How often do you wish you had a 3D model of your home that could connect to furniture stores and builders for your next home improvement projects? Why hasn’t the customer experience changed that much in the built environment and yet so many of our experiences in other transactions have become more convenient with digital tools and apps? Today's episode is all about the customer experience and customer journey in the built environment. I had the great pleasure of speaking to Harri Majala, who is a 2nd generation builder, 1st generation Contech CEO/Founder. Harri founded GBuilder in 2013 to solve problems he was facing in his everyday life with his own family construction company. After the first version hit the markets in early 2015 he has been developing GBuilder with the most innovative builders and developers in Europe to become the market leader in improved customer journeys throughout the building's lifecycle, from inception to demolition.

Do we need #blockchain in #construction? "No," says Daniel Hall. Not at least for automation of tasks. Erika sat down to speak to Daniel Hall - Assistant Professor of Innovative and Industrial Construction at the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering of ETH Zürich. The overarching theme of his research is to enhance governance, productivity, and innovation in construction projects through a transformation from fragmented project delivery methods to new organizational models that integrate the supply chain of the vertically and horizontally fragmented construction industry. His work finds that in order to foster more innovation in products and processes, the #AEC industry must embrace new technologies, governance strategies, and organizational models. His current research interests include Industrialized Construction, Governance of Integrated Project Delivery, Blockchain in Construction, Adoption of Systemic Innovations, Industry 4.0, and Entrepreneurship in AEC.

By now you will have heard many episodes from BeyondBIM that talk about digital twins, but what about digital threads? In this episode, Dr. Don Kinard from Lockheed Martin explains to us what the digital thread is and how it is used by Lockheed Martin. We also discuss what it means to smaller organisations wishing to embark upon the digital twin thread journey. If you don’t know who Don is he is a Senior Fellow for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Production Operations and has been with LM for 36 years. Don supports Digital Transformation as well as programs such as F-35. Prior to his current assignment, he was lead for the F-35 production rate transition program and earlier the Director of F-35 Production Engineering - responsible for Joint Strike Fighter Tooling, Planning, Manufacturing Engineering, and Aircraft Systems Testing. And if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy he is also the lead for the LM Corporate Fellow’s Manufacturing Team whose objective is to develop and share engineering, manufacturing, and sustainment technologies throughout all of the LM business units.

Many organizations are contemplating on digital twin journey perhaps wondering what the transition looks like from #BIM to #DigitalTwins. Very few know what resources and tools are available to begin designing digital twins to help close the loop of occupant feedback into building designs. We’ve all come across Autodesk Forge - but what about Dasher? Dasher has evolved and is creating that steppingstone towards a digital twins transition in Autodesk. In today’s episode, I am pleased to bring to you a discussion with Kean Walmsley on the exciting emerging technology developments and R&D projects from Autodesk Research Lab related to digital twins. Kean Walmsley is a Software Architect working on projects that integrate IoT data with BIM (sometimes called Digital Twins) via the Forge platform, as well as working on Generative Design in the AEC space. He has worked in various roles – and in various countries – during his career at Autodesk, including building and managing teams of software developers in Europe, the Americas, and Asia/Pacific. Kean engages regularly with Autodesk’s developer and computational design communities, providing technical content and insights into technology evolution.

How often do we hear about the problem of interoperability discussed ad nauseam? And how often do we feel as though a discussion on the solution is missing, we’ve all heard about IFC’s and Semantic Web. But what about connection profiles? In today’s episode, we are pleased to bring to you a discussion with Anto Budiardjo on the potential solution to the interoperability conundrum and keeping the digital threads and fabrics of the digital twin in constant connection and integration. Anto is a veteran in the connected building space. Since 1989, he has led the development and promotion of building connectivity and integration technologies. His first product, the CdC Engine, first installed in 1991, was deployed widely in the UK and Europe through integrators and OEMs. The so-called “Engine” was the first PC-based integration platform and graphical UI for buildings. Today, Anto is focused on a new venture to bring system integration into the Internet era with an online integration and collaboration platform called Padi.io. Core to his current work is the advocacy of Connection Profiles, an integration mechanism created by Padi, and now being adopted as an open mechanism by Digital Twin communities including the Digital Twin Consortium, as a key integration tool. This tool really could be a stepping stone for integration for building twins and beyond.

