Digital Construction Week - collaboration and technology that is already making a difference

This week I went to Digital Construction Week with my colleague Amy to explore, and interview some experts and test out some of the latest technologies.

For me, understanding digital is so important, as I spend a lot of time looking at ways of communicating the benefits of digital to the very wide range of stakeholders in the industry.

Many don't have the time to gather the knowledge needed to practically explain the benefits of digital, so Amy and I made it our mission to talk to those that bring digital to life.

At the show, it was really interesting to see contractors BAM and Kier taking stands and sharing them with supply chain partners, as for me this was a statement of intent that these businesses really valued collaborative partnerships.

Talking to Peter Austin - BIM Manager at Kier the show was not about selling Kier Group, it was about Kier reaching out to digital innovators and being accessible. He was all about helping suppliers to understand what Kier needs to enable them to do business together and benefit from innovative solutions.

On another note, BAM Design Managing Director, Andrew Pryke talked about the way in which digital can support a greater level of inclusion and diversity in the industry, an issue that I am also passionate about.

Capturing my attention from a solution perspective, was just how far the Microsoft Hololens has come when it comes to practical applications for the whole of the sector. Because I get onsite a lot, seeing the transition from visionary use by Royal HaskoningDHV to hard hats from Trimble Tekla was very interesting.

Jugal Makwana, Global Director Digital Engineering at Royal HaskoningDHV explained to me how each office in its global network now has Hololens solutions in action. He also talked about the swiftness in decision making that this technology delivers, which was hugely significant at the design and concept stage.

For Richard Fletcher, the MD of the structures division at Trimble Tekla, the show was a real opportunity to move away from the expected (demonstrating Tekla software) to the practical delivery of technology onsite. The stand was literally full of people touching and pinching the air with hardhat Hololens devices.

It was a bit strange at first, but the response from people trialling the solution was amazing. Touching and being in control of a virtual site without having the fully enclosed VR goggles on was much more impactful.

For Andrew and the team, it was all about showing the practical advantages to the construction manager, whilst also demonstrating how software and hardware combine to improve outcomes onsite. This includes H&S, accuracy and much more.

On the other hand, sitting in on the UK BIM Alliance Q&A discussing its 'A Fresh Way Forward for Product Data' report, emphasised the clear need for more work when it comes to available data. The free report (see link below)  highlighted, amongst other issues, that there is no universally agreed definition for structured product data.

Similarly, when I was listening to an informative talk from Doug Brent, Senior Vice President Technology and Innovation at Trimble, there was a question from a Tata steel representative highlighting the problems with traceability when it comes for manufacturer supplied data.

Although no expert in the transference of data from one system to the other, it was an issue that kept being raised as I spoke to numerous digital leaders.

We are not going to have a digital utopia any time soon, but progress is definitely being made. Next stop... onsite with the Hololens I hope.

As show director Oliver says below, it was certainly a good show. Here is to DCW 2019...