ACCIONA's Jesús Sancho on digital-twin technology, using drones for tunnel projects

The construction sector across the globe is at a pivotal point in history, with the shift to technology having dramatically changed the way projects were delivered. In the latest episode of Construction Week's expert interview series, Ranju Warrier sits down, virtually, with ACCIONA Middle East’s managing director, Jesús Sancho, who talks about how digitisation has helped the company deliver projects on time and efficiently, as well as its involvement with desalination projects in the region. ACCIONA, a Spanish multinational conglomerate associated with the development and management of infrastructure and renewable energy projects, has been working on desalination projects in the region, including the most recent contract win for Shuqaiq 1 desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. “There are two or three things that have passed in the last few years; first of all, the technology has improved the energy efficiency per every cubic meter of water. They have also helped reduce the consumption of energy, while we have been able to introduce renewable energy into those facilities, especially solar, to reduce the consumption of electricity,” says Sancho. He adds: “There are a number of projects and software tools that use artificial intelligence that are further helping to improve projects, which in the end is a benefit for the customers and the client support teams.” “The construction companies and contractors that have not been doing their homework, so to say, modernise and use the digital technologies and the latest technologies, will probably have to do so very soon, if they want to really keep up with the present changes and the challenges and the competitiveness.” Talking about the company’s use of digital twins and delivering projects through COVID-19, Sancho tells Construction Week: “One of the impacts that unfortunately COVID-19 has had in the industry is the restriction of movement of our experts and technicians from Spain or from anywhere in the region to the actual site. However, ACCIONA, as part of our investment in research and development (R&D) and the adoption of the industry and our 4.0 standard, where we've been developing our own AI tools such as digital twins, we have been able to cope with the challenges caused by the pandemic.” In its first, ACCIONA tested and commissioned Saudi Arabia’s Al-Khobar 1 Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) using the digital twin technology. The company’s specialist team in Madrid commenced testing and commissioning at the plant remotely and completed it on schedule, with only minimal staff on-site, overcoming travel restrictions due to COVID-19, by using digital twins. “There was a remote team based in Spain and they were able to monitor and test the condition of the whole desalination facility with only a minimal amount of operations on site, this was 10 times less than the normal. The digital-twin technology allows us to keep track of the condition of the plant. We used advanced machine learning, artificial intelligence, and we were able to control all types of equipment, the Control C programs, with all the water and electrical circuits being put into operations with remote supervision.” Another fascinating innovation that Sancho speaks about is the use of drones. Explaining about these have proved to be beneficial for underground mining tunnel projects, as an alternative to conventional systems, and also during COVID-19 when physical site visits were difficult, he says: “Drones in general have been a major innovation in the last few years. Everybody has used a drone here or there as a toy, but when it comes to a professional environment, they play a huge role in the planning and the analysis process of any construction programme. They give you aerial views, underground views of any site at a comparatively much smaller amount of cost than the actual other traditional methods. Not only do they assist in the planning and analysis process, they give you actual data or how the actual construction has advanced.” To know what else Sancho spoke about, watch the full video now. PRODUCER Ranju Warrier EDITED Sydney Stanislas SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: /c/constructionweekonlinecom READ MORE ON OUR WEBSITE: http://constructionweekonline.com FIND US ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/constructionweekonline/ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/cwmiddleeast TUNE IN TO OUR SOUNDCLOUD STREAM: https://soundcloud.com/constructionweek FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/constructionweek/ © ITP MEDIA GROUP

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