Australian Construction: Is Digitisation Important?

Construction is viewed as a traditional, slow-to-change, industry. And in today’s digitised world, it isn’t hard to see why. While industries such as marketing, architecture and design are highly digitised, construction lags behind. According to the APCC report, construction as one of Australia’s least digitised industries.

Drivers of digitisation

With everyone from the CEO to the construction site worker armed with devices, there is a growing need to link all stages of a projects construction through technology. Such technologies improve communications, implement updates in real time, and improve the safety of building sites.

Another driver of digitisation is the increasing gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ Digitisation in construction would better connect the tech and no-tech areas of the industry, for example, creating more seamless connections between design and architectures stages to the on-site construction stages.

Although slow, digitisation in construction is already taking place, giving digitised companies and sectors over those that are non-digitised. Competition is driving further digitisation.

New technologies

For years now, architects and designers have made use of building information modelling (BIM) and other architecture software platforms. However these technologies are now expanding in usefulness to the entire construction process. For example, BIM can now relay design changes from the planning office to the construction site in real time.

Enterprise content management for construction now allows companies to capture, manage, store and deliver organisational documents. By centralising core business processes onto a single platform, companies improve efficiency and also integrate with platforms and applications relevant to other parts of the business.

AI and machine learning technologies now act as smart assistants in construction, helping teams parse the mountains of complex data involved in the development of a project. AI can prove teams with risk analysis, identifying the top most critical issues that require immediate attention.

Recent tech innovations

Probuild recently signed a deal with Brickschain, a Californian tech startup, as part of their move to digitise and gain a competitive edge in the market. Brickschain will be providing Probuild’s supply chain technology, utilising the cutting edge technology of blockchain.  

Rio Tinto are another company utilising new technology in Australian construction, with their addition of driverless vehicles. This technology is slowly changing the landscape of Australian mines, significantly reducing the manpower required on site, and reducing safety from hazardous site.