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Addressing Workforce Constraints in Data Center Construction
The Data Center Investment Conference and Expo (DICE): National brings together owners, operators, and builders at a time when data center demand continues to rise while the available workforce remains constrained.
Industry research shows that construction productivity has improved only modestly over the past two decades, even as project complexity has increased and labor availability has tightened. For teams delivering large-scale data center projects, this creates pressure on schedules, coordination, and overall execution.
Doxel is excited to attend DICE National, joining industry leaders as they share how teams are approaching these challenges in real project environments.
May 12–14, 2026
Day 1 Session | 2:10 PM – 2:50 PM
The panel includes perspectives from owners and operators who are directly responsible for delivering complex infrastructure programs.
The discussion will focus on how organizations are adapting to workforce constraints while maintaining delivery timelines and quality standards. Key topics include:
These challenges are not isolated to hiring. They affect how projects are planned, tracked, and executed from day one.
Doxel approaches workforce constraints as an execution and visibility challenge. When labor availability is limited, improving how work is tracked and managed becomes critical.
Doxel provides:
On data center projects with partners such as DPR Construction, this approach has supported a shift toward more consistent, data-driven benchmarking and improved confidence in project decision-making.
Data center projects require precise coordination, tight schedules, and rigorous quality control. Workforce limitations increase the risk of delays, rework, and misalignment between teams.
Improving visibility into project progress allows teams to:
This level of visibility helps teams maintain performance even when labor conditions are challenging.
This session will provide practical insights from industry leaders managing workforce constraints on active projects.
For owners, developers, and contractors involved in data center construction, it offers a clear view into how execution strategies are evolving.
Where Speed Meets Precision in Data Center Construction
The pace of data center construction has changed.
Schedules are tighter. Labor is harder to find. And the tolerance for error is almost zero. Owners and builders are being asked to deliver faster than ever, often on projects where even a small delay can cascade into millions in lost revenue.
That’s exactly why Doxel is heading to the DICE Pacific Northwest Data Center Investment Conference & Expo.
This event brings together the investors, developers, contractors, and technology leaders shaping the next generation of digital infrastructure. And this year, one topic is rising above the rest: How do you build faster without losing control?
The demand for data centers continues to surge, but the industry’s ability to deliver them has not kept pace.
Global construction productivity has barely moved over the last two decades, increasing just 0.4% annually, even as project complexity has grown dramatically
At the same time:
The result is a widening gap between what needs to be built and what can be delivered.
To close that gap, leading teams are rethinking how projects are executed. They are combining modular construction strategies with real-time, objective visibility into progress.
Speaker: John Rewolinski, PSP, Head of Scheduling Analytics, Doxel
Session Title: Speed Meets Precision: How Modular Delivery and Construction Tech Are Redefining Data Center Execution
This session focuses on a simple but critical challenge: Speed alone is not enough. Precision is what keeps speed from turning into rework.
Attendees will learn:
Most construction teams still rely on a familiar process:
The issue is not effort. It’s timing. By the time a deviation shows up in a report, it’s often weeks old. On a data center project, that delay can mean:
Doxel changes that dynamic by delivering objective, automated progress tracking that compares actual site conditions directly to the BIM model and schedule.
Instead of asking what’s happening, teams can see it.
Doxel was built for complex, fast-paced projects where precision matters.
With Doxel, teams can:
This approach eliminates manual reporting gaps and gives teams a consistent, accurate view of the jobsite
The impact is clear:
Construction is not getting simpler. But it is becoming more measurable.
With the right combination of modular delivery, AI-driven insights, and objective progress tracking, teams can finally deliver projects at the speed the market demands without sacrificing quality or control.
Doxel is helping lead that shift. See Doxel today.
When the scan says "not installed," and the trade says "we did it," the answer might be a quality problem, not a data error
▶ WATCH THE FULL PRESENTATION
Computer Vision Is the Andon Cord Construction Has Always Needed
LCI Conference 2025 · Reid Senescu, Doxel & Mike Miller, DPR Construction
Doxel's system was designed to track progress, but on a hyperscale data center project with DPR Construction, it caught something that no daily report, RFI, or schedule update had flagged, and the lesson that came out of it changed how the team interpreted data discrepancies entirely.
The story starts with a flag. Doxel's AI detected uninstalled security components near certain doors. The electrical trade partner pushed back hard, claiming they had roughed in all the security to those doors. In their estimation, the work was done.
After further investigation, the team found the truth: the security boxes had been installed. Three feet to the right of where they were supposed to be.
The components had been physically installed, but they were mislocated relative to the BIM. When comparing the 360° site photos against the model, Doxel’s AI correctly identified them as not installed in the designated location.
"If something's showing as not installed and the trade partner says it's installed, we probably have a quality control problem. Not the intended use case — but awesome to see."
— Mike Miller, Superintendent, DPR Construction
The team had stumbled onto a new interpretive principle. When Doxel flags something as missing and the trade says it's done, don't default to assuming the data is wrong. Investigate. The discrepancy might not be a tracking error; it might be a quality flag.
Mike was direct about what happened next and what it cost. Rework followed. But by investigating when they did, the team headed off even higher costs than if the issue had been found later.
REWORK WARNING: Dismissing data because it contradicts expectation is how quality issues get buried. The cost of investigation is almost always lower than the cost of rework — especially once walls are closed.
This is not an abstract lean principle. It played out on a real job, on real infrastructure, with real rework costs. The lesson is practical: when scan data and field reports disagree, treat the disagreement as information, not noise.
Construction quality management has traditionally relied on scheduled inspections, trade self-reporting, and periodic walkthroughs. These methods work reasonably well for obvious defects. They are poor at catching components that are physically present, but are installed in the wrong place relative to the design.
