{"id":93871,"date":"2021-05-25T10:04:35","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T09:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=93871"},"modified":"2021-05-25T10:04:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T09:04:35","slug":"digital-construction-shoestring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/digital-construction-news\/bim-news\/digital-construction-shoestring\/93871\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital construction \u2013 on a shoestring"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the benefits of digitalisation for construction are widely acknowledged, some businesses lack the resource to implement change. Professor Duncan McFarlane, Professor of Industrial Informational Engineering and head of the Distributed Information & Automation Laboratory at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge<\/a>, presents a different approach demonstrating how digital can work for everyone<\/h2>\n

Be in no doubt that digitalisation<\/a> is driving change across many sectors. That said, the construction sector has not adopted digital process and technology innovations as rapidly as some others, such as the service sector or manufacturing \u2013 although this has accelerated over the last 10 years with industry and industry bodies working together to support change. Construction has been the subject of numerous reports over the years evaluating the current and future state of the industry and recommending change but progress is slow.<\/p>\n

\"DigitalDigital solutions, enhancements and interventions can work for everyone and there are significant opportunities for businesses to gain through applying simple, cheap technologies that bring benefits including improved productivity and flexibility.<\/p>\n

However, digitalisation is sometimes perceived as being beyond the financial reach of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and there are a number of commonly cited barriers to engaging with digital tools and technologies, including high entry and operating costs and complexity.<\/p>\n

Responding to these challenges, Digital Construction on a Shoestring<\/a> is a collaborative programme between academia and industry that seeks to co-deliver benefits by increasing the digital capabilities of small companies in the construction sector using simple, proven low-cost digital solutions.<\/p>\n

Enabled by the Construction Innovation Hub<\/a>, Digital Construction on a Shoestring brings the opportunity for SMEs and other construction organisations to work with academic experts from the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing<\/a> and Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction<\/a> to identify specific digital solution priorities according to organisational objectives.<\/p>\n

Organisations are helped to identify practical pathways for developing and deploying simple, low-cost digital solutions.<\/p>\n

Digital Construction on a Shoestring follows the Shoestring Approach<\/a> that emerged from Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring<\/a>, an Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council-funded project that helps SME manufacturers to benefit from digitalisation without excessive cost or risk, and with limited requirements for digital skills<\/a>. Shoestring does not set out to deliver a comprehensive digital transformation but rather provides an incremental approach for SMEs to gradually develop and increase their digital capabilities.<\/p>\n

The inaugural project<\/a> focused on co-developing very simple digital solutions for SME manufacturing companies to address immediate needs. This model has attracted a lot of interest among the manufacturing SME community and the initiative continues to appeal to a growing partner base, which has more than doubled in number since the launch and has involved 300 companies in different aspects of the work.<\/p>\n

Workshops<\/h3>\n

Workshops are integral to the Shoestring approach and, through discussion and targeted questions, help establish prioritised digital solutions for the participating organisations to help meet immediate challenges in the sector.<\/p>\n

\"DigitalThere have been a number of Digital Construction on a Shoestring workshops<\/a> to date, which are part of phase one of the project. Data collected from participants is used to drive the programme that comprises development blocks constructed from simple low-cost technologies \u2013 industrial as well as consumer, such as Alexa. The first set of online workshops, held last year, collected requirements data from suppliers to the construction industry and offsite construction companies.<\/p>\n

Identifying shared priorities among the participants is important as deploying digital solutions at scale across many companies keeps costs affordable. A modular approach<\/a> to solution development simplifies deployment of future shoestring solutions within an organisation. This approach allows smaller organisations to build digital solution support incrementally rather than investing upfront in a complex system that has a high entry cost.<\/p>\n

The Shoestring team has used the digital solution areas identified in the workshops to build a catalogue in the construction space. Some of these solutions are being co-developed as demonstrators, enabling the organisations to see solutions up and running and working.<\/p>\n

Following co-development of demonstrators, the participating businesses are empowered and equipped to build their own digital solutions. Most of the solutions developed are helping someone in a construction organisation to do something \u2013 but better \u2013 and Shoestring participants have been happy to share experiences and benefits. There are plans for a Shoestring foundation (hub) to support construction solutions, share knowledge, experience and resources.<\/p>\n

Phase two<\/h3>\n

The second phase of the project, which has just started, extends requirements capture specifically to the onsite construction domain. Data collected from these workshops identified a finite set of digital solutions needed by most of the participating small organisations with the highest priority solutions including:<\/p>\n