Contractors are beginning to see serious capabilities in the use of augmented reality and advanced 3D modeling on jobsites and a presentation Sunday at the NECA Convention in Philly made the technology’s promise seem more vivid.
Michael Gonzales of Rosendin Electric discussed and showed video examples of ways the company recently has been using augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies integrated with building information modeling (BIM) to check installations and conduct verifications with general contractors in real-time.
He talked about the first project on which his team used the technology, where a GC was able to spot a variance in the neck specified in a vault installation that saved enough money in avoided rework to essentially pay for the BIM system. From issue to tracking to being able to document as-builts in the field, Gonzales said the company is just beginning to scratch the surface of what it thinks 3D modeling can do for contractors on the jobsite.
Saeed Eslami of Visual Live 3D, which developed and supplied the technology used by Rosendin, followed Gonzalez with a more detailed description of how the system works, how it is calibrated to the real site in the field, the capabilities of his company’s various systems in terms of real-time communications about installation validations and variances, field coordination, design coordination and constructability review as well as reducing rework on prefabricated equipment to a minimum.
“We first introduced this to GCs,” Eslami said in a discussion after the talk. “They saw the value of it in QA and QC, but electrical contractors saw immediate value in planning work to minimize variances.”
