Construction Magazine March 2016 | Page 8

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT
THERE WAS A time when being a contractor in a big city was , if not an easy , at least a predictable way of making a corporate living . But times are changing . As residents increasingly choose to live in cities , our urban environments are becoming more densely populated , and in turn , more complex .
That complexity is changing the nature of demand for construction services , as contractors and their clients are called upon more often to think beyond today ’ s emphasis on individual buildings and infrastructure assets , and move toward thinking in terms of interconnected systems . How might technology trends , in particular cloud computing , support the construction industry in ensuring our cities remain economically competitive and uphold the quality of life residents expect as urbanisation continues ?
Selecting the right projects to build ( and bid on ) Where and how should investment dollars be focused ? It ’ s the perennial question , whether private or public project sponsor . And , more frequently , those sponsors are looking to the contracting community
Gaming engines , such as Autodesk ’ s owners and stakeholders to access a understand the scale , feel and exper
for advice and partnership as project complexity increases .
For example , understanding whether to build a mass transit system to alleviate congestion between two city neighborhoods , or whether to invest in highways instead , is a common challenge . In the future , the answer to this will
8 M arch 2016