Computer vision can fill this gap by comparing what is physically present against the BIM at the component level across all visible trades every week. Mislocations look identical to missing components from the system's perspective, because in both cases, the component is not where it should be.
The practical recommendation from Mike's experience is to establish a protocol for investigating discrepancies rather than defaulting to dismissal. When a trade reports complete and the system reports incomplete, send someone to review the discrepancy. It only takes minutes, but it can prevent weeks of rework.
There is a secondary benefit this story highlights: objective, time-stamped documentation of installation location for every component. On a complex facility like a data center, where systems are dense, and modifications may be needed years later, having a record of where things were actually installed, not just where they were designed to go, has ongoing operational value.
This use case wasn't in the sales deck. It emerged from a real disagreement on a real job. That's often how the most durable capabilities get discovered.
This collaboration marks a significant step forward in Lean Construction, merging Doxel’s cutting-edge progress tracking technology with Touchplan’s proven production planning capabilities to enable an optimized construction workflow that bridges the gap between planning and execution.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA & BOSTON, MA – January 14, 2025 – Doxel, an industry leader in AI-driven construction progress tracking, and MOCA Systems, Inc. (MSI), the provider of the leading production planning platform, Touchplan, are excited to announce a new partnership. This collaboration marks a significant step forward in Lean Construction, merging Doxel’s cutting-edge progress tracking technology with Touchplan’s proven production planning capabilities to enable an optimized construction workflow that bridges the gap between planning and execution.
With construction project costs rising and schedules shrinking, forward-thinking owners and contractors alike look to advanced technologies to help ensure on-time, on-budget project completion. But they struggle to effectively integrate diverse, individual technologies into their project workflows.
Doxel and Touchplan working together offer a powerful solution that helps construction teams achieve project deadlines with greater predictability, efficiency, and profitability. The Touchplan Lean planning platform enables easy, accurate sequencing and scheduling of all construction workflow tasks, enhancing trade coordination and eliminating waste on the jobsite, while Doxel’s progress tracking solutions provide real-time feedback on actual project progress.
"If teams use Touchplan alongside Doxel, it will provide excellent confirmation that what we have done is what we said we were going to do,” said Adam Nelson, Project Controls Manager at CRB. “It also allows us to look forward in the progress charts and ensure our forecasts for activities align."
"Strong planning meets strong execution when Touchplan and Doxel are used together,” said Saurabh Ladha, CEO and Founder of Doxel. “This collaboration embodies Lean Construction values, creating a dynamic real-time feedback loop between planning and on-site execution. Construction teams can stay nimble, informed, and aligned every step of the way.”
“Customers using Doxel’s AI progress tracking and Touchplan’s planning platform gain a powerful advantage in Lean Construction. Touchplan’s planning capabilities, combined with Doxel’s visual tracking and predictive analytics, help teams proactively manage workflows and stay on track, reducing rework and costly errors. For contractors and owners, the combined use of Touchplan and Doxel enhances transparency, project predictability, and the quality of the final deliverable,” said Brett Adamczyk, President, MSI Software.
The partnership between MSI and Doxel marks a transformative step in the tech-laggard construction industry, bringing a new ability to bridge the historic gap between planning and execution. By combining Touchplan’s digital Lean planning with Doxel’s AI-driven progress tracking, project teams gain the clarity, visibility, and real-time insights needed to achieve exceptional results and ensure project success.
For more information, visit website.
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Media Contact:
Julie Blackley
Marketing Communications Manager
MOCA Systems, Inc.
press@mocasystems.com
Exploring Trends Around Building at Scale, Designing for Artificial Intelligence, and Supporting Energy Infrastructure
Exploring Trends Around Building at Scale, Designing for Artificial Intelligence, and Supporting Energy Infrastructure
DATE: FEB. 20. 2025 @ 9:00 AM EST / Virginia
FEATURED SESSION: 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM EST
Redefining the Status Quo: Best Tools, Approaches, and Techniques to Build the Most Efficient and Innovative Data Centers
With AI and its power demands at the forefront of stakeholders' minds, examining how to push the boundaries of standard design and practices and reduce inefficiencies will be critical to the bottom line. How are developers and their partners working to reduce the carbon footprint and rethink standard practices as more data centers with larger footprints come online?
Moderator
Join industry leaders to explore the evolving trends and challenges shaping data center construction and design in East Coast markets. Learn how developers and stakeholders are navigating critical topics, including:
Connect with decision-makers in commercial real estate, including owners, investors, engineers, designers, and industry executives.
Stay ahead of industry trends, uncover opportunities, and strengthen your network in a rapidly growing sector.
For speaking or sponsorship inquiries, contact Adam Knobloch at adam.knobloch@bisnow.com.
"The Future of Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Industry" event is Oracle's premier gathering for owners, healthcare stakeholders, and technology innovators.
📅 Date: February 4, 2025
📍 Location: Oracle Industry Lab, Deerfield, IL.
"The Future of Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Industry" event is Oracle's premier gathering for owners, healthcare stakeholders, and technology innovators. Hosted at the renowned Oracle Innovation Center, this venue provides a dynamic space for showcasing cutting-edge solutions in healthcare construction. Known for hosting unique events like reality capture demonstrations and indoor drone races, the Innovation Center sets the stage for forward-thinking collaboration.
This year, Oracle emphasizes owner attendance and healthcare-focused content, making it a prime opportunity to engage with key decision-makers shaping the industry's future.
Doxel will participate in Oracle's interactive Hands-on Innovation Experiences, delivering 15-minute sessions demonstrating how our technology revolutionizes project tracking and execution for healthcare construction projects.
With a focus on owners and healthcare decision-makers, this event provides unparalleled access to industry leaders.
It's an excellent opportunity to foster strong relationships with Oracle's product team and other innovators in the healthcare construction space.
