Digitalization in construction sometimes seems like a maze. For where do you start and which direction do you take? In the new weekly column 'Pims digital maze,' Pim van Meer, director of digitalization at VORM, takes you by the hand.
I am Pim van Meer. Director of digitalization at one of NL's larger housing developer and family of companies, the chain in miniature; VORM. Representative of the socially engaged developers trade association NEPROM. A Failed architect but also Innovation- change- information manager in the real estate chain, raised in construction. I live at the intersection of development, realization, real estate steering and management. And I am addicted to digital improvements that do land.
My motivation? Helping the young pimps. These are not necessarily young people and certainly not just men. They are people with fire in their bellies for digitization, but without a good map book for the maze around it. They get stuck on interests, contracts, jargon, vendor lock-in and meetings where everyone says yes and then does no.
The truth: often you are not the one who gets lost. It's the maze that is poorly drawn. Roles, incentives and language rarely align. We shout BIM, but calculate in 2D. We ask for data, but only reward completion dates. We want digital twins, but dare not choose a minimum feasible set. The result is predictable: nice tools, meager returns.
In this column, I'm going to map out one piece of that maze each week. Not from an ivory tower, but from the construction shed and the board deck at the same time. I will sound impatient at times, because I AM impatient. That's my turbo and my time bomb. It helps to pace; it harms if I ignore the rhythm of the chain. I'm going to show how to practically manage that tension.
Why this column exists
Because our industry can do it, but makes it hard on itself. Because technical rightness does not come from rightness. Because you still lose with a brilliant script or perfect model if you don't speak in your decision maker's language. And because success is a battlefield: for every visible achievement, ten initiatives lie gathering dust. We are not going to deny that graveyard; we are going to analyze it and salvage useful parts from it.
What can you expect here weekly? A story that begins with a recognizable scene - the door of a meeting falling shut, a model that is just not right, a manager who wants clarity tomorrow - followed by a small, manageable intervention. Not a magic wand, but a compass. At the end I poke open a myth. Not to shock, but to prevent us from losing another two quarters to the way we always do.
How do you navigate this maze? First, a compass: why do you want to move - circular value, failure costs down, predictable maintenance, compliance, or all of the above? Then pick a room to start. One use case, not ten at a time. You lay out your pathway: clear definitions, ownership, a decision log that's short and readable. And you plan your kill moments. If something doesn't work, we stop. Period. We keep what does work - taxonomy, scripts, learning rules - and we drive on.
My promise to young pimms: I don't just help you run faster; I help you cut off smarter without losing your integrity. I give you words that decision makers do understand, metrics on which you can prove progress, and rhythms that make support grow with you. And if it has to be blunt, it will be blunt. Not to shock, but to prevent losing another two quarters to the way we always do.
I'm certainly not saying I'm smarter than you. I've seen a lot, seen a lot of smart people around me and paid a lot more learning money.
This week's filleting moment: You are lost in digitization.
No. The maze is poorly designed: unclear goals, wrong incentives, diffuse language. Your job is not to look harder, but to check off map, compass and exit rules.
About Pims digital maze
In this column, Pim takes you through the sometimes wondrous, tangled but rapidly changing world of digitization. He draws on his experiences as director of digitalization at VORM. Pim is outspoken, critical, but above all wants to help you. Are you stuck in the digital maze? Pim helps you find the way out.... Do you have a question for Pim or are you looking to get in touch with him? Follow Pim on LinkedIN.
This is an article from Construction and Installation Hub. Want to keep up with all the news from the construction and installation industry? Then take a look at the hub and sign up for the online community.
↗
