We are providing customers with full support in running their tech-enabled workflows

As the leading technology provider for the construction industry, Trimble Solutions remain committed to stand by its customers in these difficult times. The firm’s customers include architects and designers, structural engineers, fabricators, contractors and project owners; and Trimble’s goal is to help them restart their work with greater agility as the lockdown is lifting and normal operations are resuming. “We are providing them with full support in running their tech-enabled workflows,” says  Harsh Pareek, Regional Sales Director, India and SAARC, Trimble Solutions, as he shares more...

How are you planning to help your customers get back to normal?

Speaking specifically for how we plan to help clients during the lockdown, we have taken a series of measures to help the individual companies accelerate the digitalisation of their workflows in these testing times. For example, Trimble has widened the scope and availability of the free trial of its structural BIM collaboration tool – Tekla Model Sharing. It is now available globally, including India, and can be used free for 90 days, even for business purposes. Additionally, all Tekla licenses can be now accessed remotely, free e-learning has been introduced across our portfolio, free trials are now available for various products, flexible licences all the way down to a few weeks of subscription have been offered, and our sales and services teams are available round the clock for any kind of assistance that will help customers work productively at home locations. 

What are the new opportunities and technologies you see emerging and playing a role in the industry’s comeback?

The imminent economic recession in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic forebodes a tough near-term outlook for the sector and while the industry gears up to bounce back, it must also 

recognise and seize this opportunity to accelerate its digital transformation for insulating itself from future shocks.

What the industry owners really need is to adopt a holistic view of the full construction life-cycle or ‘continuum’ to address this matter. The construction continuum for buildings is spread over the five key stages of planning, designing, engineering, construction, and finally occupancy and maintenance, and each stage of the life-cycle is rapidly being transformed by technology the world over through a holistic approach and engagement, often driven by the owners themselves.

Visualising the construction process as a continuum or placing a building (structure) along the various stages of a continuum is a powerful way for construction companies to analyse the business value of various technologies at each stage. Using the same scale as a reference, they can readily see the advantages digitalisation brings to actual construction or operations.

Various technologies, construction processes and methods such as Constructible BIM, prefabricated structures, mixed reality, Cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT), among others, can drive a massive change in how we design, build and operate projects. 

As disruptive technologies, they not only have the potential to create new benchmarks of value for all stakeholders in the construction ecosystem, but also shape new competitive advantages in the post-COVID world.