Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DigiPLACE (Digital Platform for Construction in Europe)
Reporting period: 2019-09-01 to 2021-05-31
The European construction employs 18 million people and represents 9% of EU GDP. However, half a billion of EU inhabitants live, work and travel in the built environment shaped by construction industry and create 100% of the GDP in it. Well built, used and maintained built environment (including buildings, infrastructures and linked services) is therefore crucial to address the societal challenges of the EU. This sector is therefore moving into the centre of attention of policymaking, innovation and research. Nevertheless, the construction sector is lagging behind in digitalisation, even behind agriculture.
Governments, owners and users are dealing with climate change, resource efficiency, aging populations, social sensitivities, urbanisation, migration, ageing infrastructures, as well as constrained budgets and spatial interventions as key aspects of their policy and projects. Construction is a driver for economic growth and a tool for anti-cyclic policies in the times of crisis – as the Juncker plan well demonstrated. It is home to 3 million companies, most of which are SMEs. An innovative, competitive and growing construction sector is crucial for tackling these challenges. DigiPLACE is about charting the modernization path of European construction industry under the headline of Construction 4.0.
Achieving the vison of Construction 4.0 and the resulting Built Environment 4.0 will require a technological evolution and massive drive of innovation, both in technology, in value chain organization and in innovation patterns. The value chains of the future will be integrated and digitised. The key to achieving modernization of construction is the modernization of the business environment and of the innovation environment. The most important concept for achieving this are platforms. Platforms have proved to be extremely successful in modernizing many consumer-oriented businesses – both the business as well as the innovation aspect. For the digital native businesses and technologies this transition has been quite natural. Not so for traditional industries.
The highest-level objective of the DigiPLACE project is to create a reference architecture framework for the digital industrial platform for the construction sector based on a shared consensus.
Governments, owners and users are dealing with climate change, resource efficiency, aging populations, social sensitivities, urbanisation, migration, ageing infrastructures, as well as constrained budgets and spatial interventions as key aspects of their policy and projects. Construction is a driver for economic growth and a tool for anti-cyclic policies in the times of crisis – as the Juncker plan well demonstrated. It is home to 3 million companies, most of which are SMEs. An innovative, competitive and growing construction sector is crucial for tackling these challenges. DigiPLACE is about charting the modernization path of European construction industry under the headline of Construction 4.0.
Achieving the vison of Construction 4.0 and the resulting Built Environment 4.0 will require a technological evolution and massive drive of innovation, both in technology, in value chain organization and in innovation patterns. The value chains of the future will be integrated and digitised. The key to achieving modernization of construction is the modernization of the business environment and of the innovation environment. The most important concept for achieving this are platforms. Platforms have proved to be extremely successful in modernizing many consumer-oriented businesses – both the business as well as the innovation aspect. For the digital native businesses and technologies this transition has been quite natural. Not so for traditional industries.
The highest-level objective of the DigiPLACE project is to create a reference architecture framework for the digital industrial platform for the construction sector based on a shared consensus.
DigiPLACE is based on four main pillars: a) the definition and activation of the Advisory Board (AB) and of the Community of Stakeholders (CoS), b) the understanding of the digital technologies and tools adoption in the EU construction sector including a comparative analysis between construction and other industrial sectors (WP3) integrated with the analysis of barriers and needs in the construction sector (WP4), c) the development of the DigiPLACE Reference Architecture Framework (WP5), and the definition of a Strategic Roadmap for the application of the RAF (WP6). By the end of the project the AB demonstrated an excellent engagement in the project activities and all the scheduled meeting have been held. The CoS reached a good number of members and a dedicated set of actions have been analysed to guarantee the continuity of the Community after the project end.
The DigiPLACE project has developed a Reference Architecture Framework (RAF) for digital construction platforms based on an EU-wide consensus involving a large community of stakeholders, providing an evolving structured set of guidelines, recommendations and development/deployment guidance that should be the grounding for generalisation of these future digital platforms as common ecosystems of digital services that will support innovation, public procurements, commerce, etc.
Along with the RAF, DigiPLACE has developed a strategic roadmap for successful implementation of this Reference Architecture, establishing the scope and targets of future mandatory activities and developments to be undertaken under the 2021-2027 period to make this upscaling of Construction digital platforms and services a reality by the end of this decade – with the ambition to linking EU, National and regional scales to upscale digital platforms and solutions in the European Construction and Built environment sector.
