Comit/Fiatech Conference 2014

This years COMIT mobile IT conference was held in partnership with Fiatech at the Crystal in London with a theme of Efficiency Through Digital Projects. The conference was held on the 30^th and 31^st of October and 150 delegates registered for the two-day event.

Stuart Young introduced the conference and gave an overview of the work that Fiatech do and the reason for the close collaboration with COMIT. Fiatech are a U.S. based organisation with a similar aims to COMIT but a much wider remit. COMIT have maintained strong links with Fiatech for a number of years now and the two organisations continue to work together to find ways of creating mutual benefit for their members.

Phil Jackson of the ICE chaired the conference and described some of the technological change that he has seen in the construction industry during the last 40 years of his career. When Phil started he was using a slide-rule and went on to see the introduction of electronic calculators, telex and fax machines, early computers and the first "Apps". Phil noted that Cloud computing is a return to the old Mainframe centralized computing model.


In all there were 21 presentations over the two days plus a couple of panel discussions and plenty of opportunity for networking. Links to the presentations can be found on the COMIT website and they were all of a very high standard. Some of the highlights on Day 1 were:

Richard Lane from HM Government UK BIM Task Group talking about the future of innovation and the way in which innovation can be driven, information management and what might possibly be in store with level 3 BIM.

Francis Rabuck continuing the future-gazing theme with a look at today's technologies and the direction in which they are currently heading - with the potential impact on construction. Fran returned on Day 2 with a roundup of technological stocking-fillers with his ever popular Toys for Techies presentation.

Sarah Dorey and Oli Morgan from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers described their part in the Bloodhound SSC Project and the engineering problems of creating a car capable of 1,000 mph. Despite the extreme nature of the examples the parallels with the issues faced in all areas of engineering, including construction, were not lost on the audience.



Other presentations on Day 1 included Gary McDonald from Ordnance Survey talking about Resilience Direct, Christian Reilly of Becktel on the use RFID and Harrison O'Hara of Costain giving early results of a survey on the use of IT in construction. We also heard about Class of Your Own from Andy Clifton, Asset Information from Sandeep Jain (Mobibiz) and Iain Miskimmin (Bentley/COMIT), Advanced Work Packaging from Ray Topping (Fiatech) and Digital Processing at the workface from Firas Hijazi (Consolidated Contractors Company).

After a packed day there was even more to come with the MobiCloud Showcase after free drinks and nibbles. This was presented by Martin Wilson and Otis Burris of Appear. MobiCloud is an EU supported project that COMIT are a partner in and which comes to a close in December 2014. Martin gave an update on the progress and introduced the MobiCloud Construction App Challenge. This is being run to promote the development of new mobile applications for construction. It includes a cash prize for the most innovative idea and the chance to develop a prototype that might be trialled on site by a construction sponsor.

Day 2 of the conference was nearly as busy with a further seven presentation and an open discussion about the effectiveness of Integrated Environments for EPC Projects hosted by Steven Convens. Presentations on Day 2 included:

Heba Bevan from the University of Cambridge and founder of Utterberry, described the use of miniature wireless sensors that she developed for monitoring tunnel movements and conditions at locations such as Crossrail's C360. The sensors automatically establish a a network with each other and transfer highly accurate positional data back to an access point.

Professor Tim Broyd of University College London gave a wide ranging and fascinating presentation on the changing environment that construction faces, both within the UK and globally. The effects of climate change, the rise of BIM, smart transport, new business models, 3D printing and smart houses all featured in his presentation.

Ben Feltham from Skanska UK Civil Engineering described how interactive design boards have been used at Paddington on the Crossrail project. He explained their value and how they formed part of the wide range of benefits deriving from an integrated BIM approach to design and engineering.



Other presentations on Day 2 included "Inside a digital asset" by Vas Vernikos (CH2M), the use of iBeacons at Crossrail by Neill Pawsey (Crossrail) and Tim Jones (3Squared) and Modularisation by John Roberts of Lang O'Rourke.  The final presentation of the day was by Francis Rabuck who probably also provided the most memorable photo opportunity at the conference with his flashing high-tech glasses.

Thank you to everyone who attended the conference and to our sponsors and presenters for making it a successful event. All of the presentations as well as photographs from the two days can be found on the COMIT website.

Now is the time for Mobile IT in Construction

It had a slow start, but recent advances mean the time is now right for an explosion in the use of mobile technology in construction.