Through the Hands-on Innovation Experience, we'll highlight how Doxel's capabilities drive better outcomes and more innovative processes for healthcare construction.
We're excited to be part of this visionary event and look forward to sharing highlights and insights from "The Future of Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Industry." One of our top product leaders will represent Doxel at the event, ensuring insightful engagement with attendees and Oracle's team.
Learn more about the event here.
Understand how every system contributes to trade-level progress with clearer visibility into on-site activities.
In the fast-paced construction of data center, life sciences, manufacturing, and hospital projects, keeping up with construction progress is both challenging and essential. Increasing project complexity requires greater emphasis to coordinate work and understand risk on the project.
That’s why we’re excited to introduce Systems View within Doxel’s Work In Place (WIP) view. This new capability offers a deeper, system-level visualized breakdown of construction progress, giving teams clearer visibility into on-site activities and enabling a more precise understanding of the project's status.
Systems View is an advanced feature in the WIP view that allows teams to go beyond trade-level tracking, providing a detailed 3D view of construction progress for specific systems within each trade, such as hot water and chilled water within plumbing. Systems view is particularly useful for complex mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. This added layer of granularity offers project teams deeper insights into the progress of each system, empowering them to monitor and manage intricate project details.
In complex projects, traditional tracking did provide valuable trade-level insights but often lacked the detail needed to align each system with Takt times, leading to inefficiencies. With Systems View, project teams will gain real-time, system-specific insights that empower them to monitor each system’s adherence to Takt schedules, catching issues before they become bottlenecks.
With this added visibility, teams can identify delays early and reallocate resources as needed to maintain steady progress. Ultimately, Systems View reinforces Takt Planning and the Last Planner System, driving projects toward efficient milestone completion.
Imagine a typical Monday coordination meeting for a data center project. The Project Manager or Supervisor is focused on the progress of the mechanical system in Data Hall 1, where multiple subcontractors are working concurrently. The meeting kicks off with questions about the status of supply ducts and whether the HVAC team has completed their work.
With Doxel's Systems View, the project engineer can instantly access progress data for HVAC ducts, filtering by both system and zone. In just moments, the team discovers that only 80% of the supports are installed, with delays caused by mechanical piping in the same area. Using the system filter, they isolate the data and confirm that the piping crew is scheduled to finish by day’s end, clearing the path for the HVAC team to complete their work.
This level of real-time, system-specific insight enables more effective coordination, allowing the supervisor or project manager to make informed decisions on the spot. The result? No wasted time, better workflow sequencing, and a more streamlined project timeline.
Data center construction is highly sophisticated, involving multiple systems that must be meticulously coordinated. Before the introduction of Systems View, project managers relied on trade-level data, making it challenging to understand system-specific delays or progress. With Systems View, project managers can:
For example, in one data center project, the HVAC system installation was delayed due to incomplete electrical work in the same zone. Using Systems View, the project engineer quickly identified the bottleneck, reallocated resources, and adjusted schedules. This proactive management helped the team finish the system installation on time, preventing downstream delays and additional costs.
Industries like life sciences, manufacturing, and healthcare demand strict timelines, compliance, Strict timelines, compliance requirements, and intricate system interdependencies drive construction projects in industries like life sciences, battery manufacturing, and hospitals. Systems View empowers project managers to:
Systems View helps teams deliver complex facilities efficiently and predictably, whether managing cleanroom infrastructure, advanced manufacturing lines, or hospital surgical suites. By providing granular tracking, it enables earlier inspections, faster system sign-offs, and mitigates risks that could impact schedules or budgets.
Stay tuned as we continue to enhance Doxel's capabilities, bringing more tools to help you deliver projects on time and within budget.
Construction projects have long struggled with inefficiencies, fragmented workflows, and unmet expectations from technology. Using Doxel and Touchplan together offers a unified workflow for continuous improvement. Together, these platforms empower teams to reduce waste, enhance collaboration, and achieve outstanding project results.
"If teams use Touchplan alongside Doxel, it would provide excellent confirmation that what we have done is what we said we were going to do. It would also allow us to look forward in the progress charts and ensure our forecasts for activities align." said Project Controls Manager, CRB.
Transform your weekly planning from a manual, time-intensive process into a dynamic, digital workflow. Touchplan’s digital pull planning and Look-Ahead Planning tools enable real-time collaboration, helping teams anticipate roadblocks and ensure efficient planning at every project phase.
Doxel uses AI-driven progress tracking to provide live updates on project execution. By automating activity monitoring and delivering visualized progress insights, Doxel keeps site performance aligned with plans, ensuring accountability and maximizing productivity.
Touchplan and Doxel combine advanced technology with proven Lean Construction methods to create a unified workflow for continuous improvement. Teams can analyze progress trends, address inefficiencies, and refine workflows, driving success both today and on future projects.
Leaders like CRB are already experiencing measurable success, setting a new benchmark for construction excellence
Doxel is excited to partner with DCAC, the people’s conference designed to inspire and evolve the data center industry.
Doxel is excited to announce its participation in the groundbreaking Data Centre Automation Conference (DCAC) Live Europe 2024 conference, which will be held in Dublin, Ireland, from October 15 to 16, 2024.
Doxel is excited to partner with DCAC, the people’s conference designed to inspire and evolve the data center industry. Aligned with DCAC’s mission to disrupt, challenge, and foster collaboration, Doxel looks forward to contributing to the meaningful conversations and connections that propel visionaries, builders, and manufacturers forward in this fast-growing sector.
DCAC Live Europe 2024 will gather top industry professionals from the world of data center automation and focus on how cutting-edge technology can enhance critical infrastructure efficiency, scalability, and automation.
