Digital Technologies that Powered the Statue of Unity Construction in Record Speed

S Anantha Sayana, Chief Digital Officer, L&T, believes the suite of digital technologies deployed for the Statue of Unity (SoU), the world’s tallest at 182 m, played a critical role in constructing it in a record 33 months. A look at what was deployed: Surveying technologies: Geospatial technologies (GPS/DGNSS/GNSS, drone-based photogrammetry, remote-sensing satellites and Terrestrial LiDAR (light detection and ranging)) performed more accurate, faster and economic surveys of the riverbed to ascertain the quantity of landfill required that had a critical bearing on the foundation of the statue, which would have been extremely difficult with conventional surveying methods. These facilitated wind tunnel and hydrodynamic model effect studies, the estimation of catchment areas and assess runoff flow directions to build a sustainable stormwater drainage system.Visualisation solutions: 4-D BIM was extensively used to remove all geometric interferences of elements before going on site. Virtual reality helped analyse and resolve clashes within various sectors, prepare accurate, error-free drawings for speedy execution, and train workmen to give them a real-life feel of the work environment. Tracking solutions: Radio-frequency identification (RFID)-tagging the 6,850 bronze panels cladding the outer structure helped track their movement from the casting yard to the manufacturing yard for assembly and at the project site. RFID also helped sequence the erection of these panels for the exact, speedy placement of each panel. Mobile monitoring apps: A project monitoring app connected all the stakeholders. Everyone had access to daily project reports on visually attractive and informative dashboards. A safety app ensured zero incidents despite men working at dangerous heights and having to confront wind blasts along the river. Another app tracked quality while a dashboard collated critical data feeds from several digitally hooked up plant and machinery assets for constant monitoring to increase productivity and help predict trends.