Today’s episode is a discussion about the evolution of BIM and the transition towards digital twins. Erika Pärn had the pleasure of speaking to none other than David Philp. Listeners in the UK will have come across David as a prominent lead figure in the UK BIM mandate. David was seconded in the UK Cabinet Office in 2011 as Head of BIM Implementation and has been a key contributor to the UK public sector BIM mandate and continues to support through his role as Impact Director at the Construction Innovation Hub. He was also seconded into the Scottish Future Trust (SFT) as Chair of the Scottish BIM Delivery Group. With over 25 years in the industry, David is a Chartered Construction Manager by background and Global (BIM) Consultancy Director for AECOM. His work with BIM has a global reach from UK, Hong-Kong, Singapore, Australia, and the Baltics. As always we discuss all things digital but most importantly what the penultimate motivation is for policy and government with these transitions. Because of David’s experience in the policy realm since the start of it all with the BIM Task Group, Erika thought it was best to get his perspective on the evolution of BIM and discuss where we may be heading.

Macro BIM and Beyond by Dr Erika Pärn

Today’s episode is a deeper look into Construction 4.0 from an academics perspective. Erika Pärn wanted to dig deeper and find out if Construction 4.0 is just another consultant catchphrase or is there more to this transition. Erika had the pleasure of speaking to Professor Paul Chan he joined her to share his thoughts on the debates around construction 4.0 and making sense of the changing markets in construction. If you don’t know who Paul is, Paul Chan is a Professor of Design and Construction Management at the Faculty of Architecture and The Built Environment in TU Delft in the Netherlands. Paul has developed a track record in studying how people cope with organizational, social, and technological change. He is currently Principal Investigator of ‘Stepping Out’, a five-year research program that examines transdisciplinary learning for addressing multiple sustainable transitions, funded by the Dutch funding agency. He is Editor-in-Chief of Construction Management and Economics, and a committee member of the ARCOM. He has authored/co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles. He also co-authored Constructing Futures (2010), a book on leadership and futures thinking in the construction industry.

Today you have the pleasure of hearing from all of the authors of a recently published book, entitled: Four Futures, One Choice. Four Futures One Choice is an e-book, written in laymens terms by researchers from the Centre for Digital Built Britain in Cambridge. This book presents four future scenarios for what the construction sector of 2040 could look like, depending on the choices we make today. It provides a future lens enabling us to view, with clarity and detail, four scenarios of what Britain could look like in 2040, depending upon the decisions that are made now, in these unprecedented times.

Today’s episode is another look into the state of BIM in 2021 and beyond, from an academics perspective. Erika had the pleasure of getting Professor David Greenwood to join her and share his thoughts and projections on the ever-changing landscape of construction management. David Greenwood is Professor of Construction Management in the Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University in the UK. David is a prominent academic and has authored over 150 publications, authored and co-authored several textbooks. He is perhaps best known as the previous Chair of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (better known as ARCOM) and as the co-founder and director of the well-known BIM Academy. With his experience of over twenty years in consulting, training, and lecturing we thought we would hear his projections and thoughts on the state of BIM and emerging technologies such as blockchain.

Today’s episode is a look into the future state of BIM in 2021 and beyond, this is a practitioner’s perspective. I had the pleasure of getting Vicki Reynolds to join me and share her thoughts and projections on the ever-changing landscape of the built environment. Vicki is the chief technology officer for i3PT and a UK BIM Alliance Ambassador. She is perhaps best known for her work as an active member of the digital construction community both locally and globally, sitting as global vice-chair for Women in BIM, as a member of the CIOB’s special interest group for digital, and the IET’s built environment panel. Vicki works hard to promote STEM and construction to women and girls, and in today’s discussion reminds us as women to stay true to ourselves in the construction industry.

In today’s episode, we discuss the state of digitalisation in the built environment and the inevitable transition from BIM to digital twins. A topic we have covered numerous times on this podcast, but today's guest is a widely recognized academic and entrepreneur. I will be speaking with Dr. Issa Ramaji assistant professor at Roger William University and co-founder of Data Arrows. Issa is well-known in the built environment scientific community and is an associate editor of ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering. In addition, is currently leading the Data and Interoperability group in the Digital Twin Consortium. I sat down to talk to Issa about digital twins, responding to the covid-19 pandemic with digital twins, and what the gradual transition could look like in the built environment from BIM to digital twin. Issa also reminds our academic listeners not to fall into the trap of the latest new technology and to question the ultimate purpose or problem we are trying to solve as researchers.

We're sure many of you when you think about Beyond BIM and the technologies that really push technicians in their day to day jobs, it will inevitably fall upon design automation. Automation with BIM has become increasingly more accessible due to visual programming tools such as Dynamo and Grasshopper. In today's episode, Erika Pärn had the pleasure of speaking with Marcello Sgambelluri on the state of computational design and automation with BIM. Marcello has worked on many BIM projects over the last 20 years as a project manager, design engineer, and BIM Director. In his early career, he was inspired by the likes of Frank Wright, alongside whom he also worked with, which inevitably led him down the path of pursuing computational design and BIM automation with real intent. Marcello is internationally recognized as one of the top BIM leaders and contributors to the education and implementation of BIM technology in the building industry. Marcello continually speaks at Autodesk University and the Revit Technology Conference BILT, where he has received the 1st place speaker award for a record of 16 times!