Doxel accelerates construction by automating progress reporting, identifying hidden issues early, preventing rework, and improving collaboration through visual data. Attendees will be able to see advanced Doxel features, including:
Doxel’s platform automatically leverages AI to track project progress, providing real-time insights into productivity, cost, and quality. This allows teams to make data-driven decisions, reducing delays and keeping projects on budget.
Doxel uses predictive analytics to spot potential risks before they turn into problems. This proactive approach helps teams avoid costly overruns and delays in projects, keeping them running smoothly and on time.
With Doxel, data is collected automatically throughout the project lifecycle. This allows for continuous progress monitoring and ensures stakeholders have visibility into every aspect of the construction process.
Doxel’s simple dashboards make complex data easy to understand and help teams make quick, informed decisions for better project results.
Visit Doxel’s table for live demonstrations of its AI-driven platform. See how automated progress tracking helps monitor, manage, and control every stage of your data center project. Meet with the Doxel team to discuss challenges and explore custom solutions tailored to your needs.
As the demand for data centers grows, effective and automated construction progress tracking is more critical than ever. DCAC Live Europe 2024 is a great opportunity for data center professionals to learn about the latest in automation and technology. With expert-led discussions, technical workshops, and solution showcases, attendees will stay ahead in the evolving data center landscape.
DCAC Live Europe:
Website: DCAC Live Europe 2024
Insights from DCAC 2024 with Doxel CEO Saurabh Ladha and Joseph Pinzon, CRO of Overwatch.
In the latest episode of the Data Center Revolution Podcast from DCAC 2024, Saurabh Ladha, CEO of Doxel and Joseph Pinzon, CRO of Overwatch deliver an insightful conversation on the cutting-edge advancements in data center construction. Here are some of the topics covered during the podcast:
Catch the full conversation below and explore how technology is reshaping data center construction:
– Joseph Pinzon, CFO, Overwatch.
A McKinsey report shows stagnant construction productivity for decades. By adopting modern practices, owners can drive a new era of construction productivity.
Better tools for the field and reducing risk on every project!
Long considered the backbone of economic growth, the construction industry continues to face a productivity challenge that cannot be ignored any longer. According to a McKinsey report, construction productivity has remained stagnant for decades, with the sector’s growth rate falling far behind that of the global economy.
For an industry that influences everything from infrastructure to housing, this productivity gap is not just a business problem—it’s a societal one. However, a growing consensus is that construction owners who commission and pay for projects hold the keys to transforming the industry. By leveraging their influence and adopting modern practices, owners can be the driving force behind a new era of construction productivity.
Before exploring solutions, it’s essential to understand the scope of the problem. McKinsey’s analysis highlights that construction productivity has only increased by 1% annually over the past 20 years, compared to 2.8% for the global economy. This productivity gap has resulted in significant cost overruns and delays, with projects exceeding budgets by 80% and timelines by 20 months on average. The industry must adopt new innovative technologies and practices faster to mitigate this trend.
The factors contributing to this stagnation are numerous, including:
Given these challenges, it’s clear that a radical shift is needed. And that shift can start with the owners.
Owners play a pivotal role in the construction ecosystem. They are the ones who set the expectations, define the scope, and ultimately bear the financial risk of projects. Owners can drive change across the industry by taking a more active role in risk mitigation and pushing for productivity improvements. Here’s how:
1. Adopting Performance-Based Contracts
One of the most effective ways for owners to drive productivity is by adopting performance-based contracts. These contracts tie compensation to achieving specific milestones and performance metrics, such as staying within budget or completing a project on time. This approach aligns contractors’ incentives with the project goals, encouraging them to innovate and find more efficient work methods.
2. Embracing Digital Transformation
Digital tools can revolutionize construction, from design to execution to delivery. Owners who prioritize digital transformation can see significant productivity improvements. For example, Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows for more accurate planning and coordination, reducing the likelihood of costly errors and rework. Doxel empowers construction teams with AI-driven project benchmarking and analytics, enabling faster, data-backed decisions that reduce costs and improve on-time delivery.
According to McKinsey, using digital tools could improve overall productivity by 14-15% and reduce project costs by 4-6%. Project management software can also streamline communication and collaboration, ensuring all stakeholders are on the same page.
3. Leveraging Technology for Project Benchmarking
One of the most potent tools that owners can use to enhance productivity and benchmark their projects is Doxel. Doxel is a powerful tool for project owners looking to enhance productivity and benchmark their projects. Its Production Rate tracking simplifies comparing completed work against the schedule, enabling owners to measure progress and manage timelines effectively.
The data collected from the site is analyzed to deliver precise insights into project progress, quality, and potential risks. With Doxel, owners can establish clear benchmarks, compare them against industry standards and past performances, and identify inefficiencies early. This empowers them to make informed decisions that keep projects on track, within budget, and up to the highest quality standards.
By integrating Doxel into their project management practices, owners gain a significant competitive advantage, ensuring precision and efficiency in every project.
4. Fostering Collaboration and Integration
The fragmentation of the construction industry is a significant barrier to productivity. Owners can address this by fostering a more collaborative and integrated approach to project delivery.
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is one such approach, where all parties—owners, contractors, architects, and engineers—work together from the outset, sharing risks and rewards. This collaborative environment encourages innovation and problem-solving, improving outcomes for all involved.
5. Prioritizing Sustainability and Resilience
Sustainability and resilience are increasingly important in construction, not only for environmental reasons but also for long-term cost savings and productivity gains. Owners who prioritize sustainable practices, such as energy-efficient designs or renewable materials, can reduce their projects’ lifecycle costs. Furthermore, resilient designs that withstand extreme weather events or other disruptions can minimize downtime and maintenance costs, ensuring the project remains productive over its lifespan.