The construction industry is often characterised as being slow to adopt modern technology – but to anyone familiar with the industry this is clearly not the case. If anything construction is better characterised as creative, innovative and quick to adopt any technology that reduces cost – including information technology and new forms of communication.  Construction was an early adopter of the Computer Bureaux services that appeared in the 1960’s, of telex and then fax machines, of two-way radios, computer aided design, mobile telephones and email.

Early problems with using IT on construction sites

There is one area of technology that made great inroads into other industries such as manufacturing, logistics and retail, but until recently has failed to gain a foothold in construction – which probably accounts for the industry’s unfair reputation – and that is the use of information technology for process control.

By “process control” I mean everything that is used to manage and control a production process. That includes things like measuring progress and the conformance of products to the specification as well as giving instructions to workers and managing the supply and storage of raw materials. Those functions apply just as much to a construction process as they do to a manufacturing one. However, while manufacturing rapidly moved away from paper-based process control from the 1970’s onwards, construction did not. Process control takes place on the shop floor and the shop floor for construction is the construction site. Therein lies the problem.

Early forms of IT used for process control required a fixed infrastructure (i.e. cables) which in turn required a structured environment. Most construction sites are constantly in flux with what structure there is developing slowly during the lifetime of the project. For most of the hundreds of companies that come together to work on a construction project the nature of the physical environment they are working in constantly changes. Few other industries have the problem of spoil heaps suddenly appearing in the middle of the shop floor.  Consequently IT in construction used to stop at the site gates and even years later it was confined to the site office.

Then came mobile IT - first in the form of wireless local area networks and then increasingly in the form of mobile data services like GPRS and 3G (prior to GPRS the data services were too slow to have much of an impact). These technologies promised to solve the infrastructure problem by removing the need for wired networks. However, they required an investment in hardware which in the early days was very expensive. It was also difficult to maintain adequate coverage. At the time most useful applications that ran on mobile devices required constant connectivity – partly because off-line storage on the devices was very limited. Mobile phone bandwidth was low and maintaining coverage on site using wireless LAN’s was notoriously difficult (remember the moving spoil heaps).

However, there was, and is, a much bigger problem - one that is due to a fundamental characteristic of the construction industry itself. Its significance is often overlooked by those from other disciplines (particularly IT ones) and it remains a major barrier to the widespread and effective use of mobile IT in construction today.  The problem is that construction is a project-centric industry.

The problem with "projects"

Being project-centric on its own would not be a problem – however construction is also prone to the dramatic variations in demand caused by economic cycles. During lean times construction work dries up and is slow to recover as an economy comes out of recession – “first in, last out” as those in construction put it. What this means is that successful construction companies keep their overheads to an absolute minimum. As far as possible everything is financed on a project-by-project basis. That way when the order book starts to dwindle they do fewer projects, but stay in business. Those construction companies that let their overheads grow during the good times go to the wall during the bad.

Occasionally even some established names make this mistake. Periods of prolonged economic growth like the one before the most recent recession can lead to complacency. When recession does hit there is then a desperate scramble to reduce overheads by shedding salaried staff, disposing of injudiciously acquired assets (typically the offices that came along with small mergers or acquisitions) and “restructuring” to streamline those overheads which are essential – mainly accounting, office IT and human resources.  The pain for those construction companies that survive this process (many do not) only serves to reinforce their need to take a project-centric approach.

The result is a kind of Darwinian selection. The successful construction companies that stay around are companies that are structured in a way that avoids overhead. What this means is that the adoption of site-based IT happens piece-meal. There is a preference for off-the-shelf or hired solutions and any investment has to be justified on a project-by-project basis. The first time that PC’s started to appear in construction site offices was when their cost fell to the point that they were no longer classed as a capital item. This gave project managers the freedom to buy them directly out of their individual project budgets.

This situation is frustrating for technology vendors. Instead of being able to sell their product or service once to a single construction company they effectively have to sell it again and again to individual projects. Construction companies often have no mechanism or budget for investing in a solution that would need to be recouped across multiple projects. Even when there is a desire to do so they will often face internal opposition from their own project managers.

This is because most construction companies charge projects for the provision of any internally managed resource, such as plant and equipment or IT. If a project manager is not convinced about the value of an IT solution – or if the benefit is to the company as a whole rather than to his individual project – then he will see it as an unnecessary cost.  This can prevent companies benefiting from economies of scale or volume licensing without a great deal of internal wrangling.

