Digital Twin and Facilities Management Integration for New Chapter in Sustainability

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) endeavors to motivate the industry to support Hong Kong to strive for carbon neutrality before 2050. Standing at the heart of Central, Hong Kong’s core commercial area, The Henderson is an iconic project (the Project) embedding sustainability into design and construction. The Project is an exemplary demonstration for the construction industry on attaining sustainable development through the integration of digital twin and facilities management. Ir Thomas HO, Chairman of the CIC, together with young leaders from the Registered Specialist Trade Contractors Scheme, visited The Henderson site to understand how advanced technology and smart construction helped to care for users as well as achieved breakthroughs in environmental protection, liveability and facilities management.
 

Full BIM Application from Design Stage

The Henderson site is adjacent to the MTR Tsuen Wan Line and Island Line, with a close proximity of only three metres. All underground works such as excavation, piling and geotechnical works must be done with extreme care which makes the Project very challenging. The Project utilised Building Information Modelling (BIM) from design to construction. The BIM model was continuously enhanced by design team, consultant, main contractor and specialist trade contractors during the process, enabling a preview of the construction process and early detection of risks associated. With regular 3D model scanning, water level of basement and the structure of the rock and soil can be identified which helped to prevent water leakage and potential pothole formation in its five levels of basement. The Project’s site formation work had been completed with no disruption to surrounding transport and commercial activities.

Close Collaboration Among Construction Teams to Tackle Challenges

Mr. Derek So, Executive Director of Hip Hing Construction Company Limited, described The Henderson as a “challenging” project. The Henderson is supported by only six columns, of which four should be piled into the transfer plate deep down the foundation which creates a heavy load. The Project team utilised BIM to accurately preview the position of the column on the ground and the underground pile so as to calculate the structure and loading of the transfer plate and the foundation. Due to the limited site space, the Project team faced acute challenge to install cantilevered steel structure, so the team used BIM to plan the processing and installation procedure of the steel structure in order to accurately mark the installation position, coordinate lifting and welding work as well as furnish detailed construction drawings for subcontractors.

The curtain wall of The Henderson is comprised of 4,080 unitized glass components of over 1,000 shapes and curves. The production, quality control and installation of the gigantic four-layered curved laminated glass was under tight scrutiny. Each piece of glass has to undergo 3D scanning to ensure the final product and the installation position are consistent with the design. RFID was embedded on each glass module to allow tracking of installation position and to obtain real time curtain wall installation status and 3D data to facilitate the maintenance team’s work in obtaining the components’ condition in the future.

The cross team collaboration effectively managed risks by anticipating potential issues and resolution. The team’s instant problem solving and spirit to embrace challenges were the success factors of the Project.

Digital Twin Integrating Facilities Management to Elevate Well Being

The Henderson not only showcases exceptional design and construction technologies, the Project also demonstrates sustainability in three perspectives, namely reduction of carbon emission of building, change of human behavior to improve carbon emission and energy consumption as well as reduction of the embodied carbon during the construction process. Mr. Kevin Ng, Senior Deputy General Manager of Project Management (2) Department of Henderson Land Development Company Limited emphasized that the Project used digital twin to integrate facilities management. Large amount of sensors were embedded during the design stage which facilitated stringent monitoring of progress and quality throughout the construction project, and also enabled collection and retrieval of operation data via the new consolidated control platform for easy facilities management, ultimately creating a comfortable work environment for users. The Henderson is the first project in the Hong Kong property / construction industry to launch the developer – tenant – employee Tri-party ESG Partnership Programme. The Project team further extended the digital twin for office tenants by assisting tenants to prepare their own ESG report and benefit employees direct.

The sustainability design took into consideration the wellbeing of users. For example, the Project utilised solar panels on the roof top to generate renewable energy for the Solar Responsive Ventilator, a patented design of the Project, to alleviate the heat from the sun. Office users will be notified via mobile app on energy saving options in accordance with the real time weather condition. Independent air vent is installed to prevent transmission of contagious disease. Sensors are installed between dry and wet rooms such as the space between toilets and corridor to detect leakage for instant handling by facilities management office. Digital twin can also help to set a healthy lifestyle and environmental protection target and provide reference data for lifestyle of individuals and ESG reporting of the companies.

The Henderson illustrates the benefits of BIM in modern construction and is the first project in Hong Kong to be recognized by the buildingSMART International Award. Ir Thomas HO commended the Henderson for congregating safety, productivity, sustainability, liveability and wellbeing. Together with the integration of facilities management and digital twin, the Henderson is not only an exemplary demonstration for the industry, but also visualised the development direction advocated by the CIC.