The digital transformation of the construction sector requires concrete tools, appropriate skills, and new approaches to training. Building on this awareness, the ET4Digital project has developed an innovative demonstrator and a transnational training pathway dedicated to trainers, with the aim of making digital technologies understandable, testable, and transferable into everyday professional practice.
Within this framework, ET4Digital announces the publication of two key documents that provide an in-depth description of how the project’s Construction Digital Twin was developed and how the transnational training addressed to trainers within the European partnership was carried out.
The first document, Deliverable 3.1 – “Setting innovative demonstrator for digital ecosystem”, systematically describes the design and development process of the Digital Twin demonstrator.
The demonstrator was developed starting from a real training construction site set up at IIPLE in Bologna, which was used as the physical basis for the creation of the Construction Digital Twin. The system integrates three-dimensional BIM models, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) frameworks, project schedules, bills of quantities, and a collaborative Common Data Environment platform, enabling the coordinated management of technical, time-related, and cost-related data.
The demonstrator also includes typical elements of a real construction site, such as project documentation, the comparison between as-planned and as-built models, the use of environmental sensors for monitoring site conditions, and data visualisation supported by dedicated dashboards. This configuration allows for a realistic simulation of construction planning, control, and monitoring processes, providing trainers with a digital environment that is fully aligned with the operational dynamics of contemporary construction sites and directly transferable to the contexts of construction-sector SMEs.
Alongside the development of the demonstrator, ET4Digital has made a significant investment in the training of trainers, recognising them as key actors in the digital transition. This pathway is documented in Deliverable 3.2 – “Transnational Training for Trainers for the use of the demonstrator”.
Taken together, the two documents provide a clear and concrete overview of the path followed by ET4Digital: a project that places people, training, and skills transferability at its core, using digital technologies as a lever to innovate training processes and strengthen the competitiveness of the construction sector.
The report describes the transnational training programme that involved trainers, teachers, and professionals from several European countries, engaged in hands-on activities, collaborative sessions, and structured exchanges focused on the didactic use of the Digital Twin. The document highlights the value of this experience, showing how the demonstrator was validated not only from a technical perspective, but also in terms of its pedagogical effectiveness and its replicability across different training contexts.
The deliverables are now available online and represent an important step towards sharing the project’s results and supporting their uptake by training providers, professionals, and stakeholders interested in the digitalisation of the construction sector.
More informations:
Luisa Sileni: luisasileni@edili.com
Valentina Ferrari: valentinaferrari@edili.com
Bologna Construction School: +39 051327605