Data the future of construction

It's quite remarkable to observe that this vigorously unfolding topic brings back to the fore the nagging question of the industrialization of a profession in search of transformation. However, it should also be noted that this new requirement is mainly called for by numerous observers, but mainly from outside the sector. And this split between professionals and so-called civil society needs to be taken into account.

It's a highly sensitive subject, because it seems inescapable, but it also brings back to the fore severe controversies that took place several decades ago. Back then, numerous attempts at prefabrication, this time internal, ended in bitter failure for their initiators. They were all described as "crane-track" approaches and associated with the ghettoization of many areas.

But this trend does little to hide a paradox that seems natural to many people. Mainstream construction is irremediably associated with a lack of quality, with its definitive vernacular character and, for some, with a lack of qualifications. Yet this does not prevent us from celebrating the clear progress made in the construction of high-rise buildings emblematic of the metropolitan boom. This ambiguity cannot be ignored.

The contradiction it reveals needs to be addressed if we are to envisage new avenues for a response that is not in vain.

Given the recurrence of the problem, the first idea is to ask whether the current state of affairs does not in fact reflect a particular form of industrialization of a product so specific that it escapes the canons of rules successfully practiced in industry. This would seem to be a necessary evil inherent in the very nature of the "built environment", which closely combines technology and experience, the human sciences and engineering.

The second point concerns digitalization, which is sweeping through and transforming all our businesses. From this angle, isn't there a way of approaching the situation in a new way? Wouldn't data be a renewed way to envisage a coupling between the multiplicity of dimensions raised by construction and the efficiency of information processing resources? This perspective is not without interest, as it offers the possibility of combining many contradictory aspects.

Nevertheless, to ensure sustainable implementation, it is still necessary to consider how to initiate a gradual transition, with no possible return to current routines. This transition from a state described as "business as usual" to a future, more responsible, stable state needs to be organized in a reasoned way to establish a collective and assumed progression. And this roadmap needs to be shared by all.

A tried and tested method...