The DigiPLACE project provided a transversal action combining intense dissemination and communication activities involving the long construction chain together with the development of strategic results such as the Reference Architecture Framework and the Strategic Roadmap. Hence, DigiPLACE generates impacts on multiple levels including the creation of an increased diffused knowledge around platforms development in construction, the growing of coordinated strategies at both European and national levels, and the generation of a solid basis to pave the way for the growth of platforms promoting the digital transition of the construction sector.
The DigiPLACE project has developed a Reference Architecture Framework (RAF) for digital construction platforms based on an EU-wide consensus involving a large community of stakeholders, providing an evolving structured set of guidelines, recommendations and development/deployment guidance that should be the grounding for generalisation of these future digital platforms as common ecosystems of digital services that will support innovation, public procurements, commerce, etc.
Along with the RAF, DigiPLACE has developed a strategic roadmap for successful implementation of this Reference Architecture, establishing the scope and targets of future mandatory activities and developments to be undertaken under the 2021-2027 period to make this upscaling of Construction digital platforms and services a reality by the end of this decade – with the ambition to linking EU, National and regional scales to upscale digital platforms and solutions in the European Construction and Built environment sector.
The DigiPLACE project provided a transversal action combining intense dissemination and communication activities involving the long construction chain together with the development of strategic results such as the Reference Architecture Framework and the Strategic Roadmap. Hence, DigiPLACE generates impacts on multiple levels including the creation of an increased diffused knowledge around platforms development in construction, the growing of coordinated strategies at both European and national levels, and the generation of a solid basis to pave the way for the growth of platforms promoting the digital transition of the construction sector.
Progress beyond the state of the art: The DigiPLACE project provided a clear extension of the state of the art both in research and industrial fields. In first instance, the aggregation of the entire construction chain in a coordinate consortium represent in itself a cooperative effort that goes beyond the majority of the existing research experiences developed in the construction industry. This dimension is improved thanks to the creation of the AB that aggregates experts from different sectors and of the CoS.
In a perspective way, the main methodological and technological advances beyond the current state-of-the-art encompass:
The structure of the project consortium and its integration with an Advisory Board defined according to a strategic vision of the construction chain and its integration with other sectors, and the development, animation and engagement of a large set of relevant stakeholders from the construction and ICT industry across Europe.
The extended study of the existing technologies and experiences also considering different sectors to identify possible knowledge transfer points. The analysis of the potential barriers that can hinder the diffusion of digital technologies and practices to provide the best solutions possible for the future developments.
The development of the reference architecture framework for the future digital platform(s) in construction sector.
The integration of public bodies to analysis a strategic roadmap that can define the common ground for the effective application of the project results in the EU context.
The impact to the project According to the methodology defined in the project proposal that includes the construction of relations also through a stakeholder network. The impacts derived from the DigiPLACE project are not limited to the strategic objectives but include shared assets that may results from the project and joint activities facilitated by the platform developments. The strategic objectives are:
• Increased productivity and sustainability of European Construction Industry
• Facilitate the diffusion of a common language in the construction sector
• Pave the way for the growth of smart cities and smart infrastructures
• Strengthening the role of EU in Global Construction Ecosystem
• Accelerated and efficient collaboration between public authorities and industry
• Validation in usage context of usability, risk and security assessment and identification of gaps related to trust, security and privacy, respect for the scarcity and vulnerability of human attention, and liability and sustainability.
In a perspective way, the main methodological and technological advances beyond the current state-of-the-art encompass:
The structure of the project consortium and its integration with an Advisory Board defined according to a strategic vision of the construction chain and its integration with other sectors, and the development, animation and engagement of a large set of relevant stakeholders from the construction and ICT industry across Europe.
The extended study of the existing technologies and experiences also considering different sectors to identify possible knowledge transfer points. The analysis of the potential barriers that can hinder the diffusion of digital technologies and practices to provide the best solutions possible for the future developments.
The development of the reference architecture framework for the future digital platform(s) in construction sector.
The integration of public bodies to analysis a strategic roadmap that can define the common ground for the effective application of the project results in the EU context.
The impact to the project According to the methodology defined in the project proposal that includes the construction of relations also through a stakeholder network. The impacts derived from the DigiPLACE project are not limited to the strategic objectives but include shared assets that may results from the project and joint activities facilitated by the platform developments. The strategic objectives are:
• Increased productivity and sustainability of European Construction Industry
• Facilitate the diffusion of a common language in the construction sector
• Pave the way for the growth of smart cities and smart infrastructures
• Strengthening the role of EU in Global Construction Ecosystem
• Accelerated and efficient collaboration between public authorities and industry
• Validation in usage context of usability, risk and security assessment and identification of gaps related to trust, security and privacy, respect for the scarcity and vulnerability of human attention, and liability and sustainability.