Pushing Construction's buttons

CAD+T's managing director Martina Schwarz says that competition for projects is only going to get tougher.
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In days gone by, the Middle East building industry was about as receptive to construction software as oil is to water.

Even in more recent years before the downturn, many GCC construction firms, whose priority was to take advantage of the building boom, felt little need to spend much, if any, amount of time implementing and adjusting to systems that appeared expensive, unnecessary and complex.

Today however, things are a little different. Following a huge slowdown in construction output over the last two years, the industry’s biggest software suppliers have been forced to get smarter, developing more advanced but easy-to-use progammes which can be quickly integrated into the hectic routines of project managers and which reflect the needs of the construction industry specifically.

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FEATURED COMMENT I somewhat agree with Schwarz, but definitely I will go back to the above subject regarding reusing the wastage & recycl   1 Comments Read more comments »

At the same time, construction companies themselves have become increasingly open-minded about technology, due to an immeasurable pressure on developers, contractors and architects to ensure projects are delivered on time and to budget.

“Lately, especially after the downturn, we have seen a shift in the way people are thinking about construction software,” explains Tekla’s development manager for Middle East building and construction software, Muneer Abdel. “More and more people are now turning to technology to enhance the efficiency of a project and reduce wastage.

“Everyone knows that the construction industry is a very wasteful industry, and whereas companies used to put the wastage costs on the property value, allowing the end user to cover them, now they cannot do this anymore, and thus they cannot afford the wastage.

The problem with wastage is that it can mean you have to delay or even shelve a project altogether.”

Certainly, it is the view of the entire software sector that construction software is becoming more popular based on economic circumstances.

According to CAD+T’s managing director Martina Schwarz, one of the biggest reasons for investing in these systems is as a means of achieving competitive advantage at a time when new contracts are more difficult to come by, and when successful project delivery is more important than ever before.

“One of the things we are seeing in the market at the moment is that it is becoming tougher for project managers to handle their projects,” she explains. “There is now much more pressure to ensure low costs whilst improving quality, and in less time.

“And the competition in this market is only going to get worse,” she adds.  “To be competitive, companies need to reduce their costs, they need to know what they’re doing, they need to be faster and they need to be more accurate. The main way to save time and costs in this region is to automise.”