You have probably started 2021 thinking about your career and goals or ambitions for the upcoming year. Today's interview will hopefully give you much-needed inspiration and kick you back into action on making your career path your own. I sat down to speak with Elinor Moshe. Elinor is both ambitious and driven. She is a thought leader in the construction industry. Her passion to guide, inspire and direct future leaders and industry professionals led her to the founding of Construction Coach. She is also the host of the Constructing You podcast and has a #1 best-selling book called "Constructing Your Career." This is recommended for anyone wishing to start the new year with more purpose to step into the proverbial driver's seat of your career. We spoke about mentoring, coaching, and the mindset of built environment professionals.

In today's episode, we explore digital twins in more depth. I spoke with a fellow University of Cambridge alumni Dr. Eva Agapaki. Eva is currently working at PTC as innovation lead and senior software developer. There she applies cutting-edge computer vision and deep learning algorithms in engineering applications, most notably in the field of digital twinning. We discuss her most recent innovative research on a system called CLOI-NET and what is needed for making digital twinning of complex infrastructure a possibility.

When we think of robotics today, there is only one company that almost everyone can agree will come to mind, Boston Dynamics. Whether it was their clever SPOT robot seen on construction sites or their entertaining Christmas dance performed by robots - Boston Dynamics has remained at the forefront of everyone's newsfeeds, entertaining us at times and frightening us at the sheer speed at which robotics has come. To find out more about the future trajectory of robotics in construction, we have sought to seek guidance from Brian Ringley. Brian Ringley is the Construction Technology Manager at Boston Dynamics. He supports AECOO customer applications for the Spot platform and promotes the development of new autonomous behavior that adds value to construction project delivery. Whom better to expand on this topic than Brian, who prior to Boston Dynamics, was a Senior Construction Automation Researcher at WeWork, where he managed the construction robotics research program and contributed to initiatives in design automation and modular prefabrication.

The construction field is being introduced to an increasing number of digital platform solutions. In today's episode, we speak to Andres Kuuse, founder of Fizure, a platform that supports Job costing tools for Real Estate developers & General contractors & Engineering companies. However, this is not his first venture-Andres previously has co-founded a company called DeltaBid, now called SkySelect, which was a marketplace for large aviation companies to source planes repair parts. In today's episode, Andres introduces us to Fizure and gives us a glimpse into the transition into the AEC domain and start-up life experiences. Fizure is a project budget management tool for general contractors, real-estate developers, and engineering companies. Fizure provides a real-time overview of project costs, forecasts, and commitments for the management. To learn more, visit www.fizure.com.

The digitalisation of the entire building #lifecycle has been talked about for quite some time. But if to reach its vision, it requires transformative services and experiences. In today's episode, we delve into the Digital Building Lifecycle framework introduced to us by Salla Eckhardt. Salla Eckhardt is the Director of Transformation Services at Microsoft. Salla identifies herself as an innovation leader, and an industry change agent specialized in the digital transformation of the digital building lifecycle. She has also been widely recognized as one of the most innovative and forward-thinking people in the sector. Her strategy is to unify a clear vision around the Digital Building Lifecycle framework: consolidating the physical, social, and digital environments as a data-centric entity and empowering the end-user experiences with emerging technologies.

Today’s interview we delve deeper into systems thinking and flourishing systems in the infrastructure domain. I sat down with my fellow colleague Dr Jennifer Schooling who is the Director of the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC), at the University of Cambridge. She is also an important lead academic at the centre for digital Built Britain where we both contribute our research towards national digital twin program. Jennifer is passionate about changing the way the infrastructure and construction industries view data, to become a vital asset in its own right, and as an engineering tool for tackling the key challenges facing our industry, including climate change, resource constraint and resilience.She reminds us that we often lose track of what is most important when building infrastructure, that we should keep in mind the value it delivers to societies.

Today’s interview we delve deeper into knowledge ecosystems and competencies in the wider built environment context. Making sense of noise amidst the technology frenzies is increasingly complex and so is keeping up competencies and skills of workers. Today I sat down with Debbie Carlton, Director of Dynamic Knowledge, to discuss the state of competency development. Debbie is a specialist focused on working with organisations who want intelligent and sustainable solutions to solving capability, capacity and competence challenges arising from the changing world of work, increased automation, AI and digital transformation. Debbie reminds us that people are at the heart of productivity particularly their continued competency development.