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.

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!
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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