OPINION: Is technology a threat or boost to Construction Professionals?

A few years ago I attended a QS convention where one of the speakers delivered a presentation which suggested that the extinction of the QS profession was imminent. It painted a very bleak picture of the need for Quantity Surveyors in the construction value chain. In his presentation he showcased software that would completely eliminate the need for a QS in the procurement of construction services. The construction designs could simply be fed into a system which had the capability to calibrate quantities and produce a tender document. For a moment I was overwhelmed by images of computers taking over and obliterating the profession to extinction.

Sanity prevailed when I started reflecting on the technological changes I had witnessed at the beginning of my career and their impact on my functions. For example, my initiation into measuring quantities as a university student in 1999 necessitated dimension paper (dim paper), a scale ruler and a calculator. Five years later, I found myself in a QS consulting office measuring electronically directly from the architect’s CAD (computer aided design) drawings. In fact, throughout my years of practising as a QS, producing a tender document had become a matter of a few weeks compared to the 6 months reported by our seniors as the maximum period in the ‘good old days’. The software we were using fast tracked the process of capturing quantities onto the tender document enabling this speed in delivery.

I also witnessed similar advancements in other professional construction disciplines. For instance, in my honours year, we were given a simulation construction project which we undertook with our architectural counterparts. Of interest was the process that the architect in our team followed in developing his design concept for the museum we had been commissioned to design. He started off with a pencil sketch of a hand as his inspiration for the design; the palm being the main exhibition space and the fingers representing the passages that connect thereto. It was beautiful to witness how this eventually unravelled into a functional design. It took a decade to have another opportunity to witness an architect develop his conceptual design in yet another simulation project which formed part of a workshop I was attending. In this instance the architect jumped straight to his CAD software and started drawing the internal layout of the apartments for the residential component of our development. We did not experience the process of being mesmerised by a pencil drawing depicting his inspiration for the design nor did we see how the internal spaces would interact with each other and how the building would integrate into the spatial landscape of the area. 

So how have these advancements influenced our functions as construction professionals? How do they affect the future of our professions moving forward? What is the value of the degrees and diplomas we wave around as badges of honour? How relevant will the current knowledge systems be in the next 10 or 15 years? Does it mean that computers will take over producing automated designs and documents? Will our kind become like fossils in an archaeological site while we reminisce of days gone by before the industry coup at the hands of technology.

Contrary to the picture painted by the speaker at the aforesaid QS convention, I am hopeful that our extinction won’t dawn upon us so soon. In my opinion the future is not as bleak. These technological shifts are game changers as they afford efficiency in service delivery. They have facilitated speed in producing documentation and have not been the death of the professions. However, the architectural example used bears testament that technology can be both friend and foe as the architect’s creativity was constricted by it in the design development process.

It can be said that these technological shifts call for adaptability to a changing environment. They require that our professional relevance be not defined by a piece of paper but rather by continuously developing ourselves. In the technological era, your ability to become a chameleon becomes a competitive advantage and the winning formula in ensuring relevance in your professional construction career.

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