An increasing number of new projects in large urban centres, including the 700 Bay Street project and One Manhattan West project in New York City, are relying on AI to streamline efficiency and cut costs. Construction challenges on 700 Bay Street have ranged from designing the entire complex as a single structure able to resist wind and earthquakes to developing cost-effective foundations. To further complicate this already massive undertaking, design professionals and contractors are also tasked with brainstorming ways to integrate the new tower structure at 700 Bay Street without disrupting the functionality of the below-grade parking.
Stakeholders have relied on various construction intelligence tools, such as AI-powered monitoring solutions, real-time analytics, and tracking software to maintain control over this challenging jobsite. With real-time data and actionable insight from AI-driven platforms, site managers are able to understand which strategies work and what needs to be improved. The heightened levels of transparency eliminate surprises, allowing projects of this size to get completed on time and on budget.
Data facilitates efficiency
Data drives the world. Building a foundation with actionable data allows users to make informed decisions more efficiently. This concept is doubly true for those working in construction as minute details are the crux of every project. According to the 2017 McKinsey report, AI-supported analytics platforms can cut costs, prioritize preventative maintenance, and prevent unplanned downtime. The slightest miscalculation can result in a faulty structure that must be completely torn down and rebuilt, wasting time and money.
Previously, construction managers lacked real-time visibility into site activity, limiting their ability to predict and eliminate risks. Leveraging AI-powered solutions with computer vision allows managers to monitor personal protective equipment use and safety violations and track worker movement. Additionally, project managers are able to watch weekly video playbacks to review the data and make safety predictions moving forward. The ability to anticipate problem areas keeps projects moving forward on schedule and minimizes waste.
AI’s assistance is a welcome addition to the 700 Bay Street project, due to the multiple variables contributing to this complex undertaking. Site managers have benefited from the additional levels of control, as they have worked to take apart the parking garage and install tie-backs at vertical angles to hold the earth in place. From there, a 45,359-kg (100,000-lb) caisson machine was lifted in place by a 400-tonne mobile, and the machine set to work drilling down into bedrock 900-mm (35-in.) deep before installing 49 caissons to support the new residential tower. Even with AI, this project was demanding, to say the least. However, the enhanced visibility with AI-supported computer vision made the project much more achievable.
Further complicating matters, demolition crews were aiming to avoid chipping in order to get rid of the concrete on top of the existing tower. Once again, AI made its presence felt, paving the way for AI-operated robotic demolition equipment using a crushing technique, which will be lifted to the roof. The AI-operated demolition machine strikes at over 406 joules of force, far exceeding the power of any human worker. AI not only allows for such robotics to be developed and programmed, but these AI-enabled machines can also operate in unique and complicated situations that would be difficult for humans. These machines play major roles in completing unusual tasks quickly and with relative ease, which goes a long way toward mitigating overall construction costs.
Improving site safety
It should come as no surprise the construction project at 700 Bay Street comes with inherent safety risks. Generally speaking, risk mitigation remains at the top of the construction industry’s most challenging problems, and the project taking place in downtown Toronto is far more complex and dangerous than most. The sheer volume of subcontractors working on this site simultaneously opens the door to thousands of safety issues.
