International project delivery specialist PM Group is making productivity gains by using what is claimed to be the world’s first engineering-grade AR product, HoloSite, on the design and construction of one of Europe’s biggest data centres in Denmark.
HoloSite, London-based XYZ Reality, integrates AR into a hard hat and visor, allowing the wearer to see full BIM models of structures superimposed on work underway to detect errors before they become expensive to fix.
PM Group said the technology is helping to achieve “significant time and labour savings during construction”, especially in phases involving complex M&E engineering works.
“It has allowed us to move away from a reactive approach to tackling errors, to a more proactive way of working, solving problems before they actualise as a cost,” said Diarmuid O’Sullivan, construction director. “This technology is ground breaking and adds significantly to the AR and other digital technology we are using on our projects across the world.”
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PM Group BIM manager Coral Butler said the technology removes the need for constant laser surveying and enables live streaming from the project, cutting the number of people needed on site – which is useful amid the pandemic.
XYZ Reality founder and chief executive David Mitchell said: “Having worked as a digital construction nanager on some of Europe’s largest construction projects, I have witnessed first-hand how damaging it could be to take a reactive approach to tackling construction errors, but the technology wasn’t available to do it differently – I knew there had to be a better way.”
PM Group plans to deploy further HoloSite units on the project as the build advances into more complex M&E construction phases. The company is also looking to use the technology on other construction projects this year.
Image and video: XYZ Reality
