CITA 21st Members Meeting

CITA EIN 10th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Wed 25th August 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

CITA EIN 9th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Wed 21st July 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

CITA EIN 8th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Thursday 23rd June 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

20th CITA MEMBERS MEETING Creating New Ideas and Technology Business Opportunities for Irish Construction Friday 21st May 2010, Venue - Aviva Stadium, Dublin 4

CITA EIN 7th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Thursday 29th March 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

CITA EIN 6th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Wednesday 24th March 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

CITA EIN 5th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Thursday 18th February 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

CITA EIN 4th Members Meeting CITA ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORK CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS NETWORK MEETING Thursday 21st January 2010 Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

The 19th MEMBERS MEETING will take place on Friday 27th November 2009 in the Arrol Suite in the Guinness Storehouse between 08.00am - 11.00am. The current economic crisis has caused companies to fundamentally change their cost structure and enhance their competitiveness. The choice for many businesses operating in the Irish construction industry is to reduce staff numbers, cut unnecessary spending, and proactively to search for new business opportunities. While many of these actions are necessary, construction businesses can also use innovative new technologies to begin reducing costs immediately, and make a company more competitive in the long term.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is one of the most innovative ways of achieving quick savings on operating software costs. SaaS refers to the growing trend of software vendors providing their applications over the Web as a service, rather than as a software installed on a local server or desktop computer. With SaaS, customers tap into and use software via the web. Individuals or organisations subscribe to the service and access it using a mobile phone or Web browser. This approach is a concept commonly referred to as “Cloud Computing”. The advantages of SaaS include affordability, ease of deployment, ease of learning, low-risk investment, simplicity, scalability, and a reduced requirement for support and staff time.

Join us at our next meeting and learn more about how SaaS can benefit your business at this challenging time. Our Keynote Speaker is Mr Chris Horn. Chris is the Co-founder and CEO of of Nasdaq: IONA and is currently President of Engineers Ireland. He is also current Chair of www.cloudsmith.com.

Additional contributions will include a practical demonstration of how SaaS works in practice and experiences of SaaS by construction and non-construction businesses.

The meeting will also provide the CITA team with the opportunity to update members on developments in 2009 and plans of Alliance for 2010.

Book you place early to avoid disappointment by contacting Emer Campion at ecampion@cita.ie.

The 18th MEMBERS MEETING will take place on Friday 22nd May in the Arrol Suite in the Guinness Storehouse between 08.00am - 11.00am. This event will seek to be inspiring and uplifting with contributions from respected business people, Enterprise Ireland, Dublin City Enterprise Board, major contractors and key suppliers. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to share with members and non-members the overall achievements and future plans of CITA

The demand for lower emissions has driven the construction industry to focus on more efficient construction techniques and to design buildings with exemplary energy standards. The National Energy Efficiency Plan for Ireland 2007 – 2020 is commited to a 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020. Two thirds of this will come from the built environment with over 50% set to come from the residential sector. New skill sets will be required to achieve these ambitious low energy and low carbon strategies and technologies

CITA Members Meeting
The 17th Members Meeting will include presentations in respect to best practice in designing and monitoring the energy performance of buildings. Presentations will be given by Sustainable Energy Ireland, a Sustainable Building Consultancy and an Academic in the discipline of energy management in the built environment.

CITA Skillnet
The meeting will also see the launch of a new CITA Skillnets Post Graduate Certificate in Construction informatics Skillnets is an enterprise led support body whose mission is to enhance the skills of people in employment in Irish industry to support competitiveness and employability. Skillnets supports networks of enterprises to engage in training under the Training Networks Programme (TNP). Since 1999, Skillnet's has facilitated over 10,000 Irish enterprises, in over 150 networks to improve the range, scope and quality of training and has enabled over 50,000 employers to improve their skills.

CITAX Symposium
Directly after the main meeting, there follows the 8th CITAX Symposium. The Construction IT Alliance eXchange (CITAX) is seeking to verify that significant measurable economic benefits can accrue to construction businesses by using readily available ICT tools in the market. Mr Finbarr McCarthy the Project Manger of the project will showcase the work of the module teams.

The construction industry continues to respond to the challenges of change. Companies are seeking ways to reduce costs and improve delivery in difficult market conditions. Better communications and collaboration between construction company designers and owners throughout the entire construction project life cycle can make a major contribution to improvements in cost, quality and delivery time. In order to create this business advantage there is a need to leverage ICT capability to optimise business processes, support new ways of working and communications and foster innovation.

CITA Members Meeting The 16th Members meeting will include two presentations in respect to ICT Competence and Business Advantage. The first presentation will be delivered by Kurt Walther from KompenzZentrum Bau Neumarkt, a German Competency Centre, the other to be delivered by Professor Karsten Menzel an academic professor from UCC will give a presentation entitled, “Creating Business Advantage Through ICT Competence”..

