Case Studies

Corner reflectors in the workshop, Krisztina for scale

Research Profile - Application of satellite technology in infrastructure monitoring

11 February 2021

Using radar monitoring is well established for investigating large earth movements and monitoring of city scale deformation, but there is limited understanding about the use of radar to monitor single infrastructure assets – which is becoming more applicable with improvements to the achievable resolution. This project...

Research Profile - Staffordshire Bridges – long-term performance monitoring using fibre optic sensors

25 January 2021

A major rail upgrade programme to remove a bottleneck on the West Coast Main Line saw collaboration between Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, Volker Rail and Network Rail. The Stafford Area Improvement Programme included construction of a number of new bridges designed by Atkins using Building Information Modelling (BIM) from the...

Case Study: Gemini Principles - Colouring London

15 January 2021

Colouring London is described by the ODI as an example of a 'successful collaborative data maintenance model ’ along with Wikipedia, Open Streetmap, Music Brainz, and O pen F ood F acts' . The problem: The building stock is the largest capital asset of a city and its most important socio-economic resource. It is also where...

Research Profile - Precision Engineered Timber – Digital design and delivery of healthier schools

12 January 2021

The use of prefabricated engineered timber construction methods, including digital design and off-site manufacturing , at scale to build much-needed new schools in the UK will improve construction productivity, performance and be more cost effective than conventional methods. Engineered timber b uildings can be efficient...

Research Profile - West Cambridge Digital Twin Facility

14 December 2020

The d evelop ment of a digital twin of the University of Cambridge West Cambridge campus provide s a demonstrator facility to address the challenges associated with the production of a National Digital Twin (NDT), an ecosystem of connected digital twins, securely sharing infrastructure and built environment data to support...

Research Profile - Understanding the social context to transforming construction through digital innovation

27 November 2020

Despite digital innovation bringing opportunity to improve productivity and predictability in construction, the sector has been slow to change. Transforming construction through digital is not simply a technical problem but a social, cultural, economic and political challenge. Without understanding the contributing factors...

Case Study: National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) Pilot Programme

16 November 2020

Every construction and infrastructure project must source information on buried utility assets (e.g. cables, pipes, sewers, ducts) when preparing ground investigation and excavation work in order to avoid costly damage to assets, and to safeguard personnel and the general public. Multiple organisations have to be contacted...

The Forge: Quantifying the value of P-DfMA and digital delivery

4 November 2020

The Centre for Digital Built Britain, as part of the Construction Innovation Hub , is supporting a ground-breaking commercial development. Thayla Zomer, a research student embedded in the project team, reports on her work assessing the benefits to industry of applying Modern Methods of Construction and a digital delivery...

Improving Lives through Building Information Modelling (BIM) - Deanery School

1 May 2020

In September last year the Deanery Church of England Academy, Swindon, opened its doors to 1,600 excited children – the first cohort to enter a fantastic new school. deanery2.jpg Linda Culling, the school’s principal, describes the facilities as “amazing” -- there are cutting-edge science labs, a 440-seat theatre...

Publication: Final Report - The local governance of digital technology – Implications for the city-scale digital twin

31 July 2019

screenshot_2020-06-24_at_14.27.58.png Project background What part does city and regional governance play in how a city-level digital twin develops? It is necessary to understand the ways in which governance for digital twins is bound by context and the ways in which it is generalisable in order to successfully transfer...