construction collaboration 2010

pwcom.co.uk

October 2010

Construction collaboration:

from pre-Web to Web 1.0, to Web 2.0 and beyond ….

by Paul Wilkinson(pwcom.co.uk)

pwcom.co.uk

• Who is Paul Wilkinson?• Introducing construction collaboration technologies• Development of the UK market• Benefits of online collaboration – NCCTP research

2006• Overcoming resistance• New directions for collaboration

• beyond file-sharing (eg: process management, financial control, mobile working)

• The ‘I’ in BIM• the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) revolution• Web 2.0 (and 3.0)

• Summary

PROCESSES NEXT?COLLABORATION

1.0PEOPLETECHNOLOGIESAGENDA

pwcom.co.uk

Who am I?• worked in construction industry since 1987

– in-house: Halcrow, Tarmac/Carillion, BIW– current/recent clients: BIW, Constructing Excellence,

4Projects, Incite, Slider Studio, tCn, Woobius • author of book on construction

collaboration technologies (2005)• Wikipedian (2003), blogger (2005),

Tweeter (2008)



pwcom.co.uk

• Face-to-face• Written word• Hand drawings• Telephone• Telegram• Telex• Fax• CAD• Email• Groupware (eg: Lotus Notes)• File transfer protocol (FTP)• Websites• Intranets, enterprise portals• Video- and tele-conferencing

• Extranets• Web-conferencing applications• File-sharing (P2P)• Instant messaging• Discussion forums• Wikis• Blogs• RSS• Social networking• Social search, tagging, sharing• Mashups: Mapping, time-lines,

etc• Virtual worlds

Web 2.0BIM

SaaS

Cloud computin

g



pwcom.co.uk



pwcom.co.uk

SpecsDrawingsMinutesProgrammesCost planscorrespondenceetc

EmailFaxCourierPost (CD, paper)

Traditionally…



pwcom.co.uk



pwcom.co.uk

Traditional AEC collaboration: issues• Incompatible IT = unreadable data = heavy reliance on

paper• Extensive – and expensive – production of paper• Email overload• No single version of ‘the truth’• ‘Islands’ of information• Poor security• Low transparency of information, opaque processes• No complete project record, no audit trail, risk of

disputes/litigation• Low quantity/quality of information for FM or O&M

purposes



pwcom.co.uk

• Fewer interoperability issues

• Less paper

• Latest information available to all

• Complete record of project

• Full information audit trail

• Single central repository of information

• Greater re-use of information (eg: for H&S File, standards, tendering, defects mgmt, O&M, etc)

What does it look like…?

So collaborate!



pwcom.co.uk

pwcom.co.uk

Technology issues (1):• Standards

• a la “Betamax or VHS”? • Interoperability

• Cost• do we need new hardware/software (eg: CAD)?• new telecoms links?• printing costs pushed down supply chain?• clients might expect lower fees?

• Training• Implementation



pwcom.co.uk

Technology issues (2):• Industry slow to adopt new technology

• Legal status of electronic communication• Contractual relationships with technology provider• ASP service interruption or unforeseen termination• Preference for paper• Copyright, archive concerns

• Suspicion/fear re web-based or web-enabled technologies• Security – hacking, viruses• Reliability – 24/7 access, backup• Too transparent (threat to old-style attitudes)

• ‘Dot.com doubt’ – re ASP/SaaS/on-demand providers• Too many suppliers• Who will survive?



pwcom.co.uk

• Mid 1990s first experiments with project websites

• Late 1990s project websites used to host documents and drawings

• 2000 Dot.com boom … and bust!

• 2000-2002 internet faith low; slow growth for survivors

• 2003-2005 increased internet faith; more sustained growth;

web-based collaboration becoming normal

• 2008-2009 Recession and the rise of low-cost solutions

• 2010- Collaboration - so what? What next?



pwcom.co.uk



pwcom.co.uk

UK market

UK AEC collaboration market - development



Ma

rke

t sha

re

Sophistication/functionality

4Projects

Aconex

BIW

Asite

Buzzsaw

CTSpaceUnit4

Cadweb

Causeway

ePIN

ProjectWise

Sarcophagus

Woobius Union Square

iSite

Collabor8onlineCloudsUK

StickyWorld

pwcom.co.ukUK AEC collaboration market -

developmentPROCESSES NEXT?

