Building an Innovative Future for Construction

Simon Robinson, MD of Red Diamond Executive Headhunters, looks at how technology is changing the way even the most traditional industries work – and will continue to do so into 2021.

When you think about sectors that have embraced technological innovation during 2020, the building industry is probably not the first that springs to mind. Cloud computing, A1, education, self-driven cars perhaps, but not construction. With the best will in the world, builders have never been renowned for either their speed or their grasp of the digital marketplace.

Yet the current pandemic is forcing even this most traditional of industries to rethink its way of working – and technology is threatening to disrupt processes that have been the norm for decades, while presenting opportunities to work both faster and smarter.

And that’s not just from a consumer point of view, where apps enable you to browse stock in real time and order products in store for immediate collection or next day delivery. Nor is about upgrading the building machinery itself – it’s more about the everyday solutions.

Software and mobile apps have been developed for use at various stages, from planning to field reporting. However, many are specialist in nature and can require a substantial initial investment. What’s really revolutionising the way the industry works are relatively everyday practices being used in practically every sector right now – such as video conferencing.

Take, for example, the role of the construction product salesman. Pre-Covid, a salesperson could be on the road from Monday to Friday, clocking up the miles with overnight hotel stays and sandwiches eaten hastily in the car.

Until March, it was the norm for reps for manufacturers of items such as valves or boilers to meet developers in person with a view to ensuring their products were chosen for a range of new builds.

If successful, and the products had been designed into the plans, the next step would be another meeting to establish specifics such as the number of bathrooms or kitchen size. Factor in another meeting with financiers – and the time taken for a salesman travelling to and from meetings and the almost inevitable traffic congestion and the process can easily become a relatively slow one.

While technology has certainly been incorporated into product development of late, with 3D printing and CAD becoming widely used, the process itself has changed very little – despite changing client expectations and the continuing evolution of video technology.

But along with the pandemic came the rise of videoconferencing technology and suddenly it became possible to have three meetings in one. All parties can be present at the one meeting while screen sharing enables the process to stay interactive, reducing the timescale by not just hours but weeks. Designers know what targets they need to hit and thanks to the latest generation of software, different products can be dropped in and their performance evaluated.

It’s unlikely that any of the players in the industry, be they designers, sales teams or the builders themselves, will remain untouched by technology, albeit at differing levels. Energy efficiency and IoT connectivity are huge considerations; BIM (building information modelling) – especially 5D planning and budget – is expected to bring improvements in cost, quality, reducing delays and security to the entire process, from design to sales.

While it’s not necessarily the case that video conferencing will replace face-to-face meetings entirely – after all, there’s nothing quite like a ‘proper’ get-together in person – ultimately, the technology exists to make all aspects of project management more time-efficient and as a result more cost-effective. And that has to be a win-win situation for all concerned.

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