Data analyst and data manager
The construction industry has the largest projects in the world, resulting in huge volumes of data being generated. There is a need to integrate and link design data, to financial data, to scheduling, to corporate documents. This is useful for the bigger picture of the project. This is what building information modelling (BIM) is; it’s a data-driven system. Gradually the amount of data in a project will increase as elements such as virtual reality, augmented reality, weather, geographical information, health and safety are added to the picture. Therefore, big data managers and analyst are encroaching into the construction industry, as we see industry and tech partnerships develop data management tools. Because of this, we should expect to see new data managers and analyst jobs in construction, whose roles will be key in;
· Redefining construction planning and tracking.
· Merging artificial intelligence with data to form a unified knowledge base.
· Analysis to inform advanced infrastructure for future development.
Programmers and Coders
Following the BIM adoption movement, there’s been the lingering question; should construction professionals learn to code? Have you ever wished your software worked a little differently? Have you ever wondered, “if only it did this, I could get this work done much quicker”?
If yes, then you could probably use surface level programming. Most programs today come with an application programming interface (API). API allows you to access the deeper workings of a software. You can use the API to write code to either automate the program or to add new features. This is applicable to most CAD and BIM software. Additionally, programming allows you to work lazy. That is, maximising efficiency using minimum effort. Say you need to copy hundreds of warranty files from one folder to another and rename them with updated dates. You could either do this manually, which could days and ultimately feel like years, or you could write a program that does it for you. Lastly, programming should be sort out as a problem-solving tool. Learning some code can help you solve the kind of computing problems you face every day. Professionals in the built sector shouldn’t be content with the software companies provide for us, they should also be making their own tools.
IT and construction technologists
The IT department in construction companies is mostly there to fix laptops, workstations and to reset your password, again. However, the role of IT in the built sector is evolving. As the industry invests in more technology, decisions and suggestions from IT workers becomes more relevant. There’s more to IT than just hardware and software. Given the ever-growing reliance of construction companies on software and cloud-supported technologies, it stands to reason that the people making these decisions should be at least integrally connected to them, at best be its core users. While it might seem logical to give every technology task to the IT team, it does not benefit a company overall in the long term. A new way is to hire or promote employees to a role dedicated to making important technology decisions. There is a coined term for these employees, construction technologists. Hiring someone to fill this role is currently a daunting task, as it is not clear what profession or experience to look for. Do you hire an IT expert with interest in construction, or do you hire a construction engineer with IT interest? Is there a career path perfectly aligned with both? Who knows? A good place to start is by gauging in-house employees’ interests and initiatives. A good construction technologist will be;
· Interested in construction technology.
· Passionate about bringing the right tech on board to improve productivity.
· Someone who comes from the industry, knows the processes, can find solutions and can effectively test whether or not they work.
· An individual who understands the needs and pain points of the field
Construction is getting more and more reliant on technology, and that’s never going to change. Don’t wait to find out the hard way how vital these roles are; start today with a simple company skills audit.
