The construction industry is currently in turmoil, searching in every direction for that ‘silver bullet’ or digital solution, to bring efficiency, productivity and in some ways stability to the sector.
It was the World Economic Forum report of 2016, that drew major attention to the industry, mainly because it highlighted some of the inadequacies of the sector and its inability to transform as so many other industries have. It also referenced so many megatrends that would ultimately impact over the coming years. Ironically construction is rated at 21 of 22 industries with respect to digitization deployment according to McKinsey Global.
Coinciding with this desire to better itself, it is also trying to eliminate data silos, incorrect information and integrate new technology, systems, as well as materials and products. It is, however, struggling to achieve results in order to cope with new pressures from Global trends, like urban migration, population increase and an emerging digital landscape.
The existing stakeholders are struggling with low margins, poor interoperability and the adoption of sporadic technology within industry silos to resolve the issues within their boundaries. Under these conditions, it is highly unlikely that a ‘silver bullet’ will appear: therefore the industry should do what it does best on sites around the world and this is to problem solve. There are enough singular solutions in place and lead users to prove their capabilities, so rather than inventing a new digital solution, the industry must build it from existing pieces. This report aims to capture the pressures the industries forces, to identify significant problems and address these with a collection of solutions, which, when combined have the potential to be transformational platform for the industry. Having spent 13 years in construction, reinvention requires a review of global construction practices; highlighting the collaborations that exist in the field and office to identify technological tools required for transformation. The project will look at the factors impacting the sector, the changing environment of the industry, its lead users and changemakers in order to demonstrate that the solution to help the industry overcome its problems already exists and is just a matter of building it. However, before we build up the solution, one must first dig down to for a solid foundation, which can only be built of data.