The irony is that this project-centric structure leads to problems that IT based process control could actually help to alleviate. Because projects are treated as self-contained ventures construction companies often have trouble spreading best practice and learning from past mistakes. It is widely recognised that projects often end up “re-inventing the wheel” because of a failure to recognise and communicate innovations from one project to another. In the past construction has often claimed that all projects are “one off” – and to a large extent they are. Not due to any inherent characteristic but because of the way that they are managed.

There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel. Two technological advances now make it possible to bypass the inherent problems of getting process control IT onto construction sites. The first is the consumerization of mobile IT and the second is the advent of Cloud Computing.

Falling mobile device costs

Consumerization has dramatically reduced the cost of mobile devices. For construction this has a really important effect – it puts them in the hands of site engineers. Once a device is seen as a standard site engineer’s tool then the problem of purchasing it for a specific project disappears. This has already happened with the use of mobile phones and laptop computers.

 

Site engineers play a vital role in developing the use of mobile IT in construction. They are well trained enough to understand the commercial realities of the industry, but are close enough to the site process to recognise the potential value of new technology.  They also tend to be young enough and perhaps inexperienced enough, to assume that things can be changed.

 

I remember a time when site engineers were pushing for laptops in the company I worked for because of the time saving they offered and the ability to do more work away from the office.  The chairman of the company described this as “laptopitis” and dismissed it as a desire for gadgets – insisting that he personally approve all laptop purchases. He was wrong to dismiss their value – but probably right at the time about the cost-benefit. Today, in most parts of the industry, a laptop is seen as an essential tool for a site engineer.

The same thing is now happening with smartphones and tablet computers. The first place that Apple iPads appeared in construction was at board meetings in the hands of directors as a status symbol. The second place they appeared was on site in the hands of site engineers as a tool.  The difference this time around is that the price has dropped so far that engineers are circumventing company purchase restrictions by bringing their own devices (BYOD) to work. They are also buying and even writing their own apps.

However, getting mobile IT hardware onto site is one thing, integrating its use into the construction process in a way that enhances productivity and performance across the company is quite another.  Most consumer applications are not specific to construction and do not provide for back-office integration. Truly useful applications need to be tailored to the construction process and able to exchange data with other company systems – such as document management, cost and design.

Developing these kinds of mobile applications is traditionally expensive –both in terms of up-front cost and with subsequent licensing. This is where Cloud Computing comes in and in particular two trends that are emerging from it – application platforms and “as-a-service” cost models. 

Cloud application development platforms

Application platforms simplify the development of new applications (and thus greatly reduce the cost) by providing pre-baked functionality – common building blocks that can be re-used to create new solutions.  They vary from simplistic drag-and-drop form builders to sophisticated platforms that are fully-fledged development environments that can support back-office integration and bespoke code. Typically they also provide a way to deploy and update applications onto mobile devices – in essence allowing the creation of a corporate app store with little IT or administrative overhead.  The MobiCloud platform developed as part of the EU project that COMIT is a partner of is an example of just such a platform – but there are others.

Some platforms, such as AppearIQ which is used as the basis for MobiCloud, use a “container” approach. This is particularly useful in a BYOD scenario. The platform creates a container on the mobile device within which multiple applications can be installed and run. Those applications all share the capability provided by the container. This can include access to device specific resources (such as a camera) or to solution specific functionality such as back-office integration.

The container isolates the applications from the specifics of the device, including the operating system, which means that exactly the same applications can run on any device for which a container has been developed. This is a major benefit with the current fragmentation of the mobile device market, with iOS, Android, Windows and now even Firefox all potentially competing in the same space.  The container also provides a degree of isolation for corporate applications if they are running on a personal device – again essential for BYOD.

Flexible Cost Models

The final piece of the puzzle is the increasing prevalence of “as-a-service” cost models. Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) essentially come down to paying for what you use. Instead of paying a one-off licence fee to give a user access to a piece of software for ever as you might do for a CAD package or an operating system (and in the case of CAD software that might be thousands of pounds), you pay a monthly fee.

This form of charging is increasingly being used by software vendors, such as Microsoft or Adobe, to attract “casual” users – those people who only have an occasional or short-term need for their products and who do not want to buy a permanent licence. However, it is also ideally suited to the situation in construction where solutions may be deployed on a project-by-project basis. It potentially allows project managers to dynamically scale up or scale down the number of people using a mobile solution on a monthly basis, without having to commit to a large up-front cost. This will encourage those project managers that are not entirely convinced of the benefits to try it out. As one manager put it “Knowing that you will only pay for what you use suddenly makes the business case a whole lot more compelling”.

