementation may require spending a significant amount of money upfront with a long-term payoff.

Before rejecting VDC, take into account that the construction industry's traditional processes are archaic and incoherent. By moving to VDC you can:

• help project teams to collaborate more effectively
• integrate processes, people, and the product into models
• address common sources of risk before they lead to costly, time-consuming rework
• tackle big problems like sustainability, safety, and transparency
• give all stakeholders access to interactive visualizations of the project.

In Conclusion

At the beginning, VDC methodology implies a strong initial investment into new building or infrastructure construction processes, that:

• need to be viewed in a comprehensive way
  
• consider a variety of disciplines that must collaborate
• account for construction becoming more complex.

AEC firms use VDC in various ways:

• it is very valuable for complex projects like infrastructure or multi-building projects
• it can be used wherever construction teams are able to implement it
• it is an excellent tool for lean construction methodologies and prefabrication.

Driving Vision's BIM expertise diagnostic looks at how you can eliminate waste (time and material), and improve your margins and the quality of the information provided during the design and construction phases.

A Driving Vision expert will conduct the interviews online and will issue a report and discuss our findings with you. Together we will decide the best way to implement the solutions at your pace and according to your budget.

Implementing BIM can be daunting, but Driving Vision is here to help you at the pace you are comfortable with. Get started by getting in touch now