Is Digital Transition cost effective for small business in M&E construction sector?

The definition that tells us what the digital transition is cannot be taken for granted. At first glance, it can seem very decisive and precise, while on the other hand, it depends on who reads it for what purposes and, most importantly, what is the goal he wants to achieve. During much research on my way to digital transition, I came across a lot of too extensive information which, first of all, creates a certain dose of aversion to BIM, digital transition and change in general, especially for small business, as it requires a lot of investments.

Change

The change required by digital transformation is huge and although we talk a lot about changes in the digital sense, in this process the biggest role is played by cultural change that affects all participants. Setting or changing procedures or standards within a company is the biggest change for all participants and thus the most challenging part of this journey. Change should be gradual and planned. Small companies do not have the luxury of change happening immediately in all fields. The people who play a big role in these changes are also the resources necessary for the smooth operation of your small business, so planning is the main tool on your journey. Setting priorities and small steps towards the goal will enable progress, while at the same time not interfering with your daily commitments.

Implementation

The implementation of your digital transition roadmap won’t be easy, that’s for sure. The more you give, the more you get, right? So if you decide to give more of your time, your money, your knowledge, more you will get at the end. It’s that simple, but yet that hard.

There are different approaches to your implementation strategy and you should define your goals and needs before you start to actually implement things. It doesn’t have to mean that your way will be the right way at first, but remember, this journey is what is important and not only the final goal. You can decide to improve tools and resources that you already have which can be easier in a way as you will for example keep using familiar software, but before you decide this is the right way as it could be more cost effective at first, ask yourself what are your needs and do you get the maximum from your tools at the moment. If your answer does not comply with your goals, then the other approach can be used which I like to describe as starting from the scratch. This means that you will have to do a little research in order to find the best tool for your needs and get training for your employees. This approach will demand more investment, but it will improve your business and meet your needs. If you still ask yourself is it worth it, trust me, it is!

Change won’t happen overnight, but once you see the first benefits on your way it will become easier. Segregating implementation into departments will allow each team in your organisation to find the best way to implement changes. Set up achievable goals and this will result in seeing small but effective results over time and will definitely reduce possibility for failure. Work smart, not hard!

Education

The Education is a very important element of the digital transition. You need to make sure that the people in charge of implementing new processes and procedures, as well as setting standards have the basic knowledge and understanding of what their task is. This will reduce the level of frustration that the change itself brings.

Hiring professionals to help them in this process is the first step in the implementation, as well as one of the first costs that your company will face on this journey. Is it worth it? Of course it is! Remember that this is your execution team and that their role is really important on this digitalisation journey. The benefits that this will bring to your company are much greater than these costs. For example, in terms of coordination of the M&E project BIM implementation will reduce the number of working hours on the construction site, reduce the number of collisions between different disciplines and enable off-site fabrication which will bring you benefits in time, money, safety and quality of the executed work.

Technology is evolving at an incredible rate and in the digital world this is reflected in our business. It is necessary to raise the awareness of all people in our sector that one-time education is not the solution, but constant improvement is needed in order to maintain competitiveness, attractiveness, sustainability and quality.

Bim In Digital Transition Journey

BIM (Building Information Modelling) is the heart of the digital transition journey. Several studies suggest that BIM is the cornerstone of the digitalisation processes. Interesting in these studies are the reports given which show exact benefits of digitalisation and BIM use among design teams, clients and contractors. Each sector is experiencing their own benefits exactly in a way that they have defined their needs in their digital roadmap. For contractors, which is definitely our area of interest, crucial benefits are improved competitiveness in a tender stage and percentage of successful projects, but also reduced constructability issues as mentioned earlier. Engagement in BIM has also reduced issues at handover stage and has highly improved cost and scheduling control.

If you still have second thoughts if BIM is really necessary for you or if the digital transition is too much for your company, think again about these official reports that show you real benefits of the BIM and digital transition proven in practice. Do research and think about changes that you will have to make to meet your goals.

Small businesses should recognize that BIM is an absolute must have. BIM adoption now will prepare them for the future in addition to providing them with well-known BIM benefits for better project outcomes.