- Pratap Padode, Founder, ASAPP Info Global Group, and Editor-in-Chief, CONSTRUCTION WORLD We are living in the 21st century where being a part of the information revolution is the only way to be. You can pay digitally, you can view digitally, you can have meetings digitally, you can take medical advice digitally, you can conduct arbitration matters digitally, you can bid digitally, you can receive subsidies and loans digitally, you can pay taxes digitally; now you can also have faceless assessments digitally, you can hold businesses to ransom digitally and you can bring down governments or influence elections digitally!! Digital applications have also made inroads into our industry. Our architects use software for designing plans, our engineers use software applications in planning precise executions, our site surveyors use drones in surveying sites, technology is used in soil investigation. With BIM, digital 3D models that include data associated with physical and functional characteristics can be designed. BIM allows architects, engineers and contractors to collaborate on coordinated models. According to the results of the latest IDC global survey, Indian private companies are spearheading the BIM revolution and it is mostly being used for overseas clients. Recent examples include Bangalore Airport and Delhi Metro Rail but the industry as a whole is lagging in this regard. According to IDC’s findings, only 3 per cent of companies have successfully traversed the digital transformation journey. Thirty-two per cent of construction companies currently only spend 1-3 per cent of their annual turnover on technologies, while just 2.5 per cent spend over 25 per cent. Despite the benefits, 95 per cent of organisations worldwide use digital construction solutions in just 50 per cent or less of their projects, while only 2 per cent use digital construction solutions in over 60 per cent of their projects. Over half of India’s construction companies, including those involved in rail, road and housing projects, currently only spend 1-3 per cent of their annual turnover on technologies, while one-third spend 3-5 per cent, according to a survey The benefits of tech include overall project management and performance; improving health and safety; control of time and scheduling; control of costs and waste; collaboration among different stakeholders; project documentation and stakeholder engagement; and a single source of truth of project data. In India, many companies are using technologies like augmented reality to enhance the home-buying experience. Here the benefit is tangible and is one example of why other benefits that are more subtle do not have a buy-in. In times of COVID, labour costs have gone up and skilled labour would cost even more. It is time to pay for output than input. It is time to evaluate outcome, not just income. Trust is another area that scores during such times of crisis and rewards trust owners with far greater premium than average. A brand that commands trust, quality, design and value is the brand to aspire to be. Each of the winners at CWAB have a tremendous brand of their own that stands for many of the attributes that stakeholders in the industry wish to see in the best. As American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”