What preparations are needed for i-Construction 2.0? 7 items construction sites should address

Table of Contents

• Why preparations are required for i-Construction 2.0

• Preparation 1 A system to capture current conditions as 3D data

• Preparation 2 A foundation to share the same data between the site and the office

• Preparation 3 A measurement environment that continuously acquires construction data

• Preparation 4 BIM/CIM attribute information and operating rules

• Preparation 5 Consistent management of 2D drawings and 3D models

• Preparation 6 A communications system ready for remote construction and remote attendance

• Preparation 7 Human resource development and a review of role allocation

• How to embed these preparations at the construction site

• Summary

Why preparations are required for i-Construction 2.0

What is even more important is that i-Construction 2.0 is not limited to construction operations alone. Official documents assume data linkage across the entire construction production process, including investigation/survey, design, construction, inspection, and maintenance. In other words, what sites need to prepare goes beyond improving operations after groundbreaking. You need to think through from start to finish how you will acquire current conditions, receive design data, record activities during construction, and present information for inspection and oversight. Sites that are insufficiently prepared tend to encounter duplicate data entry, rework, and writing back to paper along the way, canceling out the expected labor savings.

Preparation 1 A system to capture current conditions as 3D data

The first preparation to check is building a system to capture current conditions as 3D data. i-Construction 2.0 emphasizes not only automation of construction but also data linkage from design through construction, construction management, and inspection. The prerequisite is to acquire site information in a reusable form — not understanding the site only through 2D drawings but using point clouds, 3D models, photos with coordinates, cross-section information, etc. If the understanding of current conditions is vague, no matter how much you digitize downstream processes, you will still need manual corrections during design reviews and as-built verification, and the benefits of automation will not appear.

What matters here is not to treat precise 3D data as a "special deliverable." What the site needs is to continuously hold comparable data in the same coordinate system and under the same rules before construction, during construction, and at as-built verification — this is more important than producing a perfect large-scale model every time. In practice, it is important that data can be overlaid using the same standards at the initial survey stage, during as-built management, and when design changes occur. If you set acquisition rules from the start, you can avoid common bottlenecks such as "the reference for heights differed from the previous measurement," "there are photos but their locations are unknown," or "there is a point cloud but it does not align with the design." This directly links to future BIM/CIM integration and labor-saving in inspection and oversight.

Preparation 2 A foundation to share the same data between the site and the office

On sites where this preparation is lacking, site personnel make judgments based on site photos and simple notes, the office looks at different drawings, and subcontractors may be using even older versions, causing fragmentation. This increases missed communications of design changes, repeated as-built verifications, clashes between trades, and differences in understanding with the client. Conversely, on sites where the sharing foundation works, schedules, drawings, quality, as-built data, photos, and location information can be checked as a single flow, reducing inquiries themselves. What should be decided during the preparation phase is which data will be shared, who is responsible for updates, how version control will be handled, and how the data will be viewed on site. By "foundation" we do not mean the system name but the operation itself, including update rules and allocation of responsibilities.

Preparation 3 A measurement environment that continuously acquires construction data

The third preparation is to establish a measurement environment that can acquire construction data continuously, not just once. The FY2025 initiatives for i-Construction 2.0 treat construction data utilization, remote construction, and automated construction in parallel, making it a premise to organize site management using construction data and to set up a data acquisition environment. The FY2024 review also indicates a policy to enforce environments for acquiring construction data such as operating hours and position information via construction machinery through the principle of ICT construction. In other words, in future sites, measurement will not be a temporary task for creating deliverables but a routine operation that produces foundational information for site management.

What is often overlooked here is that "being able to measure" and "being able to preserve" are different. Even if you can measure coordinates or as-built conditions on site, if that data is scattered without being linked to time, location, target, trade, and personnel, it cannot be used later. Construction data only has value when used for schedule adjustments, as-built verification, preventing rework, optimal placement of construction machinery, and decision-making for remote construction. Therefore, in the preparation phase you need to decide not only what to measure at which timing but also in what format to store it, where to aggregate it, and who will verify it. Sites that plan to advance automation in the future will fail less often if they firm up this "from measurement to accumulation" early.

Preparation 4 BIM/CIM attribute information and operating rules

The fourth preparation is to decide operating rules that include attribute information so that BIM/CIM does not end up as merely visually appealing 3D models. Official materials promote drafting handling guidelines to integrate and manage 3D models and point cloud data through BIM/CIM, standardize attribute information to facilitate data use and sharing between clients and contractors, and utilize it for quantity estimation and design changes. BIM/CIM began to be applied in principle from FY2023, and going forward, not only geometry but also quantities, member conditions, construction conditions, and work progress information that can be used in downstream processes will become increasingly important.

