Uygulama : AVR ADC Kütüphanesi

As the study is looking at whether BCT could be applied to enable CCSC, it is interesting to investigate how the current technological standards in the industry are. Traditionally, the construction industry is perceived as very traditional, with low levels of digitalization as mentioned in the previous literature review chapter.

This was also stated by almost all interviewees; “Today, the industry is perceived as very under digitalized” - E1. Among the interview participants there was also a strong consensus about the industry being immature with regards to digitalization.

One of the interviewees argued that this could be connected to the fact that the industry is very traditional in both their line of work and how they work; “The industry is known for being immature with regards to digitalization (...) the challenge is that the industry is very traditional in how they work” - C3. This argument was also supported by the fact that there is still a considerable amount of PDF documents being exchanged manually. Exchanging information is pointed out as one of the important areas of improvements with regards to the industry becoming more digitizing. Exchanging information and documents by mail or print is likely to contribute to substantially increased time and resources connected to collecting and finding the right information at the right time. The following two statements illustrate this view; “It is still very premature as we use an extensive amount of time and resources on finding and collecting PDF´s” - C2. “(...) we are working with making information digitally available, preferably not in PDF formats” - C4.

However, interviewees agree upon the fact that the construction industry has improved vastly during the last couple of years with regards to digital solutions and new technologies to improve work efficiency. Saying that the construction industry is under-digitized is therefore somewhat misleading because of the number of new technologies that are being used in different construction projects and companies.

“It is a jungle of offers, services and software” - E1. Interviewees agree that there are multiple different options to choose from within new technologies, but that the

No. 1

GRA 19703 0980903 0993061

problem is that these are not digitalized or connecting well enough with each other.

This argument was best explained through the following statement; “We have everything; Industry Foundation Classes, or IFC, for BIM, GSM standards - we have the tech (...) but it is not digitized” - D4.

4.1.3.1 The Importance of Establishing Common Standards

When asked about how the digital status was today in the industry, it became evident that finding new and improved technologies which could contribute to increasing the supply chain visibility is not a major problem. As mentioned in the previous section, the industry already has an extensive amount of newly developed technologies ready to use. However, the problem is that these technologies are not digitized in a way so that information flow would be improved between different levels, projects and actors in the industry. When asked about how this could be achieved there was consensus among the interviewees that the industry needs to develop common standards for how to collect and store information retrieved from different technologies in a common platform. “The challenge today is agreeing upon and standardizing the rules in order to follow them, and then digitizing them”

- D4. This was further elaborated on by another interviewee stating that; “A considerable amount of software companies are only making their own proprietary solutions - so they don’t talk with other ecosystems. Then we fall short. We need to have some common components which enable us to communicate!” - C1.

Another finding that was pointed out, is how important it is to have common standards with regards to structuring the data being collected and shared among parties about materials and products. This was best explained by one of the interviewees saying “Shit in, shit out” - C1. In addition, the interviewees pointed out that having common standards for structuring data would be very important if the industry was going to improve supply chain visibility and material information both in terms of future projects and to retrieve similar information about past projects. As one of the interviewees explained; “This is a challenge because they receive a lot of documentation in different formats throughout the life cycle, in addition to challenges with reading and collecting past information” - C2. Another interviewee elaborated on this argument, saying that; “Those who have worked with this for a long time are concerned with standardizing and classifying, but also how

No. 1

GRA 19703 0980903 0993061

this was done previously in order to find and sort data now” - D1. This is supported by findings from the Circular Norway (2020) report, which states that even though the data on the used materials are robust, the data connected to the entire life-cycle usage is very limited and thereby making it challenging to follow material flows.

Thus, the rapport highlights the importance of improving consistency in data connected to used materials if they are to be reused or recycled.

4.1.3.2 Data Structure and Product Information in the Construction Industry

Through the interviews it became clear that the construction industry has limited visibility due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the interviewees held a common standpoint with regards to the industry being very traditional, which has made information sharing with regards to products insufficient in construction projects and during the project lifetime. Even though there has been substantial focus on new technologies, the industry is still one of the least digitized, as illustrated by the following statement; “When it comes to product information today, it is not very digital. It is extremely analogue in many areas. There are lots of PDF files with little to none machine readability, and there is generally little focus on it” - D4.

Another point which contributes to low levels of product information being exchanged is the fact that there are no systems in place which demand this exchange after the building is finished. The buyer has to ask otherwise, information traders are rare as they are perceived as costly and unnecessary. “It is both good and bad.

Some projects are very good, but in those instances, there is someone who demands it. (...) This is because all of it is an extra cost, and you do not do it if you do not have to” - D3.

Moreover, interviewees have pointed out the importance of establishing common standards as the focus on digitalization increases. As of today, there is no common consensus about which standards or technologies should be used. “The challenge revolves around standardization. (...) There is so much talk about maturation and the extent to which one is able to use digital tools at a basic level” - C2.

Interviewees argue that establishing one common standard could increase the product information being exchanged between parties because common standards could facilitate improved traceability. One blockchain expert also argued that improving the supply chain traceability could also enable us to understand how

No. 1

GRA 19703 0980903 0993061

these could be recycled. This is illustrated in the following statement; “The second is through traceability. Then we can see where the materials came from, understand their properties better so we can know how we should recycle them correctly” - B1.