At the moment most Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions are not quite as simple as that. Most have a minimum monthly subscription period which is typically 6 or 12 months. However, this is still a big improvement on large one-off per-user licence fees and it is likely that flexibility will grow as the market matures and volumes increase. 

Site Safety

There is one final issue that the construction industry needs to come to terms with in order to maximise the benefit of site-based mobile technology – safety. At the moment the fear of mobile devices leading to user distraction and an increased risk of accidents is limiting their use in many parts of the industry. This is a real and justified concern but one that can be tackled in a rational, evidence-based way. 

Mobile devices are a tool like any other and carry risks as well as providing benefit. The industry needs to develop a set of standards for how they can be used on site in a safe manner. COMIT is actively helping to work towards this and it will be the subject of future posts.

For more information about COMIT, what we do and how you can become involved, then please visit our website. You can find out more about the EU supported MobiCloud Project that we are a partner in at www.mobicloudproject.eu.

Augmented Reality at Custom House

By Stephen Smith (COMIT Construction Chairman)

The BiDWG (Crossrail BIM in Delivery Working Group) is overseeing a trial at Custom House of using Augmented Reality technology to overlay planned construction works in the field using an iPad.

As is shown in the photo below the design model is positioned in real space on the iPad screen using the iPad camera and a combination of tracking and positioning technologies.

The model has been linked to the construction schedule so the user can step through the construction sequence in the field, helping to identify pinch points and potential problems before the works commence.

As is shown below the user can click on the construction components and view the attributes stored against that component. Additionally information,such as an installation date, can be input into the iPad application and automatically posted back to the planning team, informing them of the live status in the field.

The pilot is half way through an 8 week trial on site. The pilot is capturing data on how this method of capturing construction progress compares to the current work process. Any efficiency gains should help to justify wider roll-out of this technology.

Thanks to the Crossrail delivery site team for their support.

As they say, watch this (augmented) space!

Speedy Day Telford

Last week we attended COMIT member Speedy's Integrated Services Show in Telford. This is the largest private hire and services show in Europe and had over 200 exhibitors.

Our stand was in the Technology and Innovation section opposite the Microsoft Futures Theatre and right next to Codegate who are also COMIT members - so we were in good company. Iain Miskimmin (technology chairman), managed to borrow a "pod" from the BIM Academy (courtesy of Bentley) and this added bit of hi-tech flair to the booth.

Iain Miskimmin in front of the Bentley BIM Academy "pod"

It was a busy event and luckily most of the COMIT team managed to attend at one time or other over the two days. I set up on the Monday and Iain and myself manned the stand for the first part of Tuesday morning. At 11.00 Iain gave the first of COMIT's presentations at the event about construction opportunities for mobile IT.

L to R: Neill Pawsey & Stephen Smith

At lunchtime Neill Pawsey (COMIT director) and Stephen Smith (construction chairman) arrived having been delayed in traffic. Later in the afternoon they gave a presentation on BIM on behalf of the Crossrail Mobility Task Group.

Mark Collier from Costain also arrived in the afternoon. Costain are members of COMIT and Mark is involved with the MobiCloud project which featured on the COMIT stand. One of the early outputs from this project is the Site Diary app which Mark was demonstrating to an interested audience.  Appropriately Mark and Iain were also on the expert panel for an afternoon leadership session on Mobilising the Workforce in Construction and Industry.

Iain speaking and Mark on left of panel

After an exhausting first day we then had the pleasure of attending the Speedy Supplier Awards 2014 in the evening. This event was co-hosted by Pollyanna Woodward (of The Gadget Show fame) and was a great mixture of food, entertainment and some very interesting innovations from Speedy's supply-chain.

Neill Pawsey & Stephen Smith with Pollyanna Woodward

On day 2 of the event Mark Collier was brave enough to turn up in site PPE (personal protection equipement) to add some authenticity to his MobiCloud Site Diary demonstrations.

It was another busy day and in the afternoon Neill and Stephen were on the panel for a BIM thought leadership session. This session was very well attended and there was a noticeable drop in the number of people in the technology and innovation zone while it was on. This was interesting and very encouraging. All of Speedy's suppliers and partners are involved in construction in one form or another but to date the engagement of construction suppliers with BIM has been patchy.

The BIM though leadership session was very well attended

Speedy's Integrated Services show was a great success and we managed to speak to a lot of people about the role of mobile IT in construction and we came away with a number of useful contacts. The whole COMIT team would like to thank Speedy for the opportunity to take part. In particular we would like to thank Glyn Mathews of Speedy who played a key role in organizing the event and arranging COMIT's participation.

