____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Digital Twins
Enabling more productive operations
A key focus for any job site is delivering projects on time and within budget. Digital twins enable predictive maintenance through real-time monitoring, which leads to reduced downtime and increased operational efficiency.
Solutions such as the Smart Construction Dashboard build on this by providing an interactive 3D model that updates continuously in real time via various data streams. This platform allows users to visualise operations, analyse performance data and provides data to run predictive assessments based on historical trends.
Ultimately, digital twins allow for betterinformed decision-making whilst enhancing productivity and minimising reliance on guesswork to keep projects on track. As a result, there are fewer delays, less or minimised rework requirements and reduced idling, enabling projects to run more smoothly and efficiently.
Improving safety
A major focus for the industry is creating safer ways of working. Through the virtual job site, managers can establish a safer working environment by proactively identifying and mitigating potential hazards. By analysing realtime data, operators can detect potential risks and run safety trials before executing them in real life, allowing for multiple attempts to ensure that the actual operation is successful. Sensors and IoT technology enable the digital twin to track the movements of workers, vehicles and equipment, alerting the team when an issue arises. This capability allows for quick, reactive responses to mitigate risks and hazards.
Additionally, site managers can monitor the site virtually, reducing travel time and fuel consumption. This advancement means they don’ t need to visit hard-to-reach or dangerous environments, as monitoring can be done from a safe distance.
Digital twins in practice
For Sina Motsch, site manager for HEITKAMP Corporate Group, it was crucial that she found an easy way to make sense of the job site and make use of the information effectively.
By utilising Dashboard by Komatsu Smart Construction, Sina was able to collect automatic high-density as-built data sourced from the dozer, used to generate an accurate digital twin that was automatically updated as the site changed almost daily.
Using a digital twin of her project site enabled Sina to immediately discover any delays, developments or potential issues across the jobsite without having to visit in person. Through Dashboard, project managers can track materials and progress as it happens, resulting in a wider status understanding and informing quick decision making.
As technology and digital solutions advance, we can expect to see an increase in earthmoving operators adopting these innovations to meet industry demands and enhance their operations. ■
Bart Vingerhoets www. smartconstruction. io
Smart Construction is a digital transformation strategy created by Komatsu together with Sony Semiconductors, NTT Communication and Nomura Research Institute under the entity EARTHBRAIN Limited. These four organisations are known for their significant contributions to delivering the greatest innovation leaps to their industries. Smart Construction experts utilise digital tools to assist clients in the earthmoving and quarry industries by finding the optimum way of using resources like machine, material and people for enhanced productivity, quicker project completion, cost savings, improved safety, and reduced CO₂ emissions.
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