There are no IT laggards among the Construction Industry
Computing Association, which celebrates its 30th birthday this
month with a major convention in Cambridge. On the contrary, said
its leader, managing director Ian Hamilton, the construction sector
is well up with the game.
"The construction industry is often accused of being behind [on the
use of IT] but, compared to many industries, it is much more
complex," he said. "We have known how to do things like parametric
geometry, for example, since the 1960s and can produce 3D models,
but we usually lack the business case and additional cost to do
it," he said.
Issues facing the three main fields of construction will be
highlighted at the conference on integration, co-ordination and
delivery, with a keynote presentation from Stuart Doughty, chief
executive of the Costain Group.
Consulting engineers
The current IT headache for international consulting engineering
firms is global networks and communications, and the issues
surrounding a reliable comms infrastructure, said Hamilton.
These firms are more likely to go it alone and rely on local
agreements, for example, for comms links, routers, or dealing with
local telephone companies to ensure reliable comms networks, rather
than approaching international consolidators.
The way consulting engineers work demands more sophisticated
business models than most software companies can provide. For
example, core software has to meet sector-specific requirements
such as time-based fee recovery.
Contractors
Construction industry contractor companies are trying to get a more
integrated approach to the information they hold.
There are typically three sets of financial relationships, such as
monthly "valuations of measurement" which need linking to compare
actual costs with the price tendered. Many firms have these as
three separate systems, and switching to an ERP system - at a cost
of about £3m - has, in the short term, come straight from the
bottom line.
Architects
The core IT issues for architects revolve around transmitting
complex drawings electronically. This is increasingly feasible but
ensuring that what goes in one end comes out the other remains a
challenge, especially when transmitting layered drawings.
Legal issues are also important - especially relating to central
document management systems on large projects.
What is Cica?
The Construction Industry Computing Association, a
not-for-profit organisation, was founded 30 years ago. Its 200
member organisations include the leading players in the
construction sector.
Its aim is to encourage the effective use of IT in the context
of business benefits and to provide a forum for the exchange of
ideas. Fees range from £500 to £2,000 a year, depending on the
size of the organisation.
22-23 September, Cambridge. 30th Cica Annual Convention
www.cica.org.uk