In a world facing a global pandemic, hands-free is undoubtedly the way forward. Now businesses are edging back into their offices and people are getting familiar with a new way to negotiate shops, cafes and other leisure activities, there is still a necessity to improve how we do things.
In the last six months alone, the technology available to make the built environment as hands-free as possible has come on leaps and bounds. The simplest of actions, from pushing a door open to signing a lease on a building, can now be done digitally and even remotely.
At Mayer Construction, we’re looking into how we can implement several different products, from facial recognition technology to software to manage deliveries sheets. The following are a few technologies and techniques we’ve come across that help to make any type of commercial property safer, from construction right through to management.
Modular construction
Modular construction is not tomorrow’s world; many companies across the UK are expanding factories to expand their production. Assuming modular construction is possible at a site – there are always limitations, such as access – there can be many benefits. Reduced waste, reduced labour costs, fewer hold-ups due to bad weather, for example.
From the point of view of reducing pandemic risk, having fewer hands involved in construction is an obvious benefit. Taking modular construction a step further into the future, 3D printing could reduce risks posed by supply chains. A necessary product could be printed instantly, without having to cross countries and companies.
Choosing your building from afar
It is now far easier to find and either lease or buy a property without being anywhere near it. Although properties have been listed online for years, now many websites and agents use 3D walk throughs or videos to reduce the number of people who want to view a property in person.
Software now exists that allows a potential buyer to inspect a property from a distance. The virtual due diligence tool from Hollis, for example, goes into details as nitty gritty as blocked guttering. Start-up Aprao carries out feasibility analyses for property developers from afar.
Signing on the dotted line
Gone are the days when you had to walk into an office and sign on the dotted line to lease a property. Today, once you have selected a home or commercial property to lease, everything can be done via an app. The RENTCafe CRM Flex platform from Yardi, for example, facilitates leases and can take payments.
Start-ups in the proptech sphere are launching every day with the aim of easing the buying and leasing process. For example, Coadjute claims to slim the buying process down to days by joining all elements of the property sector, as does Yourkeys.
Building management
The number of building elements that can now be measured remotely is astounding; temperature, humidity, number of people in a space, the list goes on. There is a growing choice of software platforms available that bring these measures into one place. Savvy, for example, collects and presents real time data to allow a landlord and tenant to understand how space and energy is being used.
The future will take us even deeper into technology; many businesses and property owners are starting to consider face recognition technology to open doors, for example, or to use a wifi network that detects when someone’s phone is nearby and boils a kettle. The way we interact with the buildings around us could be changing forever and we at Mayer Construction are determined to evolve with it.