Digital Climate Podcast

Podcast host Paul Thorpe invites ChatGPT to be his podcast guest, together with BIM Academy Digital Consultant and trained architect, Murillo Piazzi.

In this short and engaging interview, the three talk about artificial intelligence and what it means for the construction industry. When asked what AI can do for construction, ChatGPT responded: “Excellent question Paul. AI is set to have a transformative impact on the construction industry. It will optimise project management, enhance safety, improve quality through automated inspections, and introduce robotics for various tasks. However, challenges like workforce reskilling and ensuring transparent AI systems need to be addressed for a successful integration.”

Listen to the full podcast to hear more from ChatGPT and Murillo’s response on what it has to say!

Listen as BIM Academy Director, Paul Thorpe talks to Multiplex’s Head of Sustainability, Maria Fernandez Cachafeiro about the enormous pressure on the construction industry to reduce its carbon emissions.

Maria has over 10 years’ experience driving social and environmental sustainability within the built environment, both in the UK and internationally and at Multiplex she is responsible for all aspects of ESG. As a member of the World Green Building Council’s Corporate Advisory Board, the BCO (British Council for Offices) ESG Committee and co-chair of the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s Modern Slavery group, she is a passionate sustainability champion.

Paul asks Maria, we know there is an urgency to decarbonise construction, and in the UK, construction accounts for around 30% of total annual carbon emissions, so how do we reduce this number? Can digital construction methods help us to reduce carbon emission and if so, how? Listen to the podcast now to hear Maria’s response!

In the second episode of the BIM Academy Digital Climate podcast series 5, Paul Thorpe talks to Andrew Gamblen, Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Specialist at Dalux, about the advancing technologies shaping the construction industry.

As an experienced digital manager, Andrew is responsible for the implementation of building information modelling (BIM) and digital construction, and is an advocate for collaborative working practices, leveraging the power of technology, standards and processes to upskill the construction industry.

Paul and Andrew discuss how digital technologies are advancing at an extraordinary speed, more so in recent years with the widespread adoption of BIM for example. Paul says, as a result, we know the construction industry is now becoming more open to digital change, and asks Andrew, what is he thinking when it comes to using technology from a sustainability perspective, to help us not only build faster and with greater efficiencies, but to allow us to actually build greener and cleaner?

Listen to the full episode to hear Andrew’s insights into how to utilise technology for a sustainable advantage. 

Welcome to Series 5 of the BIM Academy Digital Climate Podcast with new series host, Paul Thorpe, a digital pioneer, future thinker and active researcher into new technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things.

In this podcast series, BIM Academy Director, Paul has invited guests from across the construction industry to talk about the innovative ways we are using digital technologies to combat climate change.

Here, Paul talks to James Bowles, Founder of Freeform 3D and Mia Dibe, Senior Product Manager of Arup. James is also the Founder of ZERO – a global community that raises awareness, shares knowledge and empowers its members to meet zero carbon emission targets in the construction industry. Mia is Co-Founder of ZERO Next, a fast-growing group of young professionals and future leaders within ZERO, working together to change the industry from high carbon emissions to becoming part of the decarbonisation solution, creating an industry we can all be proud of.

Listen to the podcast as Paul puts to James and Mia that there is enormous pressure on the construction industry to reduce carbon emissions released through the building and operational phases of our built assets. As we, as an industry, transition to a digital first approach, could technology be the answer to construction winning the fight against climate change and achieving global net zero emissions targets or do we need to look at a culture shift and put in place a people first approach before introducing tech?

In this third and final podcast of this series, where BIM Academy Digital Director, Bola Abisogun OBE, has been exploring the implications of new regulations under the Building Safety Act for high-rise building owners, Bola speaks to former Grenfell Tower resident Gill Kernick about her view on the pace of change in terms of building safety in the construction industry since the Grenfell tragedy.

Gill is the author of Catastrophe and Systemic Change: Learning from the Grenfell Tower Fire and Other Disasters, which combines her decades of experience consulting organisations in high hazard industries to build the leadership and culture to prevent catastrophic events, with a deeply personal connection to the 2017 fire.