A skilled workforce is crucial for enhancing construction productivity, but the industry is currently grappling with a significant labor shortage. With many skilled workers nearing retirement and fewer young people entering the field, construction projects face increasing risks. However, Owners can address these challenges by investing in the right technology, such as Doxel, which offers three key solutions to keep projects on track:
(1) Accelerating the onboarding process due to its ease of use,
(2) Boosting jobsite worker productivity, and
(3) Enabling project leaders to identify when additional skilled trades are urgently needed to meet schedules.
Feedback from our clients highlight that Doxel helps onboard new engineers quickly, bringing them up to the level of experienced superintendents. Moreover, Doxel reduces the time spent manually tracking progress by 95%, freeing up the most skilled team members to focus on higher-value tasks.
While attracting more people to the industry is vital, a long-term perspective is essential. However, Doxel provides an immediate impact by optimizing the available labor on-site. For skilled trades, Doxel’s production rates are particularly valuable. They empower superintendents with hard data, allowing them to demand additional labor from trade partners when it’s clear that the current workforce won’t meet project deadlines. This data-driven approach helps ensure that projects stay on schedule and that trade partners fulfill their commitments, avoiding potential liabilities for delays.
Featured Case Study:
Layton Construction’s experience with Doxel has been transformative, particularly regarding time savings and efficiency. On a recent 82,000 SqFt healthcare facility project, six superintendents and project engineers were initially spending a combined 60 hours per week manually tracking progress. With Doxel’s technology, this time was slashed by 95%, reducing the task to just 3 hours total. This significant reduction in manual labor translates to 57 hours saved weekly, allowing the team to redirect efforts toward safety, quality, and effective coordination with trade partners—resulting in an additional $2.17 per square foot per year being reinvested into these critical areas.
The benefits continued beyond time savings. Doxel enabled a 10% reduction in overbilling by providing precise progress tracking, simplifying billing processes, and eliminating disputes over the percent complete. Additionally, Doxel’s production rate tracking made it easier to secure commitments from trade partners to meet deadlines, ensuring the project stayed on time. As Brandon Bergener, Superintendent at Layton Construction, noted, Doxel has also made it easier to access additional manpower when needed, further enhancing project efficiency and productivity.
When owners lead in driving productivity improvements, the benefits extend beyond individual projects. Here are some of the broader impacts:
While the potential benefits are clear, driving productivity improvements in construction is challenging. Owners may encounter resistance from contractors accustomed to traditional working methods or stakeholders who are wary of the costs associated with new technologies. To overcome these barriers, owners should:
The construction industry is at a crossroads. It must overcome its productivity challenges to remain cost-effective and meet future demands. With their unique influence and authority, owners are in the best position to lead this transformation. Owners can drive the industry forward by adopting performance-based contracts, embracing digital tools, fostering collaboration, prioritizing sustainability, and investing in workforce development. The time for change is now, and the future of construction lies in the hands of those who are willing to push it forward.
Delivering on construction productivity is no longer optional—it’s essential. By taking a proactive role, owners can unlock the full potential of their partners and projects and set a new standard for the industry as a whole.
Citations:
McKinsey & Company. “Delivering on construction productivity is no longer optional.” Retrieved from McKinsey & Company.
Accurate and reliable progress tracking is essential for effective communication and coordination, especially with multiple stakeholders and a higher level of complexity. Automated construction progress tracking can meet these requirements and reduce manual effort, helping you complete your projects faster and on-budget.
Healthcare construction is more complex and has a lot at stake. If not done right, these projects can be costly for everyone involved. Healthcare projects also require a higher attention to detail to keep everything running smoothly.
With more stakeholders involved in the process, companies need to be able to benchmark and be equipped for better prediction, transparency, and ultimately the ability to detect (and curb) problems, deviations, and cost overruns.
Automated progress tracking can meet these requirements and reduce manual effort, helping you complete your projects faster and on-budget.
Progress tracking is critical for project success in healthcare because it allows for real-time monitoring of project performance and a faster identification of issues and challenges, and implementation of corrective actions.
By regularly monitoring progress and performance, project managers and teams can quickly identify areas that are falling behind schedule or budget—and take the necessary steps to address them before they become major issues. Accurate and reliable progress tracking is essential for effective communication and coordination, especially with multiple stakeholders and a higher level of complexity.
Progress tracking can be beneficial beyond one single project, too. Objective progress data and insights can also help to identify areas of success and best practices that can be replicated in other projects, improving overall project performance and company-wide outcomes.
Automated progress tracking can improve transparency during hospital construction by providing real-time, accurate information on the progress of the project. Automated systems can be configured to collect data from a variety of sources, create a single source of truth and present the information in a format that is easy to understand and always accessible.
With the enhanced, real-time visibility that automated progress tracking brings, stakeholders are able to see exactly where the project is at any given time. This clear picture of project status helps improve communication, transparency, and accountability with objective data that eliminate any debate in progress tracking.
Automated progress tracking is a faster way of providing stakeholders with access to the same information. With an automated system, stakeholders are able to see the same data and reports, regardless of their location. Ensuring everyone is working with the same information saves time in reporting and mitigates the possibility of miscommunication or misunderstanding.
Since hospital construction projects often involve large sums of money and have a significant impact on patient outcomes, it’s also useful to have an auditable record of each project’s progress that can be used in demonstrating accountability to funders and regulatory bodies.
Healthcare construction projects need an efficient way to manage and mitigate risk. Proper real-time visibility into the progress of the project can help spot potential issues before they become major problems. This enables project managers and other stakeholders to take proactive measures, rather than waiting until it is too late to take corrective action.
For example, if progress tracking reveals a particular aspect of the project is running behind schedule, the project manager may be able to adjust the project plan to effectively avoid potential delays or cost overruns.
