Monthly Focus |
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By Anna McCrea, senior consultant at Davis Langdon Management Consulting. |
The invisible revolution in the world of mobile technology, affecting all aspects of personal, private and virtual space, has hit the construction industry. This was the message, ringing out loud and clear, at the conference, Mobile Technology in Construction, held on 29 November 2005.
With the rapidly increasing density of hotspots per square mile, chances are that you are almost always within a wireless environment, whether you are in business, education, or at home. Wireless technology is, increasingly, a prerequisite in operations and management and must be adopted by the construction industry. The drivers currently focusing the construction industry on mobile technologies, are the push in mobile field solutions, the need to enable operatives on site and the need to collect real-time data.
Mobile field solutions rely on mobile technologies and devices that "alert-identify-react" to situations instantaneously and remotely. This results in timely, pro-active, enhanced services and efficient safety standards. These applications facilitate ease in coordination, communication and scheduling of tasks. Being able to perform efficiently will differentiate the good practitioners from the mediocre. The technology is there, it just has to be used wisely for enhanced performance and services.
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What's New |
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Sharing and exchanging data on buried services
A new national underground assets group (NUAG) will champion better coordination and information exchange between utility companies, highway authorities and other interested parties. It aims to produce best practice guidelines for the collection, exchange, reuse and recording of information on underground assets.
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"The adoption of a common framework for referencing all aspects of the national infrastructure is key to providing the right platform for the sharing of information between utilities, local and central government," says Ordnance Survey Director and ICE/ICES Buried Services Board member, James Brayshaw. |
Information on where pipes, cables and other equipment buried beneath our roads are located is critical for the safety of workers digging up the road, and the general public, and can also help minimise disruption to road users and the community.
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Don't forget, all our members can claim a special discount on the new book on knowledge management in construction edited by Chimay J. Anumba, Charles Egbu and Patricia Carrillo. Sir Michael Latham says the book provides practical guidance and adds, "I consider it essential reading for all participants in the construction process..." |
Contributors from industry and research, including the editors, show how managing construction knowledge can bring real benefits to organisations and projects. They cover a wide range of issues, from basic definitions and fundamental concepts, to the role of information technology.
In the shops at £49.95, as a free member of The IT Construction Forum, you pay just £35.00 plus £2.75 for postage.
An edited extract will appear in the next issue of insITe to be published early in 2006 but you can read the introduction to the book now at www.blackwellpublishing.com/1405129727. To claim your discount call 01235 465550 and quote the code ANB2.
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Thank you to all those of you who took part in our survey sponsored by Information Age. The winners have now been informed and will shortly receive their iPod nanos. One of the many things the survey told us is that you value our monthly e-bulletins and so we will try to make them even more useful! Those of you who qualify as free members of The IT Construction Forum, and receive our print newsletter, also value this highly and so we are investigating the possibility of expanding it to include more articles and information on new technologies. Any of you who are in the IT industry might like to know that you can advertise in the newsletter, e-bulletins or on the website.
Despite the excellent response to our survey, there are still many of you who have not supplied sufficient information to continue to qualify as 'free members' of the Forum. We hope to contact you in the next month or two to check if you want to continue to receive membership benefits. Do please take a few moments to reply.
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You could win one of free prizes by completing a survey for COMIT, Construction Opportunities for Mobile IT, at www.comitproject.org.uk for a chance to win one of:
- HP iPaq hx2410 featuring Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
- Logitech io2 digital writing system
- Palm Tungsten E
COMIT brings together stakeholders from the construction and IT industries to implement mobile technologies in construction.
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The IT Construction Forum
Constructing Excellence
Warwick House
25 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 0PP
Helpdesk: 0845 605 5556
itcf@constructingexcellence.org.uk
Karl Williams, Manager of The IT Construction Forum, can be contacted on 020 7592 1137
This enews is edited for the IT Construction Forum by Mary-Lou Nash. Material for possible submission in this bulletin or in our print newsletter, insITe, can be submitted direct to: itcf@constructingexcellence.org.uk
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About The IT Construction Forum |
The IT Construction Forum supports companies in the construction sector make better use of IT in their business and management practices.
Get more information about the forum by viewing the website at: www.itconstructionforum.org.uk.
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