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Digital tech benefits elude SA constructors

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 18 Jan 2017
There is a significant lack of education in terms of digital construction and building information modelling for complex building projects in SA, says BIM Institute.
There is a significant lack of education in terms of digital construction and building information modelling for complex building projects in SA, says BIM Institute.

There is a significant lack of education in terms of digital construction and building information modelling for complex building projects in SA.

This is according the 2016 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Institute survey, which is based on 132 completed surveys and 85 incomplete surveys gathered between 12 September and 31 October 2016.

The majority of returned questionnaires were from professionals and senior industry-wide executives, with 39% working for organisations with over 200 employees.

"A cursory glance at construction projects in our major cities would give the impression that the construction industry is widening its vision and raising its game," says Vaughan Harris, executive director at BIM Institute. "Buildings are more innovative, our search for natural resources is becoming more technically advanced and one would, therefore, think that the pace of change is such that construction projects are keeping abreast with digital technology and processes.

"Few would doubt that technology plays an integral part in helping the industry realise these goals by enabling enhanced design, procurement and construction. But one only needs to scratch the surface to see it is struggling to reap the full benefits of design software, data and analytics, 3D scanning, mobile solutions and automation in South Africa."

Software preferences

The software findings reveal that 34% of designers chose to work with Autocad, with 28% designing in Revit, 9% ArchiCad, 4% Trimble, Tekla 4% and Bentley 6%.

Despite brand loyalty, the survey found larger firms were more likely to use more than one of the above systems mentioned, including systems such as Navisworks, Lumion, BIM360, Primavera, Civil3D, Sketchup, Vector Works, WinQS and Candy.

Of respondents, 55% also said they used cloud-based document management systems, such as Synergy Docwize, Asite and Key360, while some smaller firms were still using cloud-based storage tools like Dropbox and Google Drive.

BIM says cloud solutions vary widely in their capabilities and while the latter two are free, they may not be as secure.

It was noted by 16% of respondents that the use of cloud-based document management systems is hampered due to poor internet connectivity.

Of the asset management tools used, Archibus was the most popular - deployed mostly within the government sector. Of the 132 respondents, 66% preferred to see the Industry Foundation Class format being used on joint venture projects.

Trend followers

The report found 81% agreed that building information modelling in SA requires a mandate by the National Department of Public Works in order to be successful, while 5% said 'no' to such a mandate.

"The responses reflect the industry's conservatism towards building information modelling technologies, with a number of respondents preferring to follow trends rather than to take the lead. Unfortunately, many who have adopted a building information modelling technology strategy have done so in a silo approach," says Harris.

He notes that as some construction companies attempt to improve governance, health and safety, project controls and upskilling, the fundamentals of traditional engineering, construction and project management processes still appear stagnant.

"We can all agree that digital technology inevitably brings disruption in its wake, at a speed that is likely to increase, but many architectural companies still remain ignorant when it comes to new and improved digital design technology," says Harris.

The current downturn in the construction industry also does not encourage investment in upgrading systems and cash-strapped businesses continue to use their current software systems, he says.

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