- Innovation - Digital & Technology
How VINCI Construction harnesses artificial intelligence to further performance?
At VINCI Construction, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a driver of transformation in a variety of areas. It helps improve conventional ways of working, for example identifying calls for tender, facilitating predictive maintenance, and increasing safety on worksites. The aim is to boost efficiency, improve safety, and enhance quality at every step of the project lifecycle.
“Artificial intelligence enables us to transform the way we design, plan and oversee our projects. Supported by AI, our engineers, site managers and operational staff can make better informed decisions more rapidly and safely, while also reducing risks and mishaps in the field.”
Taking advantage of artificial intelligence to optimise business processes
At VINCI Construction, AI is mobilised to streamline operations, right from the earliest stages of a project. An in-house solution now makes it possible to automatically preselect the most suitable calls for tender by analysing documents and estimating costs based on past proposals, which saves teams a considerable amount of time.
Design office employees also use an application that helps them prepare the technical briefs, while multi-subject chatbots make it really easy to access information by answering questions regarding all available documentation.
The legal departments are also leveraging AI to innovate, implementing tools to analyse high-risk contractual clauses being drawn up to make contracts safer from the construction phase. It is now becoming possible to automatically generate inspection and test plans to improve consistency and make planning smoother.
Given the increasing complexity of regulation in certain countries, AI helps to better ensure project compliance, for example by updating environmental legislation, automatically and in real time, to make it easier to manage legal compliance without affecting efficiency.
Using artificial intelligence to improve building maintenance and safety
Not only does AI boost productivity, it also serves to ensure operational continuity. Thanks to algorithms that analyse data in real time, we deploy systems able to detect early warning signals of failures on machinery and infrastructure. These innovations serve to anticipate breakdowns and optimise interventions.
In terms of safety, smart cameras are being trialled on worksites to monitor high-risk situations. A pilot system continuously analyses the working environment and raises the alarm in the event of a fall, an imminent collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian, or incorrect usage of handheld tools.
In this instance, AI acts as a discreet but highly effective sentinel able to prevent accidents before they occur.
In the field, AI is also driving significant improvements in managing roads, with solutions capable of inspecting road surfaces using just a smartphone attached to a vehicle. The videos are then analysed by an algorithm able to detect where the asphalt is cracking, becoming unstuck or presents bumps, in order to prioritise interventions.
Leveraging artificial intelligence to build better
At VINCI Construction, we are also exploring the potential of AI to optimise project design according to three criteria – cost, timelines and carbon footprint. This approach opens the door to more sustainable and economically acceptable constructions.
At the same time, certain platforms provide a 360° view of worksites, ensuring heightened oversight of progress and full traceability. These innovations raise the bar when it comes to steering projects, while keeping people at the centre of everything we do.
By making the process smoother, reducing risks, and anticipating needs, AI bolsters all our business lines, driving a technological revolution designed to boost performance, safety and our people focus.