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has now been subsumed into a wider set
of policy imperatives which span the
entire transformation challenge facing
construction, and which will determine its
long-term viability.
Three policy imperatives are coming
through loud and clear in the latest
Government positions:
Industry: The latest Industrial Strategy
recognises construction as a strategic
industry upon which the productivity
of the country depends, which was
rapidly reinforced by the
announcement of a Construction
Sector Deal which will put
transformation of the sector through
better adoption of digital and
manufacturing technologies at the
heart of its plans.
Infrastructure: We do not have to look
far for what is driving this approach.
Massively ramping up plans and
funding for housing was a significant
initiative throughout 2017, with
enormous delivery implications that
will stretch out for at least the next 5
years. Alongside this sits the twin
imperative of supporting infrastructure
spanning everything from road, to rail,
to air terminals.
These mega-projects, both
underway and in the works, are
needed to support not just the future
expansion of cities and creation of
new towns, but to sustain the UK's
increasingly uncertain economy.
Again, the problem lies not in the
ambitions that have been outlined, but
in the delivery. The recent white paper
on Transforming Infrastructure
Performance clearly stated that the
intent was to 'transform how we
deliver' our infrastructure.
Information: Lastly in this trio sits the
information economy, and there is no
doubting the UK's ambition to remain
a leader in the digital sector. The UK is
'the digital capital of Europe'
according to the officially endorsed
TechNation 2017 survey, with £6.8
billion of investment, and a growth
rate that dwarfs other sectors. Small
wonder that our policy makers intend
us to be both an enabler, and creator,
of highly connected smart cities.
This brings us back to BIM: at the
heart of the Digital Built Britain
strategy, again relying on the
construction industry to transform and
become digitally agile, collaborative,
and competitive.
STEP CHANGE OR TOTAL
REINVENTION?
The way digital transformation is viewed
really needs to change. Or, perhaps, to
expand: while most main contractors
have already recognised the opportunity
and imperative of not only embracing
BIM but seeking out other digital benefits,
the same is not yet true of every
company.
KPMG's 2017 global survey
conclusions stung. It told a story of an
industry in crisis, one 'replete with a
continued inability to increase
productivity, raise performance levels,
and reduce project failures'. It echoed
what so many reports, including Farmer,
have suggested: it is becoming
business-critical for construction
companies, individually and collectively,
to address their productivity issues to
resolve their profitability ones. If they do
not, it threatens their ability to continue in
business - as has been proven.
The answer lies not in total
transformation, deep systemic change,
or demolition of tried and tested
construction project methodologies - but
in step changes: clearly identified,
doggedly made, in every aspect of
delivery and to address a variety of
prevailing challenges, using the array of
available digital opportunities.
Productivity requires efficiency - you
can speed up delivery by improving
the use of time, smart scheduling,
and seeing ahead to eliminate the
risks of potential clashes and crashes,
bringing an array of profitability gains
through shorter project durations,
fewer late penalties and growing
customer trust that can lead to less
onerous retention terms.
Skills challenges are endemic but can
benefit hugely from digital change, as
you use smarter software to manage
and allocate resources for maximum
efficiency and minimum cost. The
capability of digital tools to enable
collaboration between project
managers, with clients, and with subcontractors
can significantly aid
overall team efficiency.
Supply challenges are inevitable, yet
software such as Bidcon helps you
procure more smartly and link cost
management to your planning. You
can leverage BIM objects that can
smoothly slip into the model, and
leverage modern methods of
construction such as prefabrication
and offsite manufacture, could be
transformative - and contribute also to
the skills challenge, by reducing
reliance on traditional trades, or only
site-based working.
Digital insight holds the key to better
decisions, deeper understanding of
risk, a clearer view ahead and a host
of other business benefits. Software
such as Powerproject BIM already
delivers 4D planning and deeper
visibility of progress than ever before,
with 3D models connected to the
programme. The Internet of Things
promises connected equipment and
plant maintenance, mobile
technologies deliver understanding of
real time site operations, and artificial
intelligence is rapidly bringing new
ways to analyse and make decisions.
BIM helps unlock a powerful array of
benefits that construction companies can
only fully leverage if they build digital
capability and fluency. If they do not, they
risk not falling further behind in the
comparative industry stakes, but it will
threaten their very viability. On the road to
a digital future, BIM is merely a pit stop.
Behind it should lie old inefficiencies,
while ahead lies only opportunity.
It is to be hoped that 2018 will be looked
back upon as the year that the
construction industry truly woke up to
efficiency, and embraced digital. It's time
for construction businesses to take
action, not only because of a Government
mandate for BIM adoption, nor as a
defence against uncomfortable truths, but
to secure all the opportunities that digital
and the future market can deliver.
www.elecosoft.com
January/February 2018 25