Abdul-Majeed Mahamadu, senior lecturer at the University of the West of England, is a specialist in BIM
Why did you choose construction as a career?
Simply because of my immense interest in building ‘things’. I found that it offered me the opportunity to contribute to the building of facilities and infrastructure which make a difference to society and environment by supporting the way we live.
You have made BIM your area of expertise. Why?
My interest developed while undertaking a PhD study into BIM implementation within the supply chains of some major construction firms in the UK. This revealed to me the great potential of BIM from case studies of early adopters including BAM Nuttall and Laing O’Rourke. Furthermore, my personal desire is to be part of the construction transformation agenda which hinges on digitisation and automation, both of which are facilitated by BIM.
What changes would you like to see in the industry?
I would love to see a more inclusive and diverse construction workforce especially in terms of gender. Some of my recent research and innovation projects have also highlighted continued reliance on traditional and inefficient approaches to production in construction when compared to other industries.
“Some of my recent projects have highlighted continued reliance on traditional and inefficient approaches”
My belief is that construction should evolve through the adoption of more automation and digitisation underpinned by effective and real-time data mining for performance monitoring. Central to this will be adoption of BIM and robotics as well as personalised and wearable computing towards a more smart and safe construction site.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love to travel and watch documentaries from a wide range of topics from science to nature. I am also a keen follower of international football and also enjoy playing basketball and cycling in nature.