From 2011 to 2014, Gill lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell, seven of her immediate neighbours were among the 72 deaths that occurred due to the fire.  In April 2022, Gill joined Arup as Transformation Director working to shape an organisation that enables Arup and its clients to create a sustainable world.

In this podcast, Bola and Gill discuss the need for a culture change when it comes to building safety, what lessons we have learned from Grenfell and what are Gill’s hopes for the future of residents in high rise buildings.

In this latest Digital Climate podcast episode, host Bola Abisogun OBE talks to Chris Blythe OBE, who not only helped establish the discipline of construction management as a Chartered profession, but was one of the longest-serving chief executives at a professional body in the UK. For almost 20 years, Chris led the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), until his retirement in May 2019.

Chris admits that leading a 184-year-old organisation and keeping it relevant was no easy feat. Chris transformed the CIOB into the modern international institute we see today, able to adapt to the changing needs of its members  in an industry undergoing a digital revolution.

The topic of this podcast series is Building Safety and The Golden Thread: how do we turn these ambitious requirements into a reality for the built environment by October 2023, and during this podcast Bola asked Chris, as Chief Executive of CIOB, what were the major challenges you saw that our industry faced when it came to building safety? And do you believe these challenges are still faced today?

Listen to the full podcast to hear Chris’ response and what other recommendations he has for building owners in relation to the Building Safety Act.

Welcome to Series 4 of the BIM Academy Digital Climate Podcast. In this episode our new podcast host, Bola Abisogun OBE, Digital Director at BIM Academy, is joined by Paul Nash, Director of Paul Nash Consultancy and Past-President and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Paul has worked with some of the world’s leading international construction companies and built environment consultancies. Today, Paul can be found providing advice to developers, contractors and investors in the property and construction sector on large, multi-million dollar projects.

Paul is actively engaged in raising awareness of key issues affecting the construction sector – in particular Building Safety. In 2017, Paul chaired a working group on procurement as part of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety led by Dame Judith Hackitt, and is currently a member of the Industry Safety Steering Group that was established to drive culture change in the industry in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

In this podcast, Bola and Paul discuss the requirements of the new Building Safety Act in the UK and what new regulations building owners need to put in place before October 2023.

In this fourth instalment of the BIM Academy Digital Climate podcast Series 3, Andrew Johnson speaks to MOBIE’s Head of Education, Gerry Ruffles.

Gerry is responsible for MOBIE's range of Advanced Home Futures training programmes, their delivery and educational development. He joined MOBIE after 25 years in Higher Education lecturing and running courses in Construction, Design and Architecture, with a passion to excite, motivate and prepare young people for careers in the built environment.

He recently completed a five year role as External Examiner at Liverpool John Moores University, for their BA Hons Product Design, Spatial Design and 3-D Digital Design courses, and for a number of years he has been a writer for Pearson contributing to their BTEC and HN Level 3 and 4 Construction and Built Environment programmes as well as the new MOBIE/Pearson Future Home Design and Construction HNC and HND.

Andrew and Gerry discuss about how all training has the same common, business critical objective: to equip learners with the skills necessary to be successful and, therefore, to enable organisations to reach their full potential. 

Andrew says that for some time, as an industry, we have discussed “skills gaps” and how there is clear lack of skill in the application of digital construction methodologies. But the time has come to take direct action to eliminate these gaps.

Listen as Andrew and Gerry talk about how to bring about critical change to the way we teach digital skills.

Andrew Johnson, BIM Academy Digital Climate podcast Series 3 host,  talks with Dr Noha Saleeb, Associate Professor in Creative Technologies & Construction at Middlesex University. 

Continuing our theme for this series on digital skills and the need to bridge skills gaps through education and training, Andrew and Noha discuss the provision of qualifications at higher and further education level that cover the digital knowledge and skills required to enable construction industry professionals to function effectively within an environment that is now operating with a digital first perspective.

Initially an architect, Noha worked for many years in industry in design, construction and onsite project coordination. She is currently providing consultancy on BIM implementation and management, as well as teaching at Middlesex University. 

Listen as Andrew and Noha discuss what is happening right now in the education space for digital construction skills, and what needs to happen in the future.