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The digitalisation of construction supported by GS1 standards

The construction industry is one of the least productive industries globally, according to a McKinsey Report from February 2017. Reasons for this inefficiency range from poor organisation and inadequate communication to bad performance management, contractual miscommunication and insufficient risk management.

According to this report, action in seven areas can boost productivity by 50 to 60 percent, in particular these three:

Reshaping regulation and raising transparency
Improving procurement and supply-chain management
Infusing digital technology & advanced automation
The increased use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), in some cases driven by its mandatory adoption for public tendering and construction, is aimed at addressing most of the reasons highlighted by the report.
The adoption of GS1 standards within BIM, starting with the unique (serialised) identification of building material during the build-phase and for facility management purposes, has already begun. This globally unique digital twin (the Global Trade Item Number) is at the heart of an increased digitalisation of the construction industry : automatic authentication of material, efficient electronic ordering and supply chain processes, full traceability and complete life cycle data on products, from design to disposal.

See our standards for construction

Go to construction standards

Find out more

Brochure from GS1

Transforming Construction

This publication explains how global standards and modern technology can build the foundation for increased efficiency and sustainability.

White paper 2021

Digitising Construction

GS1 in collaboration with buildingSMART International produced a white paper on digitisation of construction industry.

White paper

Digital Supply Chains - Data Driven Collaboration

The collaboration group DSCiBE explores how global standards can enable a digital flow within the supply chain for construction projects.

Guideline

GS1 guideline for unique identification of products in construction

Guideline developed by GS1 Norway for unique identification and labelling of products with serialised GTIN.

Standards

AIDC Application in industrial construction

This standard defines the identification, data, information services, application guidance aspects, and applicable requirements of AIDC technology for different items and their hierarchy in Industrial Construction during their whole life cycle.

Industry recommendation

GTIN for Construction Products in 2022

Leading industry companies in Sweden demand that GTIN, as the common identifier of construction products, must be introduced in 2022

Guideline

GTIN Guideline for the Construction Industry

Guideline developed by GS1 Norway focuses on how GTIN can be generated for some selected product groups, and when in the processes this can be done. It describes how GTIN can be used in documentation about the products until the handover of the building.

GS1 standards in construction

The plant room

Video explains how GS1 standards make the entire building cycle more efficient from design through the procurement, commissioning and handover.

Pilot

Digital distribution of plastic pipe product information with a 2D barcode

The Finnish Plastics Industries Federation and its partners piloted the digital distribution of plastic pipe product information with 2D barcodes

White paper 2022

Asset management

The paper of buildingSMART International and GS1 provides an insight and examples into the reasons why healthcare sector owners and operators should adopt GS1 standards for the lifecycle management of their estate portfolios, facilities, and assets.

GS1 standards in construction

The plant room

The video explains how efficient digital management of plant room assets was achieved with GS1 asset identifiers

GS1 e-Academy

GS1 e-Academy is a new interactive learning platform that enables its users to learn more about GS1 standards.

GS1 Members from the construction community have expressed the need for a better understanding of the basics of GS1. To meet this need, we have put together a learning plan that includes selected courses on GS1 standards for identification, data capture and data sharing.

It takes about 3h15m to complete the entire learning plan and you can complete individual courses on your own schedule. Once you have completed the whole learning plan, you can download the certificate of completion.

To get access to this free training platform GS1 e-Academy, please email to petri.leppanen@gs1.fi and uwe.ruedel@gs1.ch. Please include your name, email, organisation, and country in your message. We will get back to you with your login credentials.