CITA Skillnet The meeting will also see the launch of the new CITA Skillnet, by the Minister of State, Mr Sean Haughey TD. Skillnets is an enterprise-led support body whose mission is to enhance the skills of people in employment in Irish industry to support competitiveness ad employability. Skillnets supports networks of enterprises to engage in training under the Training Networks Programme (TNP). Since 1999, Skillnets has facilitated over 10,000 Irish enterprises, in over 150 networks to improve the range, scope and quality of training and enable over 50,000 employers to improve their skills. A presentation will also be given by Mr Alan Nuzum CEO of Skillnets. Ms Suzanne Purcell, the new CITA Skillnet Network Manager will give an overview of the training courses available and progress on deliverables to-date. CITAX Symposium Directly after the main meeting, there follows the 7th CITAX Symposium. The Construction IT Alliance eXchange (CITAX) is seeking to verify that significant measurable economic benefits can accrue to construction businesses by using readily available ICT tools in the market. Mr Finbarr Mc- Carthy the Project Manager of the project will showcase the work of the module teams. The symposium will also include CITA’s vision in respect to the formation of a new Construction Industry Digital Competency Centre (CIDCC).

6th CITAX Symposium - 27th February The CITAX project has entered into its 6th Phase where module teams are progressing to the Pilot Phase. The next CITAX symposium will take place in the Green Isle Hotel on Wednesday 27th February between 08.00-11.00. The Module Teams are currently focusing on CAD Layering, Electronic Trading, Electronic Tendering, Project Collaboration and Electronic Measurement. Further details of the programme and speakers will be published shortly.

The Construction IT Alliance (CITA) has done much to encourage the greater use of IT in the construction industry since 2002. CITA has attracted in excess of 150 corporate members drawn from a broad cross section of the construction industry both in Ireland and overseas. With its network of Special Interest Groups and research projects, CITA has led the way in many respects. However, for meaningful and more dramatic progression in this area, there needs to be champions and leaders to invoke the greater deployment if ICT in the Irish construction industry.

CITAX SYMPOSIUM 2

In what promises to be a very informative meeting, experts in the field will present their experiences and views of IT Communications and Integration in the Irish Construction Industry. The nature of the construction industry is different to other industries, such as the manufacturing or retail sector, where processes and the working environment are well defined and controlled. The temporary nature and uniqueness of construction projects is reflected in one-off locations, one-off designs solutions and one-off project teams, which led to a very fragmented communication platform. In a recent survey carried out by CITA, almost all sectors agreed that savings in manpower, reduced paperwork, avoidance of re-keying and fewer errors were the main driving forces to the improved use of IT communications and integration in the Irish construction industry. The prohibitive development costs in deploying IT, the difficulty of justifying investment and the uncertainty about how to measure the costs and benefits of IT investment were considered to be the major barriers. Increased familiarity with IT and the introduction of industry standards were seen as the most important future developments. The event will focus on initiatives taken by particular clients to address the need to improve IT communications and integration within their supply chain. There will also be case study presentations demonstrating the advantages of developing standards and protocols for the integrated communications in the Irish construction industry. Attendees at this meeting will include construction professionals, constructors, ICT vendors, users engaged in construction, legal firms, management consultants, project managers, Government Departments, state bodies, local authorities and Third level institutions among others.

The ability to determine a return on investment on IT spends has become almost a holy grail for businesses making spending decisions in today's tough economic environment. Yet information technology can help architects, engineers and contractors tackle the problems and challenges they face in the design, construction and management of a building if implemented successfully. Calculating a return for a design system is somewhat complex, due to the many variables that come into play such as changes in user productivity post-purchase. There will almost certainly be a dip in productivity as the operator gets ‘up to speed’ with the new tools. With time – and training, productivity will climb back up to, and beyond, where it was with the original system. As it stands today the building industry spends far less on IT than similar, parallel industries. In the US for example, general manufacturing spends six times as much on IT. The industry has a productivity growth rate that has, at best, remained flat whereas productivity rates in other sectors generally have doubled. The industry loses billion of euros to waste and inefficiency, in spite of repetitive processes that lend themselves to automation. This event will look at the various trends in the building industry and the challenges that face architects, engineers and contractors in implementing new technologies.

Mobile computing is an emerging information technology that will have a significant impact on civil engineering and the construction industry in general. Mobile computing is the missing link in effectively using IT in an integrated and holistic way in construction - especially in the construction and operation phases of building. Mobile technologies bring new potential to modern information society. Much research is focusing on detailed aspects or single facets of mobile computing, perhaps even too fast for papers to be published. As one technology overtakes another and technical solutions are undoubtedly becoming more consistent and reliable, it is more reasonable to concentrate on general concepts and problems of implanting mobile computing. The A/E/C & FM domain is an excellent example for developing such general concepts of complex problem solutions because of its specific characteristics, such as field work, integration of various project partners, the high level of less formalized process specifications, etc. Mobile computing consists of three major components: Computers which can be used indoors and outdoors while the user is in motion Networks with sufficient bandwidth which can be accessed while in motion. This certainly excludes wired networks but includes all kinds of wireless ones. Mobile applications that support the work process, making use of user location and responding to specific characteristics of mobile computers and wireless networks. This event will identify and examine the importance of mobile computing in construction taking in all of the areas outlined above.

