The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has formed a partnership in Ireland with the Construction Information Technology Alliance (CITA) to disseminate best practice on the use of technology in construction.
CITA was formed in 2001 at Technical University Dublin to research how technology can improve the construction process and to raise awareness of that.
It has since grown and is now a national leader in the provision of conferences, seminars and networking events, credited for stellar speaker line-ups.
Its events have a distinctly international flavour, with experts from the likes of McKinsey, Autodesk, Sisk and BAM typically contributing.
The programme has included the CitA BIM Gathering Conference; CitA Smart Collaboration; the Irish BIM Innovation Awards Challenge Conference; CitA Tech Live, a two-day conference that showcases the best use of construction technology; and the Digital Transformation Series which focuses on modern methods of construction.
Construction in Ireland faces issues the sector is grappling with worldwide: an ageing workforce; struggles with recruiting the next generation; and the need to modernise and boost productivity.
The coronavirus pandemic has only added to the need to rethink how we do things.
At the CIOB, we feel that information technology offers a broad range of potential solutions to these issues, and that the partnership with CITA offers a chance to better engage industry in exploring those solutions to create a better future.
Starting early next year, we will collaborate on a series of lunchtime seminars giving construction professionals the chance to hear global thought leaders in construction technology discuss the possible shape of things to come.
The CIOB’s international network of members will allow CITA to spread its impact outside Ireland. The international nature of CITA’s work chimes with CIOB’s current corporate strategy, which emphasises the leveraging of the our global presence.
The CITA partnership builds on the CIOB Academy’s Construction Technology and Sustainability training courses, and the CIOB’s Special Interest Group on Digital Technology.