Construction Magazine August 2020 | Page 47

“ Collaboration with customers , partners , and industry institutions - especially at a time like this - is really important to help us build a better future ”
MAKING FUTURE CONNECTIONS
“ Collaboration with customers , partners , and industry institutions - especially at a time like this - is really important to help us build a better future ”
— Burcin Kaplanoglu , Executive Director of Innovation , Oracle Construction & Engineering
MAKING FUTURE CONNECTIONS
Throughout the pandemic , the resulting enforced lockdown and gradual reopening of construction sites worldwide , Kaplanoglu has seen an increased appetite for technology investments . “ Necessity is the mother of innovation ,” he says . “ Things have changed in terms of how fast companies are looking to scale solutions . For example , how people perceive technology is changing . Previously , if an evolving solution could only solve 70 % of a problem it wouldn ’ t be adopted , but right now the response I get from the customer is that 70 % is better than 0 %. There ’ s definitely a willingness to make new connections and be part of the development of these technologies .” Kaplanoglu is excited by IoT partner technologies like Versatile – a camera box that can be attached to crane hooks to measure productivity in real time .
In tandem , the work Oracle Construction & Engineering is doing at the Innovation Lab is being extended across Oracle ’ s other businesses . “ We now have Oracle Utilities and Oracle Communications joining the lab ,” explains Kaplanoglu . “ This gives us the ability to show how you can build capital projects or a utility like infrastructure . We can also demonstrate how you can actually have a smart grid at your house and how the energy use can be monitored via Oracle Communications bringing technologies from its partners across energy and utilities . It ’ s an exciting time as we seek to expand the mission of the lab beyond engineering and into the communications industries that complement construction . We truly believe that , as an organisation , the only way to improve the industry is to share what we ’ ve learned . If we all keep the knowledge to ourselves , we ’ re not going to get there . Collaboration with customers , partners , and industry institutions - especially at a time like this - is really important to help us build a better future .”
47 constructionglobal . com