COLLABORATION 1.0

PEOPLETECHNOLOGIESAGENDA

Collaboration vendors - UK turnover 2003-2009

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

31

/03

/20

03

30

/06

/20

03

30

/09

/20

03

31

/12

/20

03

31

/03

/20

04

30

/06

/20

04

30

/09

/20

04

31

/12

/20

04

31

/03

/20

05

30

/06

/20

05

30

/09

/20

05

31

/12

/20

05

31

/03

/20

06

30

/06

/20

06

30

/09

/20

06

31

/12

/20

06

31

/03

/20

07

30

/06

/20

07

30

/09

/20

07

31

/12

/20

07

31

/03

/20

08

30

/06

/20

08

30

/09

/20

08

31

/12

/20

08

31

/03

/20

09

30

/06

/20

09

30

/09

/20

08

31

/12

/20

09

Year-end

£ m

illi

on

iSite

Asite

Unit4 Collaboration

4Projects

BuildOnline (UK) Ltd

Aconex [UK revenues only]

BIW Technologies



COLLABORATION 1.0


Collaboration vendors - UK profit/loss 2003-2009

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

31

/03

/20

03

30

/06

/20

03

30

/09

/20

03

31

/12

/20

03

31

/03

/20

04

30

/06

/20

04

30

/09

/20

04

31

/12

/20

04

31

/03

/20

05

30

/06

/20

05

30

/09

/20

05

31

/12

/20

05

31

/03

/20

06

30

/06

/20

06

30

/09

/20

06

31

/12

/20

06

31

/03

/20

07

30

/06

/20

07

30

/09

/20

07

31

/12

/20

07

31

/03

/20

08

30

/06

/20

08

30

/09

/20

08

31

/12

/20

08

31

/03

/20

09

30

/06

/20

09

30

/09

/20

08

31

/12

/20

09

Year-end

£ m

illi

on

BIW Technologies

Aconex [UK revenues only]


4Projects

Unit4 Collaboration

Asite

iSite



COLLABORATION 1.0


UK market growth 2003-2008 (including "others")

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

£m

Aconex

BIW Technologies


4Projects

Unit4 Collaboration

Asite

Isite

Others*



COLLABORATION 1.0


Market share 2008 (including "others")

iSite5%

Asite7%

Unit4 Collaboration12%

4Projects16%

BuildOnline (UK) Ltd6%

BIW Technologies27%

Aconex7%

0%0%

*Others20%

pwcom.co.uk

What are the benefits?

Market research conducted April-May 2006

User views (not vendor hype)



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9.3

6.9

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Without collaboration With collaboration

Base: 194

# of days

26% time saving on average overall

Net Average Drawing Approval times



pwcom.co.uk

Main benefits experienced in project management,communications and team working…

85% 83%68% 63% 60%

13%8%

22%22% 26%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Info availablecentrally

Less money spent oncouriers/post

Dispersed teamswork better together

Easier to link smallcompanies to large

Bettercommunications

Substantial Benefit (4 or 5 out of 5) Moderate Benefit (3/5)

Base: 272



pwcom.co.uk

Main benefits experienced in document management,storage and retrieval

82% 75% 74% 72% 70%

11% 18% 16% 18% 15%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Less chance of losingimportant documents

Information is moresecure

Distribution &production costs are

less

Archived informationcan be found faster

Need less storagespace

Substantial Benefit (4 or 5 out of 5) Moderate Benefit (3/5)Base: 272



pwcom.co.uk

Main benefits experienced in hand-over, commissioning, operations and maintenance

86%

66% 64% 61% 60%

6%

20% 24%17% 25%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Documents can beaccessed 24/7

Archive of H&Sinformation

Achive of FMinformation

Costs less to maintaindocuments

Documentsammended faster &

more easily

Substantial Benefit (4 or 5 out of 5) Moderate Benefit (3/5)

Base: 105 involved with this phase of projects



pwcom.co.uk

96% feel they benefit from using the technology Client preference for contractors who are willing to

work with or have experience of the technology Several benefits are widely accepted/associated

with the technology (following seen as substantial by 80%+ of users): Documents can be accessed 24/7 Project information available centrally Less money spent on couriers/post Less chance of losing important documents Better audit trail



pwcom.co.uk

Strong commitment to a still evolving technology (it took 10+ years for CAD to become commonplace)

Vendors need to do more to overcome designers’ and sub-contractors’ reservations

time and cost savings were not ranked as the most important areas of differentiation – the key perceived benefits relate to better control, communication and collaboration

Perceived obstacles mainly relate to people and processes (eg: implementation, education/training issues), not technology



pwcom.co.uk

Construction collaboration technologies

People, processes (80%) and technology (20%)

