PlanRadar recently returned from presenting at the 2019 UK Construction Week, as well as the 2019 UK Digital Construction Week. The feel of both venues was undoubtedly impressive and played a role in setting the mood for several days of great exhibitions. Certainly, the Drone racing show at the DCWUK did its share on adding the WOW-Factor.
Exhibiting at both shows for the last years, the PlanRadar crew jumped into the great atmosphere of the exhibition with great excitement and didn’t get disappointed. Here are our highlights of the events and some interesting takeaways:
UK Construction Week 2019 – Birmingham
Over 35,000 contractors, consultants, architects, manufacturers, project managers, SMEs, and developers gathered this year in Birmingham. More than 650 exhibitors, showcasing the innovation and excellence of the industry. Companies have invested heavily to stand out of the crowd; therefore, the quality of stands was very high.
Despite the Brexit being a dominating topic in many UK media outlets, at the UKCW 2019, there seemed to be a silent agreement to discreetly ignore it and focus on the more exciting new threads of technological innovations. What certainly couldn’t be ignored was the ever so increasing influence of digitization across the industry. Badly implemented digital solutions over the last years certainly did their fair share of people looking for better experiences in 2019.
Interestingly enough, it was great to see demos on robot bricklayers, 3D-building-printers and construction drones. And although they were not brand new ideas, they have now become more affordable and have reached an interesting level for acquiring.
It was great to observe, that despite 80% of the attendees being men, a lot of students that came by the event, a high proportion of them were women. With still too few “Women in construction” it certainly was a great sight on seeing this change in demographics.
UK Digital Construction Week 2019 – London
For the last three years, the UK Digital Construction Week has become a yearly must-attend event for industry players. The show dedicated to digital construction, engineering, design, manufacturing, and operation has surely grown a lot.
Undoubtedly, one of the most advertised and anticipated topics was BIM, making THE BIM VILLAGE a high frequented area at the event. With full 2-day seminar programs, they offered interesting case studies, best practices, and practical learning opportunities. Whether you’re just starting out on your BIM journey or were looking to improve on your existing expertise, it was a great place to get insight into the matter.
THE INNOVATION STAGE also had a lot to offer attendees interested in new methods of construction, offsite- & prefabrication, robotics, new materials, and other more efficient and ultimately profitable construction processes. The so-called industry 4.0. featured some of the most exciting technological advances in construction and engineering as well as cloud computing and the internet of things.
Also, development in the Virtual Reality segment was quite interesting. GRAHAM construction for example introduced VR technology that introduced, among other things, VR headsets into site safety training. The hazards of a construction site can be easily communicated to operatives and visitors, in a safe manner, thereby reducing accidents on site.
To sum it all up
Gatherings like these are important. Places to share, connect and collaborate. A really good chance to network, a fantastic opportunity to catch up with people in the industry and see what they’ve also been working on over the last year. To us, at PlanRadar, both events were incredibly successful for our company. Educating the industry on new efficient ways to utilize digital solutions, has always been among our first and utmost priorities. Seeing so many visitors attending our booths was inspiring. To all interested people we met at our stand, we extend our very warm thanks to you and we hope to see you again next year!
