The weather, eh? It’s one of Britain’s favourite topics of conversation – but it can also be a major nuisance for construction, with high winds, extreme temperatures or torrential downpours making work more hazardous or holding up progress, with every delay costing valuable time and money – in 2018 alone, the Beast from the East is estimated to have cost construction over £2bn

There was a time when even the best-laid plans would be at the mercy of conditions it was virtually impossible to predict beyond the short to medium-term – and increasingly erratic weather patterns meant project managers were facing an ever-growing headache.

In this ebook, Metswift looks at how emerging, rapidly advancing technology such as Artificial Intelligence, which is already being used to tackle some of the key challenges facing construction, can be harnessed to take the pain out of weather prediction by providing reliable predictive modelling for construction planning both in the short and longer-term.

First, Professor Peter Debney of Oasys Software looks at the rise of AI in construction, how it works and its growing applications within the industry, from planning to project management and through to post-construction.

Elsewhere, Dr Timea Nochta of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction, discusses how AI can be integrated with the Internet of Things, machine learning and data analytics to create city-scale digital twins of the built environment that provide real-time information to better inform the planning, operation and maintenance of assets.

Meanwhile, Andrew Johnson of Operam examines how big data, already being put to use in the design phase of many projects, can analyse factors such as the weather to optimise construction activity.

There is also a wealth of information on Metswift’s range of award-winning predictive AI and machine learning is being integrated into BIM to help project managers make better-informed decisions based on weather prediction data offering a far higher degree of accuracy than ever before.