Barriers to adoption: Resistance to principle of collaborative working Resistance to adoption of new technology

Overcoming resistance

pwcom.co.uk

How will we get there?



pwcom.co.uk

internet

technologies

EDMS, FTP,

file-sharing, Web 1.0BIM, Web 2.0, Web 3.0



pwcom.co.uk

Construction Collaboration

Financial tools

Business processes

CAD/BIM vendors

Generic collaboration

tools

Project management

tools FM tools

E-commerce

Back office

Mobile working

Contracts

Whole life costing

Defects management

SaaS

Web 2.0

BIM

UK AEC collaboration market - development



Compliance

Knowledge management

pwcom.co.uk

• Less about file storage/exchange• More about key business processes• Move beyond simple processes (eg: RFIs, change orders,

transmittals, etc)• ‘Collaboration-plus’

• Corporate standards (eg: standard designs, specs)

• Health and safety management (eg: non-conformance reports)

• Procurement (ie: e-tendering)

• Project financial control

• Quality control (defects/snagging – mobile solutions)

• Contract change management

• Facilities management support

Development of UK market: ‘collaboration-plus’



pwcom.co.uk

Shift from CAD to BIM• “CAD helps people to draw. BIM helps people to

construct.” (Richard Saxon, Ecobuild, February 2009)

• “BIM is not CAD. BIM was never meant to be CAD. CAD is a replacement for pen and paper, a documentation tool.” (Pete Zyskowski, Cadalyst)

PROCESSES NEXT?PEOPLEAGENDACOLLABORATION

1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

http://shop.bsigroup.com/Browse-by-Sector/Building--Construction/Building-Information-Modelling/

pwcom.co.uk

Collaboration: to manage the ‘I’ in BIM, “the ins and outs of BIM” – the drawings, the workflows


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

Paul Morrell:bidders and contractors

on future UK public building projects will

use BIM.

• “We have commissioned a team drawn from BIM users across the industry, both clients and suppliers, and software developers, to prepare a route map that shows how we can make a progressive move to the routine use of BIM.

• “I am convinced that this is the way to unlock new ways of working that will reduce cost and add long-term value to the development and management of built assets in the public sector.”

pwcom.co.uk

• What is Web 2.0?

– the use of web technologies and web design to enhance

creativity, information sharing, and, most notably,

collaboration among users.

– Not: one-way, a monologue, received-only

– Two-way, conversational, participative, active


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

• Discussion forums• Building• Constructing Excellence

• Home pages• Static to configurable• iGoogle, Google Alerts

• Wikis• Open - Wikipedia• Organisation - RIBApedia• Internal - Fielden Clegg Bradley

• Blogs• Personal but work-related – eg: ExtranetEvolution.com• Corporate – eg: SaaStainability.com• Media tool – eg: Brickonomics• Micro-blogging – Twitter: personal, corporate, media

“Wisdom of

crowds”


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

• RSS• Feed-readers (local or web-based: Newsgator, Google Reader, etc)• RSS publishing (from bloggers, media, corporate)

• Social networking• From personal (MySpace, Bebo, Facebook) …• … to professional (Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning)

• Social search (Wikia)

• Social tagging and sharing (Del.icio.us, Digg, etc)

• Sharing:• Voice over IP – Skype• Calendar – Google Calendar• Slides – SlideShare; Photos – Flickr; Video – YouTube• Stuff – Freecycle

• Mashups: Mapping (Google Maps), time-lines (Dipity)

• Virtual worlds – eg: Second Life


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

internet

technologies

EDMS, FTP,

file-sharing, Web 1.0Web 2.0, BIM, Web 3.0

hardware &

software

static, office-based,

internal

mobile, SaaS,

cloud computing


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

For example:

• Woobius Eye – mobile, real-time

• augmented reality, location-specific


1.0TECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

internet

technologies

EDMS, FTP,


hardware &

software


internalmobile, SaaS



industry

attitudescontractual, price-driven

collaborative, sharing,

‘best value’ focus

pwcom.co.uk

People and processes (1): industry attitudes to collaboration

• Conservative• Slow to change - inertia• Very fragmented – danger: preach to the converted only, while

majority continue with old approaches• Focused on delivery, not ‘whole life’

People and processes (2): inter-organisation

• Necessary evil or a strategic objective?• One project at a time or long-term relationships?• Contractual or collaborative attitude?• Own agenda or mutual objectives?• Management approach



pwcom.co.uk

People and processes (3): intra-organisation attitudes to collaboration

• ‘Silo’ dwelling – department, region, profession• Corporate ladder – different agendas• Management – do managers …

• Preach collaboration?• Practice collaboration?• Reward collaboration?

