Embracing Change a Construction Must for Success

No industry was expecting or had prepared for the year 2020. Construction in Namibia has had its fair share of adversity in recent years, from drought-related effects to various other economical factors, which negatively impacted the industry and the global COVID 19 pandemic has certainly added to the fray of challenges.

Flexibility and rapid adoption of market conditions are vital in the 21st Century business operations. And the recent global pandemic attests to this theory. Prokon Software Consultants has taken to these challenges, assessed, adapted, and introduced new options to the Digital Engineering subscriber market fit for a new trajectory that the world is moving into. ‘’It’s a process, introducing intelligent solutions to the industry and it won’t happen overnight, but it’s vital that Business Owners and Project Members evolve with impending challenges and disruptions’’ notes Heiko Reiff, Prokon Namibia Sales Manager, ‘’New concepts are born, that need to be embraced by Companies fully and if not, these could have adverse impacts in the future’’.

Prokon, well aware and experiencing the downturn in the construction industry in recent years, weathering the repercussion of various factors ranging from Environmental, Economic, and Regional challenges, saw Prokon changing trajectory and re-inventing itself.

‘’I heard about Prokon while still studying’’ states Julio Kaudinge, the Technical Specialist, at Prokon Namibia, who has been with the ‘’It’s a process, introducing intelligent solutions to the industry and it won’t happen overnight, but it’s vital that Business Owners and Project Members evolve with impending challenges and disruptions’’ notes Heiko Reiff, Prokon Namibia Sales Manager, ‘’New concepts are born, that need to be embraced by Companies fully and if not, these could have adverse impacts in the future’’

Prokon team for four years, ‘’I have always wanted to work for them, and being part of a team that I continuously learn and grow from is such an honor’’. The young engineer provides coaching and support for various AEC Autodesk Products: AutoCAD, Civil 3D + Storm, and Sanitary analysis, Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, Map 3D, Infraworks, Advance Steel, Vehicle tracking, Raster Design along with Prokon modules such as: Sumo, ProBAR, and Frame analysis.

With the company celebrating its 30th year in 2019, developing digital engineering solutions, Prokon has become synonymous in the engineering industry for its structural engineering analysis and design products. The company has been the first Autodesk Gold Partner to be awarded the Construction Specialization in the Autodesk EMEA region.

Today, Prokon is subscribed to in over 80 countries, with 9 Distributors worldwide by 2019. A 20-year partnership with Autodesk, as a reseller and developer, complements the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Sector, with integrated AEC digital solutions.

‘’The biggest challenge in introducing intelligent solutions is the dissent we find between the older generation and the younger tech-savvy generation, younger engineers are much more welcoming of the new technologies and new methodologies of doing things’’ Julio assess over challenges Prokon is facing in implementing the new technological route. Free movement, business travel, and face to face engagement with partners and clientele have contributed, to say the least, disruption to everyday proceedings as well, due to the Covid19 pandemic lockdown and quarantine measures.

Scrambling for alternative strategies to continue operations and engagements has become a top priority for most organizations. Prokon being a digital evangelist, recognized this as an opportunity for more solutions to be explored, unearthed, and implemented. One such shift in operations for the Prokon team was the transformations from traditional classroom coaching. The benefits dawned on the team immediately, various options outweighed previous methods, as suddenly a worldwide audience could be reached with ease through digital platforms providing endless possibilities.

Previous logistical challenges suddenly seemed something of the past. From a few basic pilot sessions, which then grew into Technical Engineering value sessions; audience interest has grown rapidly ever since. On the 17th September 2020, Prokon presented the first of many virtual TechTalks, sharing valuable knowledge and expertise with their Subscriber audience Subscribers, engineers, and various other construction personas from 21 Countries enjoyed the live interactive sessions. Concrete Colum design was the subject discussed.

Along with successful online coaching platforms in place the Prokon team, following the reduced activity in the construction industry as of 2016, over the past four to five years the company has been ambassadors of

new methodologies and solutions that can revolutionize and provide much-needed solutions to the industry in Namibia. Not much has changed over the last few centuries on a construction site itself, the paradigm shift has occurred in the design, documentation, and collaboration processes and methodologies, pre-, during, and postcompletion, that have driven construction professionals to seek a solution to align goals with needs.

‘’As an industry, we collectively need to have the drive to adapt and to change and realize the benefits. We all need to collectively have a paradigm shift. The reality is that we will need to build smarter and deliver more with less, during these challenging times ’’ states Heiko.

Such a paradigm shift is BIM, a seamless process that is gaining momentum worldwide in the construction industry and is being considered essential for successful project completion nowadays. Members can work from any geographical location and still be connected to a Project. This strategy going forward can be a great contributor to construction projects, as skills and expertise from a global field can be sourced and merged into a collaborative effort. With an intelligent Digital Twin, accessible information, and data available in a common data environment (CDE) and a digital interactive conference application, the need to travel to site meetings can drastically be reduced and can cater to the new direction most companies are slowly starting to implement. One of the most noticeable challenges in bringing new solutions to companies is to challenge the mindsets, admits the Prokon team.

improved process, not only during planning, design and construction processes but also post-completion, once facility hand over commences. Owner/operators now have the capabilities to operate, manage, and maintain assets more efficiently by accessible, datadriven information handed down from the design and build phase’’, says Heiko. model-based process that equips architecture, engineering, and construction professionals with the insight and tools to efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure.

Offices and the workplace as we know it, are busy evolving as well. Corporations and business owners are reconsidering their business masterplans. Employees and Project

BIM is an intelligent 3D(Digital Twin)

‘’Stakeholder benefits greatly from the Presentetion for concret collum design, TechTalk: Johan du Plessis

ways of doing things, mind you technology is advancing at a rapid pace and if things don’t change that will hinder the growth of the industry’’ Julio affirms. While some Organizations are early and fast adopters, which embraced the new possibilities, others are more sedate adopters.

‘’Different recipes work for different Organizations. The important matter is, that each Construction Member assesses and plans for the future on a regular basis”, notes Heiko. ‘’We are making a difference with intelligent solutions, helping people complete projects more successfully, and adding value to an industry that can be extremely risky to compete in’’ Heiko adds, ‘’Policy makers should consider mandating BIM guidelines and standards for projects in Namibia, which we believe, all Stakeholders will benefit greatly from in the future.