Additionally, progress tracking can help project managers manage and coordinate dependencies between different parts of the project, which further reduces the risk of delay, prevents trade stacking, and mitigates other issues arising from one part of the project impacting others.
Progress tracking can help with benchmarking by providing a clear understanding of the current status of the project, including the status of all trade and any related delays or setbacks. This data can then be used to compare the project’s progress against similar projects or industry standards, making it easier to identify areas where improvements can be made.
With multiple sources of information on a single project, a digital progress tracking tool can deliver accurate data to one shared source of truth, making benchmarking markedly easier.
Additionally, progress tracking stored data can be leveraged for benchmarking future progress against previous internal projects for better forecasting future project and completion dates, as well as for identifying potential cost savings or other opportunities to optimize the project.
The more detailed information teams have on the progress of a project, the more proactive they can be to keep it on track. Identifying potential issues early on allows for corrective action to be taken sooner rather than later, reducing hours, rework, and delays to deliver projects on time and on budget. But detailed and timely progress tracking shouldn’t come at the cost of crews’ time and resources.
That’s where a solution like Doxel’s automated progress tracking can help. Doxel significantly reduces hours tracking progress, while delivering accurate, reliable objective insights that improve communication and transparency across all stakeholders.
Click here to learn more about how Doxel’s AI-powered progress tracking paired with 360-degree video capture can help ensure hospital construction projects stay on track and on budget.
Healthcare construction teams that leverage AI-powered performance monitoring are armed with accurate data in near real-time to keep projects on track.
Healthcare construction is a specialized niche in the industry, and the projects within it require a high standard of attention to detail to meet their deadlines. These projects are complex and involve the coordination of large, cross-functional teams to complete them on tight schedules—which means a project’s success is majorly dependent on the efficiency and collaboration of the team building it.
Every day that the facility is delayed or past schedule means another day patients can’t come in, and the owner or company will lose money.
Enter, AI-powered project controls – automated construction progress tracking.
The construction of healthcare projects is a delicate balance of innovation and realism. As one of the more technology-driven sectors, these facilities aim to have the latest and greatest equipment, but at the same time needs to be planned months in advance and available within a certain deadline. Teams must stay on top of an ever-changing landscape and varying demands—so having accurate, objective project progress data throughout is essential.
One of the biggest factors to staying on schedule is knowing exactly where you are. Without a single view of project progress, sticking to a set schedule becomes a risky guessing game. Progress tracking using the power of computer vision enables project teams to build faster and more accurately together.
After all, knowledge is power. Teams that leverage AI-powered performance monitoring are armed with accurate data in near real time to see backwards at what’s been done, as well as ahead at predictive insights.
Rework can be a project schedule’s worst nightmare—and the later it’s caught the bigger a scheduling headache you have on your hands. Rework takes valuable time away from what should be forward progress. In order to achieve schedule predictability, a project team has to be able to spot (and avoid) potential rework on the critical path.
Using computer vision automated construction progress tracking that acts as a digital surveyor, superintendents can quickly catch any missing or incorrectly installed components before the next trade covers up the error. This foresight can help avoid weeks of delays and schedule compression, which ultimately helps the facility stay on track to open on time or earlier.
Real-time automated construction progress tracking doesn’t just help with new healthcare construction—it can also help reduce downtime during facility operations down the road.
Picture it (if you dare): A construction company closes off an area to cut into the wall and fix MEP services only to discover that it wasn’t installed per as-built plans. Instead of adhering to the plan, dreaded rework is now required.
But what if you had x-ray vision instead? Comprehensive reality capture of an as-built facility ensures maintenance teams know exactly what was installed and where, so any maintenance and retrofits can be done efficiently without the rework. Instead of costing days of downtime, teams can get in and get it done as planned the first time.
At its core, Doxel is automated construction progress tracking that provides objective, accurate data on materials installed for real-time project controls. The more teams can document in the moment, the more productive and proactive they become.
Find out how healthcare projects have used Doxel to deliver facilities earlier and at a higher standard of quality.
Doxel is thrilled to partner with Corscale in revolutionizing the landscape of data center construction, setting a new standard for the industry.
Gainesville, VA – (November, 2023) – Corscale, the exclusive data center platform of the Patrinely Group, has announced that it will be deploying Doxel, the leader in AI automated construction progress tracking to speed the pace of construction and reduce waste on upcoming data center construction.
“Corscale is focused on implementing industry leading construction and sustainability initiatives. We are committed to building efficiently. Doxel will help us accelerate construction schedules and deliver critical data centers faster.” said Nic Bustamante, Chief Technology Officer for Corscale. Prior to his current position, Nic was the Senior Vice President of Development at Corscale and held leadership roles at Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
The rise in artificial intelligence, specifically Natural Language Processing (NLP), computer vision, and machine learning, and robotics, is increasing the already strong demand for data center solutions. Corscale will now harness the power of AI to build the data centers that deliver AI.
“Doxel is thrilled to partner with Corscale in revolutionizing the landscape of data center construction. Corscale’s commitment to industry-leading initiatives aligns with Doxel’s mission to transform construction through the power of AI. We aim to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of constructing data centers, setting a new standard for the industry. This collaboration represents a significant stride toward the future, where AI not only powers data centers but also drives their seamless and sustainable construction.” – Saurabh Ladha, CEO of Doxel.
The partnership with Doxel reflects Corscale’s forward-thinking approach to stay at the forefront of technological advancements. By incorporating AI into the construction process, Corscale not only meets the rising demand for data center solutions but also pioneers a path toward intelligent, sustainable, and swift data center deployment.
