Title
Scenarios for the digitalisation of the construction industry
Date Issued
01 January 2020
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
conference paper
Author(s)
Loughborough University
Publisher(s)
Association of Researchers in Construction Management
Abstract
Digital technologies have the potential to help address some of the key challenges facing construction. Thinking and planning for the future, including unexpected events, is vital if the implementation of digital technologies is to realise their benefits. Four plausible future scenarios for an industry transformation enabled by digital technologies were developed using scenario-axes approach. The underpinning empirical work involved a review of literature, 20 semi-structured interviews and five focus groups/ workshops with industry practitioners. Qualitative data were analysed to identify emerging themes, which were subsequently conflated to determine the two main driving forces/ uncertainties underpinning the digitalisation in the industry: the extent of Innovation, Research and Development (IR&D), and the extent of integration/ collaboration. They were adopted as two axes to provide a framework to develop four plausible scenarios, named as 'bleak segregation', 'utopia transformation', 'lonely investment', and 'cheap combination'. Feedback from industry practitioners was generally supportive to the scenarios. The scenarios do not only describe how external factors impact on digitalisation, but they also raise many questions on what the industry stakeholders could do to influence the outcomes, particularly on those related to collaboration and investment. These will determine the pathways and the level of competitiveness of the industry, the companies and the individual stakeholders. Based on this, it could be argued that appropriate strategies and actions of the construction stakeholders themselves can, to a great extent, shape the future outcomes. Apart from the resulting scenarios, the research highlights the benefits which could be derived from the process of developing scenarios for the participants.
Start page
425
End page
434
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería de la construcción
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85096980748
Resource of which it is part
ARCOM 2020 - Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 36th Annual Conference 2020 - Proceedings
ISBN of the container
978-099554633-2
Conference
36th Annual Conference on Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2020
Sponsor(s)
Digital nEblears for CONstruction Transformation (DECONT) project aws fud viande therTnsaforming Construction Network Plus. TherTnsaforming Construction Network Plussifunded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), an investment supported by theIndustrialtSrteagy ChallengeFund (ISCF). Theuahorstwish to thank for thisfunding, supportprovided by N+ team, supporttahtaereylse arcrh e stage of the project provided by Rinicom tLdys.te,m oSLoctd., Innova Lre yStemss Ltd., InnovativeManufacturing and Construction Solutions, and to allparticipants of the owhopsrk, focuss groups sdcussiion and interviews.
Digital Enablers for CONstruction Transformation (DECONT) project was funded via the Transforming Construction Network Plus. The Transforming Construction Network Plus is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), an investment supported by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). The authors wish to thank for this funding, support provided by N+ team, support at the early research stage of the project provided by Rinicom Ltd., System Loco Ltd., Innovare Systems Ltd., Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Solutions, and to all participants of the workshops, focus groups discussion and interviews.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus