The digitization of construction sites

Abstract

The DM 560 of 1 December 2017, defines the methods and times for introducing the mandatory nature of electronic
modeling methods and tools for construction and infrastructure in contracting stations.
This methodology, named BIM, “Building Information Modeling” and defined by the National Institutes of Building
Science as the “digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of an object”, has the role, in the
construction industry, of supporting communication, cooperation, simulation and optimal improvement of a project
along the complete life cycle of the built work, thanks to the participation of all the main actors.
The obligation to use the building information model became mandatory from 1 January 2019 for contracts with an
amount equal to or greater than 100 million euro, and then had a ‘progressive’ adjustment for works of lesser value,
up to the mandatory implementation of BIM also for contracts of less than 1 million from 2025.
At the same time, in recent years, the advent of new technologies are exposing the world of work to profound changes;
the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, have upset the world of work and the management of worker
safety. The EU-osha, the European Agency for Health and Safety at work, in this regard, is examining the consequences of the use of these technologies, to provide information on their impact on the nature and organization of work and
to provide information on challenges that may affect Occupational Health and Safety.
This technological innovation and digitalization of services has transformed a legal obligation into a natural orientation, a need that the various stackeholders, involved in the construction activity, feel in order to optimize the work
activity, leading transformation of the traditional construction site into a digital construction site.
All this must also be able to be projected on small realities, on construction sites not belonging to major works, and
therefore not born digital, in order to create a smart construction site able to make the most of technological resources
to obtain timely and safe management of building site.
In this context, we want to pay particular attention to how the safety management, provided for by Legislative Decree
81/2008 - Title IV Temporary or mobile construction sites, has been influenced in recent years by the advent of digital
systems on construction sites.
Digital technologies can advance the safety management efforts in a number of ways. However, depending on the
method of designing and implementing the technologies, the organizational context and the professional position,
digitization can affect safety management by also making new risks emerge for the workers involved.
Therefore, starting from a comparison of the different methodologies available today, and the different approaches
adopted, also based on the type of construction site to be monitored, the goal is to evaluate the results of the experiences gained in recent years and the expectations of the stackeholders.
With the aid of a questionnaire formulated specifically for the survey and administered online to the selected sample of
users, we want to monitor the interviews for the level of integration of technologies and digital processes, particularly
with reference to the management of safety at work, on construction sites in the province of Avellino.