Welcome to the March 2026 edition of Digital Construction Today, where our expert contributors examine the obstacles facing the industry- and the new technologies and innovations that will help overcome them
It’s no secret that the use of digital technologies hold tremendous potential for transforming the way the built environment is planned, designed and delivered. However, the reality is that many have yet to reach their full potential.
In our DC Today March 2026 cover story, Anni Feng, chair of the Institution of Engineering & Technology’s Digital Futures Policy Centre examines the myths that hold back digital and how we can overcome them.
Meanwhile, Andrew Fettes-Brown of Rider Levett Bucknall argues that the greatest barrier to innovation in industry today is not technology or cost, but mindset.
That is not to say that digital isn’t having an impact; far from it. James Fisher, head of strategic partnerships at the Building Research Establishment, looks at how digital innovation is central to delivering sustainability.
Steve Boyd MBE discusses the mission of the Digital Operations Working Group, which has been formed to distil a soup of built environment standards into a Digital Operations Playbook that provides vital strategic guidance focused on whole-life thinking.
Elsewhere, Nathan Marsh of Bentley Systems makes the case for a digital-first approach to deliver Europe’s hugely ambitious and complex infrastructure programmes, as well as long-term social, environmental and economic value.
Here’s a selection of what’s in store:
1. Why digital solutions fall short in the built environment – and the myths holding them back
Despite the many promised benefits of these digital technologies, the reality is that many have yet to reach their full potential in the built environment, writes Anni Feng, chair of the Institution of Engineering & Technology’s Digital Futures Policy Centre.
2. Innovation in the construction industry: Curiosity as a competitive edge
The greatest barrier to innovation in the construction industry today is not technology or cost, but mindset, argues Andrew Fettes-Brown of Rider Levett Bucknall.
3. From intent to evidence: How digital innovation and PropTech is redefining sustainability performance
James Fisher, head of strategic partnerships at the Building Research Establishment (BRE), argues sustainability in the built environment is shifting from only design-stage ambition to measurable, in-use performance – and that digital innovation is central to delivering and evidencing that change.
4. Building asset health supported by an Asset Information Management Strategy: A practical framework for the water sector
A new framework aims to provide the water sector with unified, practical guidance on what good asset information looks like and how companies can strengthen their data to support asset health and performance.
5. Towards a Digital Operations Playbook: Joining the dots
There is no shortage of standards and guidance for the built environment. The challenge is that they often refer to specific stages of the asset lifecycle and it can be unclear how they join up. The Digital Operations Working Group has been formed to help address these increasingly pressing challenges.
6. From policy ambition to investable infrastructure projects
Europe’s hugely ambitious and complex infrastructure projects require a digital-first approach that provides transparency, mitigates risk and guarantees long-term, social, environmental and economic value, writes Nathan Marsh, SVP, regional executive, EMEA at Bentley Systems.
7. How environmental sensors are becoming essential tools for safer, healthier social housing
As digital tools continue to evolve, environmental sensors are becoming one of the most practical and reliable ways to improve, monitor and understand social housing, writes Greig Fenton of Thomas & Adamson.
8. Billions in data centre investment: The urgent case for AI in construction
As AI drives unprecedented demand for data centres Britain’s construction industry must embrace the revolution or risk being left behind by global competitors, write Hari Vasudevan, founder and CEO of KYRO AI, and Neil Shah, president and CEO of the Construction Financial Management Association.
9. Delivering smart buildings with purpose
George Mokhtar, head of digital at Turner & Townsend Real Estate, examines the factors to consider in order to successfully deliver smart buildings.
10. Registration opens for Digital Construction Week 2026
Ready to explore the solutions to the built environment’s biggest challenges? Digital Construction Week (DCW) returns to Excel London on 3-4 June, and registration is now open.
