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As we know, technology is advancing at an ever more rapid rate. And while the technology industry has been 'historically' slow at adopting new technology, it's starting to pick up with more & more smart technology companies beginning to tackle the major issues.

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Many of the tech trends which are gathering speed will continue to gather speed shaping property management & services for years to come. We have to be mindful also of newer technologies on the horizon keeping our finger on the world pulse.

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Some of these technologies include:

IoT (The internet of things)

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The internet of things (commonly referred to as IoT) holds great promise for all devices, systems and communication all over the world.

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For property management in 2021 IoT is still in its early stages. The most common usage will be simple in but effective in connecting machines to making them smarter in "talking" to each other to help regulate an occupier's daily environment.

 

For example linking light and air conditioning to movement helping reduce energy cost and ultimately carbon footprints.

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Eventually the majority of new construction technologists will see a future where everything on site is connected. From employees with smart devices & wearables that feed all the way through to the back office.

 

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Augmented reality (and a bit of virtual reality)

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Augmented reality (AR) is another promising and ambitious technology which is just starting to gets its claws into the construction industry.

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On the consumer and residential side of building and construction, augmented reality is already playing a part in the design and construct process, with people being able to overlay digital couches, walls and kitchens into real spaces - getting a 'real' look at what it will look like in the space.

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There aren't as many easy use cases for civil construction projects today, but AR will likely impact how people can plan and make decisions based on augmented reality models and visualisations in the not too distant future.

 

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Data and software interoperability

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The rise of project management software, financial software tools, on site apps as well as big data have brought a number of benefits to construction companies, but they also have their own unique challenges.

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One of the biggest challenges facing these new software's and tools is interoperability, which is a characteristic of a product or system which enables it to work or communicate directly with other products or systems - or be 'compatible' with other systems.

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Today, many software's and tools operate in their own silos, which brings about the same issues construction companies have seen for decades in managing work and information across word docs, excel and PDFs - the need to jump between systems, format documents and enter data manually.

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Construction interoperability seeks to change this, and so do more modern software platforms like Dash pivot, which enable companies to move standardised information all the way from site to reporting and tracking without changing systems or manually entering data.

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While integrations are the flavour of the day today and improve how data flows, there is still a lot of fiddling around and custom bespoke work required to get the tools talking properly.

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The obvious benefits of this are lower labour costs, massive amounts of saved time and real-time data and insights.

 

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Blockchain

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Blockchain is widely regarded as the next big thing in the technology field after the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence.

 

It realizes the transaction trust among various parties in a decentralized way, which will bring about systematic and significant changes in the fields of finance, supply chain, Internet of things, logistics, e-commerce, media, resource sharing and other fields.

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Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.

 

An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding). Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.

 

Business runs on information. The faster it’s received and the more accurate it is, the better. Blockchain is ideal for delivering that information because it provides immediate, shared and completely transparent information stored on an immutable ledger that can be accessed only by permissioned network members.

 

A blockchain network can track orders, payments, accounts, production and much more. And because members share a single view of the truth, you can see all details of a transaction end to end, giving you greater confidence, as well as new efficiencies and opportunities.

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Blockchain technology is moving closer to becoming an acceptable medium for transactions on the property market – but the challenges will be more legal and legislative than technological. Blockchain has the potential to transform the real-estate market; in particular, tokenisation could enable new ways of conducting business and investing.

 

 

Artificial intelligence and the blockchain

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I had to include these two technology trends in this list, mainly because the level of interest and coverage on them has shifted them into the construction technology discussion technology too.

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Artificial intelligence and machine learning could be of major benefit for such a data driven and data heavy industry, with machines and computers beginning to see trends and understand why projects were late and helping people make more informed decisions.

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Blockchain is a less flushed out technology for construction, but there are certainly some very real applications for the interesting technology around record keeping, timesheets, variations disputes and more - all centred around a verifiable distributed ledger which acts as the middle man between people and parties - and potentially removes some of the need for litigation and disputes.

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But given that paper ledges and paper diaries are still a common site on construction sites, we likely have a way to go before the blockchain is where daily records live and/or move.

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Adopting these new technologies into your company, projects and teams

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It's important to try cut through the noise when it comes to new construction technology, and that is no different in 2021.

 

While some of the newest construction technologies hold an incredible amount of promise and brighter future for the industry, others are bluster and noise and probably fads.

 

It's important for construction companies to focus on delivering projects on time and on budget, with minimum fuss.

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If new technology helps make that happen, then it's a win for everyone.

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And most construction companies do look at this technology with a very sensible outlook. Even with all of this amazing new technology, most construction companies are planning to spend more amount of money on technology into 2022.

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This suggests that these companies are becoming more accustom to shopping for new technology and replacing older less efficient technologies with new, similarly priced but more effective solutions.

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Overall, the construction industry isn't much different to any other industry or any other facet of the world market and economy, and technology will continue to play a larger role in how every day work gets done and managed through 2021 and beyond.

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While some of these future trends still feel far away - especially when many companies are still using paper forms, letters and email - they will sneak up on all of us, and it's important that we stay a-breadth with what is happening, what it means for our industries, our companies - and of course what it means for our own jobs, careers and futures.

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