The expanding scope of facilities management (FM) in today's businesses means that organisations can no longer view the FM function as strictly a cost of doing business. Even incremental improvements in FM can have dramatic effects on the bottom line. "Best-practice" organisations treat FM as an investment- an asset that adds value, yields a return, links to strategy, and enables the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives. The quality of the facilities management program is crucial to its ability to have an impact on the bottom line. To do so, it takes more than just numbers. It takes knowing both why and how organisations use technology, outsourcing relationships, space utilisation strategies and preventive maintenance programs to affect the quality of the FM function. Information technology (IT) is becoming an especially prominent component of a quality FM function. Recent technology developments have allowed organisations to maximize the value of FM by simplifying key FM activities such as responding to service requests, managing property portfolios, creating the FM strategic plan, searching for information, verifying data and interacting with other organisational systems. This event will identify and examine innovations, best practices, and key trends in the area of improving facilities management through information technology and to gain insights and learnings about the process. It will cover such issues as: How to leverage computer-aided FM technologies for maximum return Merging existing technologies to add value to FM Use of Internet, intranet, and other Web technologies to gain accessibility and communication advantages Addressing technology migration issues; and Continually improving FM systems and the use of those systems.

The adoption of eBusiness technologies in construction purchasing has been sporadic and piecemeal. Very significant inefficiencies and problems still exist in both paper transactions and non-integrated electronic solutions. At the simplest level, the electronic transmission of business documents offers savings in paper and postage. By going a step further, businesses can make major strides in communicating with their partners, at relatively low cost, through direct links between their computers. The technology behind eBusiness is not the problem - the problem is getting the buy-in from all parties concerned. It must be seen as beneficial to everyone and not another burden imposed by the buyers. The biggest savings from eBusiness can be achieved from exchanging orders and invoices electronically - saving on elimination of duplicate data entry and achieving the eProcurement dream of a 3 way match - matching the order, delivery advice and invoice to enable automated payment. In practical terms the biggest hurdle is the content of the information on the order and invoice - whose product code do you use? - is the price current? - what discount should be applied? This event will present the state of the technologies and outline the way forward for eBusiness in the Irish Construction Industry.

Project collaboration extranet technology is fast becoming a fact of life in the construction industry throughout the world. Project Extranets have been around for some time but it is the wide availability of Internet access which is starting to transform them from expensive, difficult-to-use software into less expensive, user-friendly business tools. How has it fared in Ireland's unique construction sector, with its proliferation of SME sized firms, recent intense activity in the industry and slow take up of Internet-based technologies? This event will present the state of the technology in Ireland, outline what the future holds for collaborative working and how it is shaping the future of construction. Local companies will present their experiences, both the good and the bad. You will see how effective use of project collaboration extranets can reduce waste and inefficiency and can go much further in reducing costs than any of us can imagine.

We all know the benefits that eTendering promised to bring to the Construction Industry. The process of inviting offers from suppliers and receiving their responses electronically has NOW become a reality. A Special Interest Group within CITA has been looking at eTendering technology for the last two years and a number of mock tenders have been carried out by a multi-disciplinary group of CITA members. These trials have had limited success. However, a great deal of rich data was gathered during the exercise. The problem seems to rest in the proliferation of bespoke software in use in the industry and the lack of interoperability in exchanging tender documentation. There is also a deep sense of mistrust of the eProcurement technologies and a felt need to maintain the integrity of the tendering process in construction. This members meeting will provide you with a first hand view of the eTendering process. The meeting will highlight practical issues that CITA members, users and the wider industry need to address together, in order to achieve the benefits of eTendering in construction. This will be strengthened by reference to current industry activity in developing standards and services that will enable effective eTendering within an integrated information technology-supported environment. The morning will also feature a live demonstration of the eTendering process. The venue is the wonderful Ash Suite facility in Croke Park Stadium.

Knowledge is a vital resource in every organisation, but it is difficult to identify and quantify. Maximising the potential of your organisation's knowledge involves locating your information assets and making sure that your employees can utilise them effectively and efficiently. This members meeting will helps you to analyse how knowledge is used within your organisation and provides solutions to the problems that prevent your organisation from making the most of what it knows. The importance of KM to the Irish construction industry and the relationship between KM and IT will be considered during the event. The venue is the wonderful new Croke Park Stadium

Objects are important to the further development of information technology support for building construction. But what exactly are these objects and why are they important? Object Technology will undoubtedly shape tomorrow’s construction projects. But how? You are invited to find out. It is currently perceived that Object Technology is too far down the road for the majority of Irish Construction practitioners. It is hoped that the forthcoming CITA Seminar will explain how Priceless these Objects to the future of the industry. The venue is the wonderful new Croke Park Stadium.