Technology is shaping how we work and how we live. Super fast broadband, smart phones and tablets have changed how we work, where and when we work and how we use our free time. We have to remember that technology is a tool. It is just another process that we can and should control to improve what we are doing already. Technology must not own us. That’s the key to the successful application of Building Information Modelling. 

Too many people become distracted by the systems being employed or developed and sold by IT and software organisations. We often risk forgetting to focus on how the process itself can help design, engineering, contractors, suppliers and facilities managers to create and then manage world class buildings. That is why the marvellous simplicity of the camera mounted mini-helicopter being used by Kier to monitor and assess sections of Cardiff Pointe waterfront residential development is so brilliant. 

It is a perfect example of how construction teams can harness technology, even if it does first appear as a gimmick, to gather important data and improve the design, engineering and planning process. So, do not be nervous of technology – embrace it, own it, and take charge of it so that you can use it for the benefit of your schemes and our industry.