Construction Magazine August 2020 | Page 69

“ 93 % of construction companies agree that digitisation will influence every one of their processes ”
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“ 93 % of construction companies agree that digitisation will influence every one of their processes ”

— Roland Berger , Digitisation in the Construction Industry
Global consultancy McKinsey also released a report last year , which claimed that the construction ( and engineering ) sectors were some of the least digitised in the world . However , the report also noted that the difficulties are understandable . “ The typical construction project involves a multitude of independent subcontractors and suppliers , which have little incentive to embrace new methods during the brief periods when they are on the job ,” the report ’ s authors observed . “ Projects vary greatly , so construction companies often struggle to develop tools and methods they can apply repeatedly . Limited R & D budgets prevent businesses from spending as much on digital as companies in other sectors do . And construction work often takes place in remote , harsh environments that are not well suited to hardware and software developed for the office . It is no wonder , then , that many businesses end up with little to show for their technology investments .”
These challenges can be broken down into four major factors which obstruct digital adoption : fragmentation , which refers to the fact that construction projects are usually highly siloed along the value chain , with many small groups of contractors working on projects without too much regard for the larger organisational structure ; uniqueness , reflecting the old adage that no man steps in the same river twice , meaning that construction projects are
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