CORNER OFFICE
Covid Pandemic has Brought Absoluteness in Terms of Collaboration Despite multiple challenges, COVID-19 new norm, businesses are recognizing and adapting to digital tools to communicate information efficiently has proven to be an accelerator in the digital transformation of the construction and effectively to the dispersed workforces. industry, says Bryn Fosburgh, Senior Has COVID-19 altered construction Vice-President, Trimble, while sharing workflows? The construction sector has been, and will continue his perspective on how the sector to be the backbone of the economy, with construcis transforming. How has COVID-19 impacted the construction industry? The complexities exerted by the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry is for the world to see. And as in all businesses and industries, the productivity in this sector too continues to fall owing to construction site closures, supply chain disruptions and shortage of labor. However, the silver lining in these unprecedented times is that COVID-19 has proven to be an accelerator in the digital transformation of the construction industry. Digital construction technologies, including geospatial, BIM, and Digital Twin, have enabled virtual collaborations, refining the way construction workflows are conducted. This is helping the industry to transform and adjust to the new normal.
How do you think the pandemic is changing business process? Generally speaking, in the pre-COVID-19 environment, businesses around the world viewed physical interaction as a cornerstone for communication. When the pandemic hit, bringing in multiple uncertainties with it, businesses were left scrambling — trying to adjust to the new scenarios. The outbreak has brought with it, what one may call, a ‘new era of communication’. With the remote working environment becoming the 10 | www.geospatialworld.net | July-Aug 2020
tion-related spending accounting for at least 13.1% of the world’s GDP in 2019. That’s quite significant. Just like any other sector, the pandemic will have a strenuous impact on the construction sector globally.