What is important for site preparations is to decide in advance "how much to include in the model." Trying to include everything increases update burdens and results in models nobody uses. Conversely, too little information makes the model unusable for quantity estimation, design changes, quantity verification, and handover to construction machinery. In practice, it is important to first define the minimum necessary attributes for each trade and clarify whether the model will be used for geometry checks, quantity verification, construction, or inspection. If you start operating without attribute rules, input items will vary by person, leaving you with a model that cannot be searched, aggregated, or compared despite its existence. What i-Construction 2.0 requires is not "3D for its own sake" but "making 3D data usable for work."

Preparation 5 Consistent management of 2D drawings and 3D models

The fifth preparation is to manage the consistency between 2D drawings and 3D models from the outset. i-Construction 2.0 documents identify the current issue that 2D drawings and 3D models are not linked, leaving 3D models as reference material rather than usable contract documents for construction. For that reason, roadmaps for standardizing 3D models and using them as contract documents, as well as expanded trials in FY2025, are being developed. This means that in future it will be harder to operate with the mindset that "the drawings are authoritative and the model is only a reference."

What is needed in site practice is not to favor either 2D or 3D. You must clarify the relationship between the two and decide, when changes occur, which to update first, which to reflect, and who will confirm them. For example, there are increasingly many situations where slope shapes, structure locations, cross-sections for as-built verification, and interfaces with temporary works are faster to understand in 3D. On the other hand, 2D drawings remain important for detail coordination, contracts, and negotiations. If this is left ambiguous, site decisions will be made from models, negotiation materials will be drawings, and as-built records will be separate forms — a triple management system. The worst outcome is increasing confirmation routes despite digitization. Simply establishing a 2D/3D consistency check procedure and centralizing change history during the preparation phase can greatly reduce later confusion.

Preparation 6 A communications system ready for remote construction and remote attendance

What the site needs to prepare here is not just raw communication speed. It is necessary to design for video quality, upload stability, radio dead zones, battery operation, device management, control of data removal, and fallback flows for communication failures. Remote attendance is not "just connect a camera" — it only functions once you have defined who connects at what timing, what to show, what records to keep, and what will be treated as formal confirmation. Especially on sites with harsh communication conditions such as mountainous areas, offshore locations, or around tunnels, prior on-site checks and trial operations are indispensable. As remote construction and remote supervision become mainstream, communications will become part of the construction conditions rather than auxiliary equipment.

Preparation 7 Human resource development and a review of role allocation

The seventh preparation is human resource development and a review of role allocation. i-Construction 2.0 is not a simple story where mechanization automatically reduces personnel. Official documents clearly state that human involvement remains essential even as automation progresses, and promoting work-style reforms is required. The FY2025 initiatives also advance defining the knowledge and skills needed for introducing automated construction and creating training programs. In short, what will be needed going forward is not merely reducing headcount while keeping traditional tasks the same, but redesigning roles to create teams that operate with fewer people.

Particularly worth reviewing on site is the complete separation of those who measure, those who verify, those who correct, and those who consolidate. On sites suited to i-Construction 2.0, it is ideal that measurement personnel obtain data that construction personnel can immediately check, the office can judge from the same screen, and the inspection and oversight side can receive it as is. To achieve this, not everyone needs high-level modeling skills, but everyone must share a common language: concepts of coordinates, how to read as-built data, version control, handling photos and point clouds, and basic operations for remote confirmation. A site that relies on a single person who alone understands everything will stop the moment that person is absent. During the preparation phase, it is important to organize which trades should read which data and to start small cross-functional operational training before device training.

How to embed these preparations at the construction site

What you should avoid is introducing devices and systems merely to meet subsidy or project deadlines without designing how to use them. i-Construction 2.0 is not just replacing paper with data; it is an initiative to accelerate site decision-making, reduce waiting times, prevent rework, and stabilize quality with fewer people. The effects appear on sites where, in the preparation phase, "who," "when," "what," and "where to store it" are decided. To embed practices at the site, it is more reliable to start with one trade, one as-built management workflow, or one negotiation flow and then roll out successful patterns horizontally, rather than launching a large-scale deployment from the beginning.

Summary

What is truly necessary for i-Construction 2.0 is not assembling the latest devices but creating sites where data flows. Capture current conditions in 3D, share the same information between the site and the office, continuously acquire construction data, organize BIM/CIM attribute information, maintain 2D and 3D consistency, establish communications that withstand remote operations, and reorganize personnel roles. Only when these seven items are in place will labor saving and productivity improvements begin to function in everyday site operations. While i-Construction 2.0 may sound like a large policy term, seen as site preparations it is about how efficiently you can connect the daily tasks of measuring, viewing, sharing, and confirming.

The first step does not have to be grand. For example, reliably keeping photos with known locations, taking points with coordinates, and making pre- and post-construction comparisons under the same standards can significantly advance on-site data utilization. For creating such entry points, using iPhone-mounted GNSS high-accuracy positioning devices like LRTK to incorporate position acquisition and recording into everyday site work without undue burden is effective. If you can create a system that is not handled only by special personnel but allows anyone on site to handle location information to the same standards, preparations for i-Construction 2.0 will shift from desk plans to operational practices at the site.