In 1935 my father began an apprenticeship in bricklaying, and although he went on to other things, those skills remained with him for the whole of his life. Today we can confidently say that young people joining the industry will be faced with dramatic change throughout their working life. Why? Because at last the construction industry is joining the digital age.
On a recent visit to Loughborough University I was able to see examples of 3D printing from computer models, producing full-size concrete components with contours not possible with formwork. At the heart of this is digitised building information which can be designed or scanned, and “printed” to produce exact replicas of the computer models. So new words here for the construction industry – precision and perfect information. Not possible in construction? Well yes, these are early days in development, but manufacturing has been using CAD/CAM for many years, and the technologies to support BIM are certainly available.
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