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What’s new in DCW 2019?

Drones, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, big data, point clouds… just to mention a few of the hot topics presented and discussed at the Digital Construction Week event in London on October 16-17.

The turnout for this year’s DCW event was impressive to say the least with over 5,000 attendees from nearly 2,000 companies. Not to mention that almost half of them were at the top level with many directors, CEOs and senior managers. The much anticipated DCW 2019 was undoubtedly a high-profile event in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the construction industry accounted for 6% of the UK’s GDP in 2017, representing a total value of some £110bn in 2017. Construction-related employment has been on the rise and technologies are developing faster than ever before. The time has come for digital technology in construction to be at the forefront of the construction industry’s agenda.

DCW Workshop Focus

The theme for the 2-day DCW 2019 seminars and workshops was “Innovation in the built environment”. Architects, engineers and construction professionals were eager to learn more about best industry practice and cutting-edge technologies. More than 150 exhibitors deployed their latest digital solutions to showcase their potential use in construction.

Drones and Robots

A hot topic for DCW 2019, a case in point, a company called Civdrone wanted to remove barriers for drones. They think drones could be doing much more than just 3D modelling and taking aerial photos. If drones could be delivering packages for Amazon, why not deploy them to plant trees, paint and clean buildings? You can see the endless possibilities there. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential capabilities of drones in construction. You can be sure that we will be hearing a lot more about the use of drones in the industry besides taking aerial photos!

BIM in the spotlight

As Oliver Hughes, DCW’s Event Director put it, “BIM has been the launching point for the digitisation of the Built Environment.” So it all started with BIM! BIM is still very much talked about today in the engineering world, and no less at DCW 2019.

BIM Collab, BIM Track, and BIMsafe were some of the staunchest exhibitors championing BIM. Following on from last year’s success, we see BIM Workshops and the BIM Village in the spotlight once again. The BIM village partnered with the UK BIM Alliance to host 25 seminars on BIM-related case studies and best practice in this year’s DCW event.

For the very first time in the annual Digital Construction Week event, the organisers launched the UK BIM Framework. In collaboration with BSI, they set the agenda to make BIM “business as usual”. This was clearly in line with the government’s policy outlined in UK Government Construction Strategy: 2016-2020, which has set its sights on BIM Level 3 under the Digital Built Britain Strategy.

One of the requirements for BIM Level 3 implementation is a fully collaborative Common Data Environment (CDE). So it came as no surprise that Bentley and Business Collaborator, both market leaders in CDE software in the UK, were present as exhibitors at DCW 2019 promoting their software, ProjectWise and Business Collaborator respectively.

Construction Innovation Hub

The Construction Innovation Hub was another revelation at DCW 2019. The Hub aims to transform construction through innovative and digital tools. David Philip, Consultant at the Centre for Digital Built Britain, shared his plans to deliver the UK BIM Programme. Many considered this presentation to be the highlight of the Hub.

There you have it. Digital Construction Week in a nutshell. Did that inspire you to implement digital solutions and innovations in your day job? Please leave us a comment below.

If DCW 2019 was of interest to you, you might be interested in digital transformation, innovation and BIM. At GlobalCAD, we specialise in BIM solutions for your business. Don’t hesitate to get in touch, we’d be delighted to see how we can help you bring more value to your projects.