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September 2024 #16302 Page #71
Harnessing Data: The Key to Advancements in the Structural Building Industry
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n the building industry generally and industrialized construction specifically, the utilization of data has become increasingly pivotal. This trend parallels the data-driven advancements seen in Formula 1, where precision, speed, and strategic insights derived from data have revolutionized the sport. (I’ll have more to say about Formula 1 in the next few paragraphs.) Increasingly, we find operations that are languishing because they are not taking advantage of the one thing we have a lot of: data. I am reminded of the Matthew McConaughey commercial depicting the road in the middle of a town that turns to gold, and his words: ... “if AI is the wild west, does that make data the new gold?”
By Ben Hershey Solutions Provider & CEO 4Ward Solutions Group
The Role of Data in the Structural Building Industry Data is a cornerstone of Industry 4.0 for structural building component and volumetric modular plants, influencing every aspect from design to production. Many parts of our industry heavily rely on advanced software and digital tools for planning, modeling, estimating, and ordering structural elements. This digital transformation ensures precision and efficiency, reducing errors and waste, much like the meticulous data analysis in Formula 1 that optimizes car performance and race strategies. One of the motivating factors for me in buying the software company Moducore and other data-related companies was recognizing the importance of data and how we use it in our operations. So why talk about Formula 1? What does it have to do with modular and panelized structural components? One of my associates, Mike Ruede, Jr., who leads our automation and robotics solutions team, knew that I enjoyed racing, but he did not understand where it really was driven from. Back in the 1980s when I went to my first Indy and Nascar races, what impressed me the most was how much manufacturers were spending testing new ideas, products, etc. in the racing vehicle. The result? Much about the vehicles we drive today came from testing that was done on the racetrack. When Mike told me about a show on Netflix, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, I was completely impressed with how racing teams were using data — not just data collected at the race and then reviewed after, but data captured and used in real time. If this technology produces winning results on a lightningfast racetrack, imagine what it could do for your factory.
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