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Gerard Graham

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Gerard Graham

This document discusses how technology and IT usage has changed in the Northern Ireland construction industry over the past 15 years. It notes that in 1999, technology usage on construction projects was very limited, with only one email address, dial-up internet, and few mobile phones or file sharing capabilities. However, it describes how now professionals in the industry widely use smartphones, tablets, cloud computing, BIM modeling, and other digital tools to improve communication, planning, and project management. The increased adoption of these technologies points to a more sustainable future for the local construction sector.

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construction www.northernbuilder.co.uk I n 1999, as the world was preparing for the new Millennium, we experienced the dot.com era. At that stage in my career I was working as a Site Engineer on a £90million construction project in the centre of Belfast which, at the time, was at the forefront in the use of emerging technology. But looking back it was far from advanced! For a start, there was only one e-mail address to service the project and our main computer – which was just a 64MB machine - had a dial-up connection to the internet. So no high speed broadband or wireless technology. Mobile phones were seen as an expensive luxury, not a necessity so only two people on the project had a mobile. Even then, they were a standard Nokia, with phone calls and text messages the only features available. Communication between companies was primarily by fax and when a drawing was re-issued, a hard copy was printed and photocopied for all the project team members – causing a lot of excess photocopying. All meetings were face-to-face, with no video conferencing, Viber or Skype! There was also a new technology beginning to be used called ‘zipping files’ to send large attachments (although very few companies had even heard of it, which was probably the reason why we still relied on hardcopies). Fast forward 15 years and the Northern Ireland construction industry is progressing rapidly in the utilisation of IT. To begin with, all key staff members will have smart phones, with e-mail access as standard. Meanwhile, iPads and other touchscreen tablet technology is being introduced for tasks including getting visitors to sign-off on-site inductions. Back office server rooms are now being replaced by Cloud computing where it has been a requirement. In summary, professionals involved in the Northern Ireland construction industry are very much harnessing the use of IT and it looks like the next generation certainly will be. I was recently invited to judge a HND student project where groups of students had worked together on a mock proposal to develop a site into a commercial building. The first group used BIM to prepare a design, MovieMaker to create a 3D visual walkthrough, Excel to prepare the financial forecast, Publisher to prepare marketing material and PowerPoint to present it - whilst using desktop and mobile technology to aid the construction process on site. Utilisation of these tools is becoming increasingly regular now, so surely this bodes well for the development of a sustainable local construction industry. Gerard Graham MSc MCIOB is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Building and Procurement Manager for Wilson Construction. He can be contacted at gerard.graham@wilsongroupni.co.uk GERARD GRAHAM HIGHLIGHTS HOW, IN A RELATIVELY SHORT SPACE OF TIME, TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME A VITAL COG IN THE CONSTRUCTION WHEEL… Information technology - how times have changed! NORTHERN BUILDER MAGAZINE | 1FOLLOW US ON: PROFESSIONAL CIOB NEWS T to reduce the physical space required in head office buildings. This means that documents and records, as far as possible, are becoming paperless. The digital age has even replaced the customer feedback questionnaire that previously was sent with a self-addressed envelope. Now the likes of surveymonkey.com is being utilised. Aside from all this new technology, social media is increasingly being fully integrated into formal communication strategies. However, the biggest challenge to face the industry in the last 10 years is the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM). The key fact for Northern Ireland companies is this - all suitable centrally procured projects over the EU threshold of €5,000,000 (approximately £4,320,000) are to attain BIM Level 2 by 2016. In simple terms, BIM is about taking the information produced by all the various parties in a construction project - including architect, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers - and collating that information into one common platform that all the parties can see, use and interact with. Up until now each of the parties involved in a project used software specific to their chosen discipline that only they could use. BIM, however, is based on the principle of collaboration. Some Northern Ireland firms are progressing very well with the introduction of BIM and have already won contracts in GB For more information on the CIOB, contact Mandy Coleman on 00353 1 6401804 or e-mail mcoleman@ciob.org.uk www.ciob.org

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Gerard Graham

  • 1. construction www.northernbuilder.co.uk I n 1999, as the world was preparing for the new Millennium, we experienced the dot.com era. At that stage in my career I was working as a Site Engineer on a £90million construction project in the centre of Belfast which, at the time, was at the forefront in the use of emerging technology. But looking back it was far from advanced! For a start, there was only one e-mail address to service the project and our main computer – which was just a 64MB machine - had a dial-up connection to the internet. So no high speed broadband or wireless technology. Mobile phones were seen as an expensive luxury, not a necessity so only two people on the project had a mobile. Even then, they were a standard Nokia, with phone calls and text messages the only features available. Communication between companies was primarily by fax and when a drawing was re-issued, a hard copy was printed and photocopied for all the project team members – causing a lot of excess photocopying. All meetings were face-to-face, with no video conferencing, Viber or Skype! There was also a new technology beginning to be used called ‘zipping files’ to send large attachments (although very few companies had even heard of it, which was probably the reason why we still relied on hardcopies). Fast forward 15 years and the Northern Ireland construction industry is progressing rapidly in the utilisation of IT. To begin with, all key staff members will have smart phones, with e-mail access as standard. Meanwhile, iPads and other touchscreen tablet technology is being introduced for tasks including getting visitors to sign-off on-site inductions. Back office server rooms are now being replaced by Cloud computing where it has been a requirement. In summary, professionals involved in the Northern Ireland construction industry are very much harnessing the use of IT and it looks like the next generation certainly will be. I was recently invited to judge a HND student project where groups of students had worked together on a mock proposal to develop a site into a commercial building. The first group used BIM to prepare a design, MovieMaker to create a 3D visual walkthrough, Excel to prepare the financial forecast, Publisher to prepare marketing material and PowerPoint to present it - whilst using desktop and mobile technology to aid the construction process on site. Utilisation of these tools is becoming increasingly regular now, so surely this bodes well for the development of a sustainable local construction industry. Gerard Graham MSc MCIOB is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Building and Procurement Manager for Wilson Construction. He can be contacted at gerard.graham@wilsongroupni.co.uk GERARD GRAHAM HIGHLIGHTS HOW, IN A RELATIVELY SHORT SPACE OF TIME, TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME A VITAL COG IN THE CONSTRUCTION WHEEL… Information technology - how times have changed! NORTHERN BUILDER MAGAZINE | 1FOLLOW US ON: PROFESSIONAL CIOB NEWS T to reduce the physical space required in head office buildings. This means that documents and records, as far as possible, are becoming paperless. The digital age has even replaced the customer feedback questionnaire that previously was sent with a self-addressed envelope. Now the likes of surveymonkey.com is being utilised. Aside from all this new technology, social media is increasingly being fully integrated into formal communication strategies. However, the biggest challenge to face the industry in the last 10 years is the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM). The key fact for Northern Ireland companies is this - all suitable centrally procured projects over the EU threshold of €5,000,000 (approximately £4,320,000) are to attain BIM Level 2 by 2016. In simple terms, BIM is about taking the information produced by all the various parties in a construction project - including architect, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers - and collating that information into one common platform that all the parties can see, use and interact with. Up until now each of the parties involved in a project used software specific to their chosen discipline that only they could use. BIM, however, is based on the principle of collaboration. Some Northern Ireland firms are progressing very well with the introduction of BIM and have already won contracts in GB For more information on the CIOB, contact Mandy Coleman on 00353 1 6401804 or e-mail mcoleman@ciob.org.uk www.ciob.org