Don Ward spoke at the opening of the #Solution2020 Hackathon on November 18th, which was organised by RIL in Finland and chaired by their CEO and CIB Board member Miimu Airaksinen. Over 150 participants in 36 teams from 20 different countries had 40 hours to solve one of 10 global challenges for the infrastructure construction sector., these included how to minimize and compare carbon footprints of different infra design solutions, novel methods for site management based on collaboration and open data, and minimizing the disturbance of work sites in city environments, as well as a number focused on the application of BIM.
Don’s short contribution introduced the participants to CIB and the global potential and importance of innovation in enabling the sector to address the challenges of sustainability and resilience which been thrown into sharp focus by the global Covid-19 pandemic. He went on to say:
“Of course there are opportunities too, with emerging technology and new delivery models for example, and if our industry can get this right then there are truly exciting and prosperous times ahead as we position ourselves as a major part of the solution to these big challenges.”
And he concluded:
“Events like this are incredibly valuable for everyone, they focus the science-based evidence from research to inform and support the policy challenges and investment and delivery decisions which are needed to shape our built environment and to deliver the value and impact which our clients, society and the world needs.”
For further information about the #Solution2020 Hackathon, see @RILInsinoorit on twitter or search for the hashtag or click here.