Corscale Data Centers is focused on delivering sustainability at scale. As the exclusive data center platform of the Patrinely Group, Corscale, together with its capital partner USAA Real Estate is delivering tomorrow’s data center, today. The company has assembled a top-tier team of industry professionals who bring decades of experience designing, building, and operating sustainable, high-density data centers for some of the largest and most sophisticated hyperscale operators and enterprises. Corscale delivers highly scalable, secure, and energy-efficient build-to-suit powered shells as well as flexible modular deployments. To learn more, please visit Corscale.
Doxel is focused on speeding up construction and reducing waste by using AI to automate progress tracking. Doxel believes in the power of aligned teams and designed Doxel to unlock their full potential. With Doxel, owners have full observability on their site while providing their field teams with powerful tools that prevent delays, over-billing, re-work, and trade stacking. Backed by Insight Partners, Amplo, and Andreessen Horowitz and with a growing team of engineers, scientists and construction veterans, Doxel is driven to help their customers win.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Corscale Media Relations
press@doxel.ai
Doxel Media Relations
press@doxel.ai
Accurate, reliable data allows construction companies to remove subjectivity and replace it with objective accountability.
Communication can make or break a construction project. A report from the Project Management Institute found that ineffective communication was the main contributor to project failure one-third of the time. An even more alarming finding from the research is that 56% of budgets allocated to projects are at risk due to poor communication.
Without objective insights alignment among field and office teams, knowing what’s happening on a project becomes a daunting task—one that could put a project (and its profitability) at risk.
1. Delayed communication
Timely communication (especially between the field and the office) is hard to achieve. Field teams are focused on a hundred different things at once, and relaying project updates typically happens at the end of their day. Because field leaders aren’t able to instantly communicate every facet of a project’s progress as it happens, there is a lag time and gap in each day’s reporting.
2. Inconsistent communication
In addition to being delayed, communication from the field to the office isn’t always consistent. The more variables and people added to the equation, the more potential for confusion and uncertainty. Communication on a project can very quickly turn into a game of telephone—and teams are forced to hold more meetings and conversations to ensure mutual understanding.
3. Missing communication
While delayed and inconsistent communication can hold a project back, missing communication can halt it entirely. If proper communication isn’t happening, neither is profitable building.
All these challenges in communication don’t just create extra stress and work on a project—they can have a deeper impact on the data and tracking, too. Without everyone on the same page, the reporting and insights are left to everyone’s individual perspective. As a result, the project’s insights suffer.
Accurate, reliable data allows construction companies to remove subjectivity and replace it with objective accountability. Insights that are trackable and consistent bring everyone together on the same page to make informed decisions, faster.
Improve communication and progress tracking
Streamline billing and accountability
The key to collecting reliable insights is through automated progress tracking. The right tool can increase team alignment and communication, without adding effort to the project team’s plate.
Doxel brings predictability to construction projects by providing critical insight with objective analytics. The AI-powered computer vision builds a digital twin of the jobsite on a weekly basis—providing true progress reporting and near real-time data. Doxel acts as a digital surveyor to capture and quantify project progress and eliminates the need for teams to manually calculate and report on it. The result is detailed, shared progress tracking from a single source across every project stakeholder and subcontractor.
Strategies for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Doxel CEO Saurabh Ladha is featured on The QTS Experience Podcast with David McCall. David and Saurabh discuss the impact of waste and rework in construction.
Saurabh discusses how Doxel integrates AI with established processes to build faster. Join us for the conversation, on the next QTS Experience. Episode 191; Saurabh Ladha: Intuitive Construction, AI, Doxel, Innovation, Data Center.
Advice for maintaining mental health in the workplace.
Many construction companies are at a crossroads as they think about the future of their business, and who will be a part of it.
More than 40% of the current U.S. construction workforce is expected to retire over the next decade. This generation of seasoned superintendents and project leaders will leave behind big shoes to fill in both skill and knowledge, and the industry’s current skilled labor shortage doesn’t exactly help either.
While many owners, GCs and trade contractors have programs in place to mentor younger generations and train them to step in, it won’t be enough to bridge the gap. That’s why it’s important for companies to ensure they are innovating to attract more workers of a new generation.
The construction industry has made huge strides to change and adopt more technology, but it can’t stop now. The younger generation that’s coming into the workforce over the next ten years was raised in a time where technology was already prevalent and is like second nature to them.
If a company wants to attract and retain a new generation of field leaders, they need to have processes in place that don’t just utilize technology, but are on the forefront of innovation, too.
A project isn’t truly done until it’s done done. And whether or not it gets to done done on time and under budget all comes down to how it’s being tracked during the construction phase. The old way of progress tracking involves a ton of manual effort and even more paper. Field teams would have to document what happened by hand on a regular basis and manually report on the overall progress completed.
Not only was this inefficient and extremely time-consuming, it also made it nearly impossible to try to predict where the project was headed or spot any potential issues fast enough to fix them. Even with the utilization of 3D and BIM models, knowing where a project stands hasn’t been as automated as it should be.
Convincing new, younger workers to take on these outdated processes isn’t an easy sell. Chances are, they’ll feel their time is being wasted since they are so used to the convenience and automation that technology can bring. In order to attract more workers to be on project and field teams, the processes they follow need to be seamless and even a little exciting.
Construction companies that are leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the collection and analysis of project data are already ahead of the game. While the new generation may be more traditionally more technologically savvy, AI is new and exciting to everyone.
Rather than spending hours per week manually inputting and calculating progress and materials, solutions like Doxel use AI alongside 360-degree capture to automatically identify true, objective progress. This ability to bring predictability to projects doesn’t just save field teams time—it provides critical insights that help avoid delays and cost overruns at the overarching project level.
Instead of them feeling like just another cog in the machine there to collect data over and over again, technology of this caliber empowers workers to think critically about the status of projects and seek a deeper understanding of what’s happening each day. Not to mention the sense of fulfillment that comes when a team works together on a project that is able to be completed earlier with increased safety, less expense, and higher quality.
