The fate of the construction industry is decided in the minds

The need for a change in mindset was one of the central themes of the Contech Conference held in Balatonfüred on 15 October. The event took place within the framework of the 15th Infotér Conference, which focused on the construction industry for the first time: its objectives were presented in this earlier article by the Magyar Építők construction industry news portal, which was the media sponsor of the event.

There is a consensus on what is most needed

In his opening speech, Attila Soltész, President of the organizing Infotér Association, said that the aim of their organization is to raise awareness of the public administration and society about the huge potential of digitalization as a key to competitiveness. Turning to the sector that was the focus of the conference, he said that there is a palpable will to bring the construction industry into the digital ecosystem.

"We have had a number of discussions with industry stakeholders over the past period and the consensus is that, while recognising the importance of state-of-the-art tools, the biggest change is in the mindset itself," the President stressed.

Survey shows dwindling green spaces and lack of quality

The first speaker of the event, Regő Lánszki, State Secretary for Architecture, also stressed the need for a change of approach. Looking back at the history of the Ministry of Construction, new laws have been introduced in the last two years to transform the regulation and put value protection at the heart of the construction industry. He recalled that, following the creation of Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium in 2022, the situation of the sector was assessed: the lack of architectural quality and the shrinking green spaces were the main characteristics of the construction sector, along with the stagnation of brownfield sites.

The State Secretary of ÉKM pointed out that the new state investment law standardises the operation of the state investment system, and the package of regulations serves to protect value. „At the same time, digitalisation is part of the paradigm shift, which significantly simplifies construction investments,” he added. In this context, he pointed out that one of the 10 basic principles of the new architectural law is digitalisation: „This is not a mistake, because digitalisation is not just a tool, but an approach,” he said. In closing, he emphasised the importance of constant dialogue and forums, and in the latter area, he announced the launch of the hely.hu portal.

80% of construction companies are affected by this problem

Among the speakers in the morning was László Koji, President of ÉVOSZ, who started his speech with the latest survey data of the organisation. According to the survey of 400 entrepreneurs, 60% of firms saw their turnover fall last year and roughly the same proportion saw their profitability fall. The biggest problem cited by companies was a lack of orders, with 80 per cent reporting this. A further problem was that 60 percent of companies were only able to partially pass on the increase in costs due to inflation, while a third of firms were unable to do so at all.

The President identified three key factors as solutions for the sector: efficiency, human resources and quality, which he said should be a priority in the current situation. Referring to the latter, he said: "In the construction industry, only the profession can say what quality is, so the profession must show what quality is, which will keep our buildings built for 100 years." He concluded by pointing out that, in a broader sense, the construction industry, including materials production, accounts for 14 per cent of GDP. "I say to everyone, even in the current difficult situation, to keep a sense of responsibility: be proud to work in this profession," said Mr Koji.

You cannot robotise a project halfway

The Contech conference followed plenary presentations in the morning and roundtable discussions in the afternoon, which were launched in parallel in three venues simultaneously. The round table discussion "Innovation for modernising construction" was introduced by the asymmetric development of digitalisation in different areas of the construction industry, and sought to find answers to the question of how to motivate people to change.

During the discussion, Balázs Uhrinyi, Business Development Manager of KÉSZ Holding Zrt., pointed out that although most of the participants at the roundtable represent the manufacturing sector, robotisation is not a problem of manufacturing, i.e. it should not be solved there. "We need to take time to prepare properly, looking at the possibilities of robotisation technology. You can't robotise a project halfway through, you have to think that way from the very beginning," he said.

The participation of each area will be needed

Balázs Uhrinyi went on to explain that the same applies to robotisation or even the BIM and all innovations: "If everyone involved is equally motivated, from the investor to the manufacturer, the designer and the contractor, to the operator, then the result will be very impressive and useful. But if only one of the players can move forward, it will not produce results," he said, confirming the need to eliminate asymmetry.

In the evening time slot, a roundtable discussion explored the potential of AI in construction. Márton Juhász, a specialist at bim.GROUP Kft., part of KÉSZ Csoport, told us that AI is not yet being used in the core activities of the sector, and that it is still in its early stages. "We have the framework in place, but the concrete practical application has not yet started: we are looking for pilot projects where we can test these tools." He added that they are not looking to create a new product along the lines of AI, but are trying to make existing processes more efficient.