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Focus www.thefis.org 17 Maria Russo, Customer Experience Manager at BW: Workplace Experts Mark Norton, Chair of the FIS Digital Construction Working Group Barry Chapman, Managing Director of Chalkstring Barry Chapman, Managing Director of Chalkstring, a software house specialising in project cost management software for specialist subcontractors, said his subcontractor clients had already been delivering projects remotely and on-the-move before the COVID-19 outbreak, which meant they had the infrastructure in place to continue as normal. “Because Chalkstring is totally integrated, from estimating to running live project commercials, our clients were better positioned to take advantage of the furlough scheme because the standardised processes, visibility of information and ease of use provided by the software enabled those staff who were still working to more easily perform the duties of their furloughed colleagues,” he said. “It has also given business owners a control framework where they can see exactly how their projects are performing in real time, in terms of projected costs, revenues and margins, enabling them to keep a keen eye on project commercials and cash flow, at what has been a sensitive time for many businesses financially.” Barry believes we’re seeing a shift in attitudes towards technology within fit-out. “I’ve worked in construction software for over 20 years and, while it’s clear the industry has been significantly behind in terms of technology adoption, over the past few years a new breed of business owner has emerged, who has a greater desire for technology. These business owners are experiencing the benefits of technology in their personal lives — in particular the availability of information on-demand — and they want to harness similar technology for their businesses. “There is an openness to change that I’ve not seen before and those businesses that are embracing technology are certainly gaining a competitive edge. I’ve seen many forward-thinking business owners invest in technology now, during COVID while things are quieter, on the basis that they will emerge in better shape and be more competitive after the pandemic has passed.” Chair of the FIS Digital Construction Working Group Mark Norton believes the construction sector as a whole has been ahead of the game when it comes to the digital revolution. He said: “Whilemuch attention has been on how digital solutions have transformed the way we communicate and collaborate during the COVID crisis, the truth is that the digital revolution has already been driving profound change in the construction sector during the past couple of years. “BIM is a central pillar of this, effectively allowing that digital flow of essential information (the ‘golden thread’ as Dame Judith Hackitt refers to it) to move through the supply chain. It also provides a better framework for collaboration, ensuring that essential details are not lost and that we do design and then build, pre-empting and designing out problems, not design a bit, then build a bit and waste time fighting a rear guard action, trying to make the best of it.” Motivation to move towards tech Increased control and efficiency aremotivating many subcontractors to consider usingmore digital technology, especially in the COVID climate, according to Barry Chapman, as they want to achievemore with less resource and real-time visibility of project financials. “The drive for integrated cost management systems to replace error-prone spreadsheets has also increased – perhaps given that so many projects are run using individual, unconnected, and unintelligent spreadsheets, which has made it harder to manage projects when staff are furloughed and businesses are operating on skeleton staff,” he said. Maria Russo, Customer Experience Manager at BW: Workplace Experts, agreed. “Technology plays a core role in how we work at BW: Workplace Experts as it enables our teams to stay connected. And, for our business as a whole, technology has allowed us to operate productively and continue to complete projects defect free,” she said. “One type of technology we have benefited from is Procore Analytics, which has enabled us to identify the root cause of problems and revolutionise our snagging process. With this technology, we can quickly create a bank of data which we can put to work to better understand our business cycles and deliver better business planning. Going back to our defect free mission, we believe that having data at our fingertips has given us the chance to learn from every snag and success so that we can continue delivering at a high standard when completing fit-out and refurbishment projects.” “The digital revolution has already been driving profound change in the construction sector in the past couple of years.” Mark Norton, Chair of the FIS Digital ConstructionWorking Group “Having data at our fingertips has given us the chance to learn from every snag and success so that we can continue delivering at a high standard when completing fit-out and refurbishment projects.” Maria Russo, BW: Workplace Experts