The RADIAL project (Up-to-date Digital Models of Construction) will improve the digital competencies of the construction industry by developing the opportunities for SMEs and public actors to produce, analyze and utilize data. Various up-to-date digital models of construction, such as 3D models created with laser scanning and building information models (BIM) have an increasingly important role in the management, development and understanding of globally growing and condensing built environments. The global turnover of such models, linked to location data, is predicted to grow to more than 30 billion euros by 2026. 

Several extensive reforms are currently underway in the built environment sector in Finland, the aim of which is to promote a carbon-neutral society and the digitization of the construction industry. In the next few years, they will bring new requirements and opportunities for the development of the real estate and construction industry, companies and other operators. With the upcoming Building Act, building permits will be applied with BIM models that - before the handover - still have to be updated to as-built models that reflect the actual completed building. The models will be stored in a centralized information system for the built environment, where they can be used, e.g. by emergency services, urban planning, zoning and taxation. 

RADIAL produces the competencies required by these reforms by improving the digital capabilities of SMEs and public actors, and by enhancing their knowledge of various modeling technologies as well as of the utilization of models at different stages of the construction life cycle. The project implements courses and workshops for SMEs and other actors in the field. The training covers a range of promising digital tools together with their benefits and conditions for use. In order to concretize the knowledge, different technologies are used in the experiments carried out in a set of buildings selected in the project. The lessons learned are shared with the participants in workshops and in open training materials.

Entrepreneurship in the construction industry is promoted through innovation competitions and cooperation with ongoing entrepreneurship programs. The project brings together actors of the construction industry ecosystem, such as designers, construction contractors, SMEs, public actors, researchers and students. Cooperation is also carried out with the digital innovation hubs starting up in Uusimaa (Location Innovation Hub LIH and Finnish AI Region FAIR), where the organizations behind this project play key roles. 

The construction sector is responsible for 30-40% of both national energy consumption and carbon footprint. RADIAL promotes the environmental wisdom of construction through accurate as-built models: (1) Climate assessment, i.e. carbon footprint and handprint calculation, plays an essential role in determining the measures to achieve carbon neutrality in the construction industry and to curb climate change; (2) The material report, on the other hand, provides key information for the recycling of building parts at the time of renovation or demolition, which promotes carbon-neutral construction and the wise use of resources.