Industry & Business

The fifth National Construction Summit will be held on Thursday, 14th March 2019 at the Citywest Exhibition Centre in Dublin.

Incorporating a number of complementary events and an extensive array of seminars, workshops and exhibition stands, showcasing the latest products, services and technology for the construction, engineering, sustainable building, maintenance and architectural sectors, the 2019 National Construction Summit will cover all aspects of the construction landscape from €1 billion-plus development projects down to the humble building block.

Construction industry output in the Republic of Ireland is predicted to expand by 20% to €24 billion in 2019 with tender price inflation to average 6%, according to AECOM Ireland’s ‘Ireland Annual Review 2019’ – a review of activity in the construction sector in 2018 and the outlook for 2019 and beyond. In Northern Ireland, output is expected to grow by 6% to £3.2 billion in 2019 with tender price inflation rising by around 2.5%.

Although AECOM Ireland’s survey indicated optimism in the Irish construction industry, with 77% of respondents anticipating growth, the results also identified a number of challenges such as skills shortages, a lack of public funding and geopolitical uncertainty. Looking further ahead, almost half of respondents highlighted resources as the outstanding obstacle to expanding their businesses during the next five years.

Innovation

There is clearly a pressing need for the construction industry throughout Ireland to adopt innovative technologies and techniques in order to design and construct the sustainable buildings and infrastructure required by a growing population and to help businesses adapt to the challenges of the unfolding fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). However, many respondents in the AECOM Ireland survey felt that the industry is not evolving fast enough to meet these changing needs.

The National Construction Summit in conjunction with a number of co-located events will attempt to present solutions to these challenges, by providing a forum for key stakeholders across the industry to gather to discuss pressing issues, enhance knowledge and to avail of a networking opportunity for those involved in the finance, design, construction and management of Ireland’s buildings, infrastructure and industrial projects.

Co-located Events

The co-located events include:

* Smart & Green Building Expo;

* Architecture, Design and Planning Expo;

* Data Centre and Critical Infrastructure Expo;

* Government Administration & Procurement Summit;

* Infrastructure and Transport Expo;

* National Engineering Summit;

* National Facility Management and Maintenance Show;

* Plant, Machinery and Materials Expo;

* Power and Energy Expo;

* Security Show.

Comprehensive Conference Agenda

A comprehensive Conference agenda has been arranged. Key Conference themes include: jobs, skills, training and education; infrastructural investment; public & private housing; finance; building materials & services innovation; Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); Sustainability; and, of course, Brexit. A variety of topics will be discussed such as Construction 4.0, Green Technology, Project Ireland 2040, the use of Drones, AI, AR and VR for design and build, and BIM.

For instance, Tom Moloney, Managing Director of Construction Information Services, will provide an overview of the construction market in Ireland – North and South – and the possible impact of Brexit.

Michael Flynn, Partner at Deloitte, will examine the funding and financing of Smart Cities and infrastructure, and Pat Kirwan, Associate at Henry J Lyons, will show how technology can be used to drive change in the construction industry and improve productivity, cost and delivery.

Michael O’Keeffe, Councillor at CIAT (Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists) Republic of Ireland Centre, will explore the evolution, innovation and revolution of construction techniques and the future of the building site.

Another keynote speaker, Joe Keating, Chief Data Officer at Glantus, will explain in his presentation – ‘Leading the construction ecosystem to a digital world’ – how bringing all of the parties involved in a construction project together into a single digital portal results in substantial benefits.

Saleh Abuwarda, Civil Engineer (PhD) at OCSC/UCD, will consider the use of remote sensing data from various sources (satellite, fixed wing platform, helicopter.etc ) to improve civil engineering work.

To register to attend visit – http://www.nationalconstructionsummit.ie/delegatesregister/