"The construction industry's strategy is to improve productivity and meet the Government's Construction 2025 targets.The **Augmented Reality for Operative Productivity and Continuous Quality Analysis (AROPCQA)** project aims to improve productivity and quality by creating the common platform using digital technologies and process workflows to develop a user-focused practical system. Construction operatives need to be provided with accurate information to support efficient installation, and also be able to demonstrate that the installation has been done correctly. Currently, these processes are mainly manual, time consuming, and error prone -- which leads to increase of cost. Errors and associated rework can have a significant impact on project profitability and can also affect quality in the longer term. Currently, the information loop to identify, report, and address issues at design stage is not systematically closed. Vision and digital technologies such as augmented, virtual and mixed reality, laser scanning, computer vision, ubiquitous wireless communications and 3D digital design technologies are all being explored for application in this area. From these technologies, this project will create a common toolset that is able to address the requirements of multiple sectors through a requirements and demonstration process based on a range of use cases such as: nuclear reinforcement cage production, residential and commercial fit-out, and the manufacture of precast modules. The project will also deliver demonstrators for the use cases, together with documented process and guidance for the workflows and data structures, for capture and retrieval. The project team is: * **Laing O'Rourke (lead) --** a leading construction engineering enterprise experienced in the specific use cases * **Trimble** -- a construction software and hardware technology company * **Offset Services** -- an SME focused on as-built and quality control information processing * **DesignTech** -- an SME focussed on design automation * **Workmobile** -- an SME focussing on mobile work-face applications * **AMRC** -- a Catapult centre that will bring extensive knowledge of augmented reality and digitally enabling production processes Microsoft will provide technology support to the team and EDF NNB will represent the client owner operator aspects."

Traditional construction is a low-tech manufacturing process. It is carried out largely 'on-site' with the assembly of some pre-manufactured components (bricks, windows etc) and, whilst flexible and adaptable to a client's needs, is inefficient and challenging to automate. The industry is consequently making greater use of off-site factory manufacture. This brings many benefits but has high fixed costs and low flexibility, often located miles from the construction site. Skanska are pioneering 'Flying Factories'; temporary factories located close to or on a construction site, enabling flexible, efficient component manufacture/assembly whilst reducing fixed costs and optimising transport logistics. However, to fully exploit this manufacturing flexibility, we need to introduce advanced automation/robotics and supporting software systems common in other sectors, and to establish business models and cultural changes for mainstream use. The 'FRAMBE' project brings factory automation expertise from ABB and Tekla to address these challenges. It will develop a scalable, modularised flying factory solution that can be used for the flexible manufacture of a wide range of construction components.