RICS B U I L DI N G SURV E YI N G J OURN A L
P R O P TE CH
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roperty technology, more commonly referred to as proptech, is defined by RICS as a “term that refers to all aspects of innovation and how this impacts the built environment. This includes software, hardware, materials or manufacturing” (www.rics.org/proptech). Proptech is nothing new, and surveyors have been using it for many years to help them provide professional services. Today, however, the term has an increased visibility, and on an almost daily basis there is some new reference to proptech, innovation and disruption in professional publications or online, and concern is expressed about how these will affect the role of the surveyor (see for instance Building Surveying Journal May/June, p.4). Some of this coverage is worded in a threatening way, to shock or scare you into thinking that it won’t be long before the surveyor is completely replaced by robots and artificial intelligence. But I don’t subscribe to this view: proptech enables surveyors to augment their outputs, building on their professional judgement and reflective thought. RICS celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Throughout the past century and a half, surveyors have been both proactive and reactive in solving problems. Even though surveyors today still face the same challenges as their predecessors, they now operate in an industry where advances in technology, specifically proptech, have had a significant impact on the roles they carry out. Some find it difficult to embrace the change, but it presents an opportunity for others who have the mindset and motivation to respond positively.
Pace of change The industry is changing at an unprecedented pace, and proptech is today more a mainstream requirement than an optional extra. Surveyors now face an increasing number of opportunities that are only open to those who can demonstrate ability and experience in using proptech. Surveyors who have not used proptech before but who say that if they were to win the opportunity then they would do 16 OC T OBER/NO V EMBER 2 018
Positivity or pessimism? Invest in proptech before you need to use it advises Anthony Walker, as he looks at surveyors’ attitudes to adoption so are unlikely to secure work. If they did, the chances of them completing that project successfully on time are likely to be slim. Yet this is the stance some companies have taken, and still take, on adopting proptech: they will only use it when they have won an opportunity to justify doing so. But at this point there may be insufficient time for adequate training. Attempting to adopt new
technology at the same time as mobilising a new project is risky to say the least. In my role as proptech lead on the RICS Building Surveying Professional Group Board, I meet surveyors who say their employers will not invest in proptech until they have secured a fee first. The analogy I use in response to this is that it’s a little like not learning to drive until someone asks you to make a journey that