• Intra-organisational collaborators probably better able to collaborate externally …

People and processes (4): individual

• Age – older professionals more resistant?• Professional learning – traditional approaches• Experience – tried, trusted techniques• ‘Creative isolation’ – develop ideas then share?



pwcom.co.uk

internet

technologies

EDMS, FTP,


hardware &

software


internalmobile, SaaS

PROCESSES NEXT?AGENDA

industry




industry

mindsetssilo-based, anti-‘social’ open, ‘social’

COLLABORATION 1.0

PEOPLETECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

PROCESSES NEXT?AGENDACOLLABORATION

1.0PEOPLETECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

For example:• ‘democratic design’• open-source



pwcom.co.uk

For example:• Embrace Gen Y• And start planning for Gen Z



pwcom.co.uk

PROCESSES NEXT?AGENDA

processes &

workflowspaper-based,

impersonal, ‘push’

model-based, personal,

rich media, ‘pull’

COLLABORATION 1.0

PEOPLETECHNOLOGIES

pwcom.co.uk

NEXT?AGENDA PROCESSESCOLLABORATION


pwcom.co.uk

For example:

• video-sharing

• slideshows

• photos

• virtual reality



pwcom.co.uk

NEXT?AGENDA

processes &





supply chain

structuresfragmented,

dis-enfranchised

joined-up, integrated

inclusive, end-to-end

PROCESSESCOLLABORATION


pwcom.co.uk

Key research agenda (2008)• Collaborative prototyping to define and

deliver client requirements

• Efficient, seamless sharing of information across the built environment stakeholders

• Ability to interact with real-time information regardless of physical location or timezone

• Mass adoption and application of off-site manufacturing, automation and mechanisation processes

• Well trained, well qualified workforce able to use the latest best practice technologies



pwcom.co.uk

industry

time-framesshort-term,

design and construct

long-term, design, build

operate, re-use

NEXT?AGENDA

processes &





supply chain

structuresfragmented,

dis-enfranchised

joined-up, integrated

inclusive, end-to-end

PROCESSESCOLLABORATION


pwcom.co.uk

feasibility planning design construction handover Occupation, FM, O&M

Whole life information

Design

IT

Construction

IT

Handover

IT

Planning

IT

FM

IT

interoperability Re-use of existing information … and processes

Information as part of the asset



pwcom.co.uk

For example:

• 1 : 5 : 200

• Be Valuable



pwcom.co.uk

industry




industry

mindsets

industry

time-frames

industry

approaches

silo-based, anti-‘social’

short-term,

design and construct

(new) build if possible

open, ‘social’

long-term, design, build

operate, re-use

build if necessary

and sustainable



pwcom.co.uk

UK Gov to focus on two aims:1. co-ordinate low carbon policy2. improve government’s return

on its investment.

“… enormous potential …lies in more intelligent use of ICT … in improving communications, reducing or removing transaction costs, transforming the way that buildings are designed, creating more direct links between design and fabrication/assembly, removing the coordination errors that too often block productivity etc.”(Paul Morrell, UK chief construction adviser, December 2009)



pwcom.co.uk

• Construction collaboration technologies survived the “dot.com doom”

• Benefits of online collaboration are clear …

• … yet overcoming resistance has more to do with changing culture (people and processes) than technology

• UK market still buoyant, but generic collaborative technologies are spreading, and other vendors could look to expand footprint in AEC market

• Collaboration vendors, customers and users therefore need to look• look beyond file-sharing (eg: process management, financial

control, mobile working)• understand the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) or On-Demand

revolution• embrace BIM, embrace web 2.0

• New business models will emerge in next 2-3 years

Summary



pwcom.co.uk

Next?

• CADaaS – CAD as a Service

• BIMaaS – BIM as a Service

• But BIM will require changes, eg:• Procurement• Contracts• Insurance• Intellectual property

• Rise of the tech-Nomad

• The internet of things

Summary



pwcom.co.uk

Thank you

Contact: Paul WilkinsonBlog: www.extranetevolution.com

Email: [email protected]: +44 (0)20 8858 1104

mob: 07788 445920Twitter: @EEPaul

construction collaboration 2010

Business

people technologies

traditional aec collaboration

opaque processes

summary processes

om purposes processes

vendor hype processes

market research

service revolution web