We can help you empower a new generation of field leaders. See how Doxel works in a personalized demo today.
Doxel’s computer vision-based progress tracking leverages AI to act as a digital surveyor that delivers insights and reporting in real time.
Now more than ever, construction companies are looking for ways to stand out from the competition—and that starts with staying on top of the latest technology that helps them build more efficient, profitable projects.
The future of construction technology will be a hybrid of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning working alongside the industry’s workforce.
But what does that mean?
Put more simply, artificial intelligence is the brain of the computer, and machine learning is the part of that brain that learns from data and makes informed decisions based on what it has learned.
Computer scientists have found a way to make the process of designing a building more efficient and accurate. By starting with the goals and parameters of a project, generative design is able to explore every possible iteration of a solution until it comes up with the best option.
This technology and its use has the potential to save architects and designers countless hours upfront—but it doesn’t replace the human touch completely. Once the optimal solution is found for the design of a building, a designer still needs to fine-tune the details and take it from there.
Robots are being utilized on construction projects to perform repetitive tasks (such as bricklaying) using AI to detect changes in conditions and maximize efficiency. While only a few robots have been added to the project ranks so far, it is expected that more of these AI-powered workers will be used as a method of streamlining productivity.
What’s our favorite robot in construction, you ask? Meet Spot: a robot dog created by Boston Dynamics used to carry image-capturing or laser scanning equipment that ventures where humans can’t. Spot’s ability to walk himself autonomously around a jobsite, including on uneven terrain, makes him a project’s best friend. Spot may not have AI infused into his DNA yet, but the future generations of Spot will incorporate AI for predictive and preventative analysis.
Milwaukee Tool first dabbled into the technology space with their wirelessly connected tools, but they’ve since enhanced their capabilities with AI to pinpoint the exact locations of where a tool was last seen. And they didn’t stop there—by adding algorithms and more advanced sensors to their tools, Milwaukee is able to combine the data of a motor drive with motor load information to make decisions on false trips.
It should come as no surprise that these technological concepts are being applied to the most important priority in construction: safety. Companies like NewMetrix have created an AI-powered solution to help predict (and prevent) safety incidents on projects.
By leveraging a construction-specific AI model, their platform can analyze existing data along with their proprietary program to provide actionable incident insights that have the power to keep workers safe.
While BIM has opened the door for 3D modeling of a project, it’s still nearly impossible to tell the progress or quality of a build without a human resource to manually sift through and analyze images. That is, until now.
Doxel’s computer vision-based progress tracking leverages AI to act as a digital surveyor that delivers insights and reporting in real time. It can automatically analyze visual data, measure installed quantities, and inspect quality for more than 75 different construction stages. This not only saves companies time, it also mitigates the risk of errors and delays that could become costly.
Putting the model in the hands of field teams every step of the way gives them immediate access to see where their efforts line up (or don’t) for the project.
Ever since the pandemic, QR codes have had a resurgence in society. When the world turned contactless, restaurants and businesses began leveraging QR codes for menus and signage. These small codes have since become a go-to for pulling up web pages quickly and conveniently.
As QR codes continue to become more prevalent, other industries have taken note and discovered ways to leverage them—and construction is no exception.
But before we get into that, let’s cover some basics.
The ‘QR’ in QR codes stands for Quick Response, which makes sense when you think about the way they work. By pointing a device’s camera at the code, a destination link is pulled up and can be accessed instantaneously.
While they may have become most popular after 2020, these codes are not a new technology. QR codes were first created in 1994 by the Japanese company and Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave as a more accurate way to track vehicles and parts during the manufacturing process. The original intention behind QR codes was to reinvent the barcode by making something that was easy to scan and could hold more data than the average barcode.
In a time where businesses needed to (and continue to) adapt, QR codes and smartphones have become a powerful duo to further streamline access to information.
It’s no secret the construction industry is facing some challenges. From labor shortages to supply chain, the circumstances have further shown the importance of operational excellence on a project. To help combat these challenges, maintain a high standard of execution, and minimize risks of mistakes, many construction companies have found technology to be the answer.
Can QR codes play a part in this? In our webinar Almost Done Isn’t Done, one Doxel customer shared his team’s innovative way of incorporating QR codes around the job site to bring everyone on the same page, faster.
By strategically placing QR codes around key points of the job site, all the contractors for the project are able to instantly access the corresponding models and plans needed. That way, when the contractor is getting ready for the install or build, they can simply scan the QR code to confirm what they need to accomplish.
Putting the model in the hands of field teams every step of the way gives them immediate access to see where their efforts line up (or don’t) for the project. This makes it easy to ensure accuracy while progress is being made versus waiting until it’s too late.
How do companies make their own custom QR codes? Here’s a handful of solutions to consider:
While this technology is helpful enough on its own, the destination of the QR code is what can really make the difference on a project’s path to operational excellence.
Let’s talk about what happens when laser scanning and real-time progress tracking join the party.
Doxel’s AI-powered tool automatically maps and overlays 360-degree video to the BIM and 3D models. The split view allows teams to quickly understand what’s in progress and what’s done, along with the quality of installed systems.
Site progress is automatically quantified and visualized and can be differentiated by trade to compare what’s there to what should be—and as a result everyone is objectively aligned on true progress.
Imagine all this at the touch of a button, a scan of a code. With the convenient access of QR codes connected directly to Doxel, field teams can better (and more instantly) answer two of a project’s biggest questions:
Are things where they are supposed to be?
Are we on schedule?
By having the color-coded, easy to understand analysis of progress just a QR code scan away, project teams can be more proactive and accurate in their work.
If you’re ready to take your project models to another level, schedule a demo of Doxel today.
