Digitalisation is one of the greatest contemporary challenges facing construction in the UK. Whie other industries have been quick to adopt the latest software and hardware to boost efficiency, enhance quality, and improve bottom lines, construction has lagged.
A lack of impetus and focus over the past two decades has meant that digital adoption has been slow and inconsistent.
However, that’s changing, spurred on by recent, extraordinary events that have functioned as catalysts to start bringing the sector on a par with others.
However, like the consistently used ‘slow moving tanker’ analogy, turning in a new direction takes time.
Yet seismic international events including COVID-19, building regulation changes, as well as resourcing shortages and supply change issues, have led to many construction and built environment companies embracing digital solutions to improve productivity, efficiencies, sustainability and meet regulatory compliance.
In fact, it is the weight of administration, arising from a much tighter regulatory framework for safety, which came about following 2017’s Grenfell Tragedy and the consequent Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022, as well as sustainability legislative requirements, prompted by Net Zero 2050, that is forcing the hand of many construction businesses.
Digital technology is not just a nice-to-have but a must-have to comply with the law correctly and cost-effectively.
Golden thread
This compliance conundrum, whilst a daily frustration, has had the welcome effect, not only of encouraging greater uptake in Con and Prop tech solutions but also prompting innovation, particularly in the way we manage and analyse information.
It is gradually moving the industry away from physical and often disjointed paper trails of documents to a digital, cloud-based ‘Golden Thread of information,’ able to map out the entire data of a building or site through its whole lifetime, from planning to occupation.
The ‘Golden Thread’ concept aims to provide the right people with the correct information when they need it.
Not only that, the information should be presented in such a way that it can be used effectively. It’s a breadcrumb trail that demonstrates how something was built, and with what, to ensure it is safe for occupation and maintained correctly.
With so many pieces of unstructured and structured data today, held by multiple systems and formats, it’s proven impossible to physically find and view all the information to utterly understand and make decisions on a building that mitigate risk.
Realising that the solution needs to be delivered digitally has accelerated the emergence of a burgeoning ConTech niche.
ConTech will continue to grow as a vertical in line with the evolving regulatory framework. As mentioned, sustainability has been a big driver for technology within the sector. However, digital building information management solutions also have a role to play with the rise of new regulation, such as the Building Safety Act (BSA), in 2022.
Safety-first approach
Following Grenfell, a complete regulatory overhaul was required, with a particular focus in the way the industry builds and manages high-rise and complex structures and putting accountability and transparency at the forefront of everything.
While what is required seems straightforward – having digital building information – compliance has proven more complex.
It is now a mandatory requirement for all building information to be digitised to ensure its accuracy, accessibility, and understandability, to ensure the right people can access the right information at the right time to make informed decisions, better build and manage buildings, and mitigate risk.
A golden thread of information is also required and kept in a digital format, starting at the design phase and continuing through construction, handover and all the way through the building’s lifecycle.
This building information should be a live repository, which brings all the data together about how a building has been built, and how it should be managed and operated, and providing an audit trail of any changes and decisions.
New bodies have been created, such as the Building Safety Regulator, to facilitate effective oversight with new roles and responsibilities mapped out.
Having a seamless solution for digitising and organising documentation related to building safety is vital in successfully building and maintaining higher risk residential buildings (HRRBs).
By having a central repository of digital and structured HRRB documentation, building owners will be able to be compliant and stay compliant whenever documentation is called upon — keeping people and buildings safe.
A safer, smarter sustainable future
While the focus of this article is on the growth of digital building information management solutions as part of Con and PropTech tools, it only scratches the surface of the tech changes that both UK and global construction are undergoing.
A bonus to all this, with skills shortages at an all-time high, is that a greater degree of process automation is taking the pressure off contractors struggling to source personnel. Digitising information management is effectively removing tedious admin, driving up productivity and freeing up staff to concentrate on higher value, ‘thinking’ activity, and effectively making businesses more effective.
It’s fair to say we’ve come a long way in a brief time, and we’re now clearly treading a pathway toward a safer, smarter, and more sustainable sector.
Digital technology is now rapidly bringing construction into the Twenty-First Century and no doubt it will soon be on a par with other more digitised sectors. As momentum continues to build, we expect to see a universal, industry-wide sea change, as a ‘digital first’ attitude becomes the rule, rather than the exception.
