Adopt digital twin technology in building industry — Structural engineer
Structural/ Earthquake Engineer, Carlien Bou-Chedid, has urged stakeholders in the building industry to adopt digital twin technology to reduce costs, improve sustainability and enhance overall performance throughout the life cycle of structures.
She explained that the Digital Twin technology relied on a network of sensors and devices strategically placed within the built environment to measure parameters, such as temperature, humidity, energy usage, water flow, air quality, among other things.
The Digital Twins are softwares that are used in construction management, for collaboration, document management, project insights, and supports product design and engineering.
It is often used in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry to create digital representations of buildings and infrastructure and supports urban planning, infrastructure management and smart city initiatives.
Summit
Mrs Bou-Chedid, who is also the immediate-past President of the Federation of African Engineering Organisations, was speaking at the African Continental Engineering Construction, Architectural and Facility Management Summit (ACEACFMS 2023) in Accra.
She said technology created a virtual and digital replica of physical objects, processes or systems to allow for real-time monitoring, analysis and optimisation.
The summit, on the theme: "Integrating Sustainable Built Environment for socio-transformation through the use of digital twin technologies", was attended by the Paramount Chief of the Abeadze Traditional Area, Central Region, Daasebre Kwebu Ewusi VII, engineers, architects , logistic managers and some business executives , contractors and students.
Mrs Bou-Chedid said the Digital Twin technology could be applied in the built environment in various ways to enhance efficiency, sustainability and overall performance.
She further stated that the continuous monitoring of infrastructure performance could be achieved with sensors and other devices embedded in physical structures to collect real-time data, which is then fed into the Digital Twin.
Analysing
She explained that by analysing data from sensors and historical performance, Digital Twins could also predict when maintenance was needed, thus reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of the infrastructure.
For his part, the President and CEO of the African Continental Engineering & Construction Network, Daniel Kontie, said new trends were transforming the way the industry operated.
He stated that the summit discussed pertinent issues in the African Built Environment that would place us in the position to transition the built environment from the current brown construction techniques to Green Building. Making a presentation on “Refocusing Ghana’s Flood Preparedness and Response for Socio-Economic Transformation through the use of Digital Twin Technologies”, Prof. Divine Ahadzie of Centre for Settlements Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, said, Ghana experienced major floods every two years for the last 20 years but our preparedness was not getting any better.
On the recent VRA flood, Prof. Ahadzie suggested that VRA should enhance its engagement with the communities by strengthening the use of twin-technologies plus other community based technologies. He proposed a simplified community flood resilience framework to comprise the Chiefs, Assemblymen, MPs, NADMO, District Assembly, among others.
Engineering, Construction and Logistics firms exhibited their modern technologies to the participants at the exhibition center as part of the summit. STEM students from Kumasi Academy SHS made an impressive presentation of their Smart Urban Gardening Initiative, a Green technology revolution. According to the students, the Smart Urban Gardening project integrates advanced technology and sustainable practices for urban agriculture.