March Community Day

Last week COMT held its Spring Community Day in London. It was hosted by COMIT member Computerlinks and 58 people attended, which is a COMIT record.

COMIT community days usually get between 35 and 50 delegates, with 57 being the previous record (Winter 2012, hosted by Bentley in London). COMIT holds community days at various locations around the country to engage as many people as possible, but it is true to say that events in London tend to have a higher turnout.

Computerlinks provided a great venue in Cannon Street. There was a perfect view of the construction site across the road which was quite appropriate for a construction event.

Among the 58 attendees we had guests from 10 non-member technology and construction organisations and we also formally welcomed five new companies into membership. As usual we had a great mix of presentations and plenty of networking opportunities.

In the morning Carl Siddons from Network Rail gave a presentation about Immersive Virtual Reality, followed by one about  RFID and tracking technologies by Marvin Johnson of Bechtel.

After a short coffee break the focus turned to mobile Health & Safety with a presentation from Harrison O'Hara about the potential risks of mobile devices on site and their mitigation. Harrison is a graduate engineer from Costain and is currently working with COMIT as part of his Engineering Doctorate at Loughborough University.

Harrison was followed by COMIT's Stuart Young who announced the formation of a COMIT Mobile IT Health & Safety Working Group. This group will be developing safety protocols for the use of mobile devices on site in cooperation with organisations such as the Health and Safety Executive. Stuart demonstrated a proof-of-concept hi-visibility waistcoat with a pocket for a tablet computer.

Still on the theme of health and safety, there was a guest presentation from Damian Lynes and Roy Brown from OnSite Support. This covered various methods of tethering tools to mitigate some of the risks posed by working at height. This was followed by a mobile health and safety workshop, the results of which will be compiled by COMIT as part of the H&S working group.

After lunch and more networking Jason Philips and Alex Brandon from our host Computerlinks, provided an over-view of their services and some of the technical challenges to be faced in enabling the wide adoption of mobile devices in construction. This was followed by a presentation by Harry Parnell and Simon McGowen from Balfour Beatty about the use of BIM and Mobile Site Forms on the M25.

For more information about the March community day, including 3D printing with silkworms, look out for our 2014 Spring Newsletter which will be available on our website in the next few weeks.

You can now read the full COMIT Spring Newsletter here

CIC BIM Protocol - have you used it?

The CIC BIM Protocol was introduced in February last year (2013). It is a supplementary agreement that can be incorporated into UK construction contracts to provide a legal framework around the use of BIM. In particular it helps clarify certain obligations and liabilities that have previously been cited as problematic when using BIM on some projects.  The Protocol has been drafted for use on all common construction contracts and supports BIM working at Level 2.

COMIT are interested to know if you have had experience in using the CIC BIM Protocol and in particular if it was successful in allaying legal concerns around the adoption of BIM. This interest has been prompted by research being carried out by a student at Oxford Brookes University, which seems to indicate very patchy adoption of the protocol.

You can submit your own experience of the CIC BIM Protocol by completing this ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE. It should take no more than 15 minutes to complete and your input would be greatly appreciated. COMIT will liaise with Oxford Brookes to publicize the results.  

Guest Lecture at Oxford Brookes University

Last night COMIT gave its annual guest lecture on Mobile Computing at Oxford Brookes University. The event was arranged by Dr. Henry Abanda, lecturer in Construction Infomatics in the Department of Real Estate and Construction. It was targeted at second year students enrolled on the undergraduate Construction Project Management Degree.

The lecture was delivered by Jason Scott, who has taken over this role from Neill Pawsey for the last couple of years. Neill delivered the lecture for a number of years but is no longer able to due to work commitments at Crossrail.

"As usual it's a pleasure talking to students at Oxford Brookes. They are a bright, engaging bunch and that makes it a fun evening. It's nice to be able to put some of the recent developments into context for them and dispel some myths" - Jason Scott 

Engaging the next generation of construction managers is an important part of what COMIT does, but it is not just a one-way street.

"They ask some really good questions! Not having any preconceptions can certainly help them see to the heart of an issue and that helps inform my own thinking." - Jason Scott

Oxford Brookes University is a COMIT partner and has previously hosted community days. It is particularly strong in the area of technology and construction and has been offering courses in real estate and construction for more than 40 years. The COMIT lectures are always well received by the students.

"I actually learnt a lot about the construction industry...what COMIT does to help link construction companies to the IT industry is a really beneficial and innovative idea because the two work so well together... a really useful and informative presentation, so thank you very much" - Jessica Dowdy, Second Year Student Rep