Construction’s SMEs, who make up 80% of the industry often working as sub-contractors for larger firms, are in danger of missing out on cutting-edge techniques, according to new research  THE construction industry can be transformed by adoption of the practices termed Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Lean Construction.  But research at the University of Huddersfield has led to a warning that the smaller firms that form the bedrock of the sector are in danger of missing out on cutting-edge techniques that lead to radical improvements in efficiency and productivity. The research is described in an article published by the long-established and globally-respected Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering.  Titled Lean Construction and BIM in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Construction, it has been named as one of the journal’s “editor’s choice” papers of 2020.  This means it is one of a small number that can be freely accessed worldwide, so that its findings have greater impact. Study Construction Project Management and Architecture at Huddersfield The research was carried out at the University of Huddersfield’s School of Art, Design and Architecture, in collaboration with colleagues at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Ireland.  Lead author of the resultant article is Dr Algan Tezel, who is Senior Lecturer in Construction Project Management at Huddersfield’s Department of Architecture and 3D Design. He explained that 80 per cent of the construction industry is made of SMEs, often working as sub-contractors for larger firms.  But when Dr Tezel and his colleagues made an in-depth study of published research that had been carried out into the adoption of BIM and Lean Construction in the building sector, they found that there was a dearth of material dealing with SMEs. “This is a problem,” said Dr Tezel, “because these two concepts – BIM and Lean Construction – have the potential to change the dynamics of the construction industry.  But if you can’t get them into those smaller and medium-sized players, which make up the majority of the industry, then that promise will not materialise.” There needs to be a much greater focus on the smaller operators, continued Dr Tezel. “They might not have the profile of the larger companies and might not be responsible for the flashier projects, but they are the core people at the building workface.” The article explains the background to BIM and Lean Construction.  The former is described as a process that encompasses the creation and use of a digital representation of a building or project. BIM increases the potential for wider and deeper collaboration between stakeholders and other benefits include speeding up the design and build process; better designs via rigorous assessment; accurate prediction of environmental and life-cycle data and improved customer service, because of better visualisation. The term ‘Lean Construction’ refers to the adaptation of lean manufacturing techniques that originated in the Japanese motor industry.  It is focussed upon “better meeting client expectations while using less of everything,” explains the article by Dr Tezel and his colleagues. They conclude that, “despite the hype, investigations show that the wholesale uptake of BIM and Lean Construction at SMEs is problematic”. “It is not possible,” they continue, “to realise the rhetorical promises of BIM and LC, two of the prominent concepts challenging the traditional practices in construction management, without giving sufficient consideration to SMEs.  This is accentuated especially when there are policy initiatives in many countries towards improving productivity in the construction industry.”

We are only in the fourth month of the year, but all aspects of our lives have been turned upside down. We are all trying to adjust to a new normal that was completely unprecedented. Coronavirus has seen to it that your office is closed and that there are minimal or no site visits. But all hope is not gone, you can still keep your operations running albeit remotely. This article compiles some handy tips that will help keep your business going by working remotely. A checklist for working remotely Devices This will help you access your work files and applications from home. Taking into consideration the nature of construction files, it’s best to continue working using the company’s equipment. This might require you to bring your computer and any other work device home with you. Doing so will help store the work-related documents and files in one location. Software You need application software that will allow for instant communication with your team members. Set up an application like slack which is not only professional but also allows for file sharing and video calls whenever there is a need. A reliable connection You also need access to a good internet connection at home to be able to work remotely. The same will be necessary for your team and it’s therefore important to ensure that everyone has access before embarking on the work-from-home schedules. There might be minimum construction works happening right now, however, this might be the best time to review other tasks that require mental contributions. For instance, you may start reviewing construction plans; exploring future designs, and any other activity that prepares your workforce for site activities when things return to normal. Keeping cybersecurity in check Working remotely will provide you and your team some quality time to reflect on your technical skills. As you focus on this, it is important to be vigilant about the security concerns surrounding internet use. Here is a look at some of the behaviors that may expose your company’s data to cyber theft and malice while working remotely; Connecting to Unsecured networks One of your employees may expose the entire privacy of the company network by accessing the internet through unsecured networks. Hackers and other malicious people capitalize on unsecured networks to spy on user traffic. A mistake by one employee may put your company’s confidential data at risk. Sharing credentials, devices, and account access It is very tempting to share a work computer with roommates or family members especially when working from home. Your roommate may not understand; I mean, what’s the big deal about using your work laptop to check something online? It might be difficult to say not but remember that you will not be there to monitor all their actions and this alone exposes your company to risk. Sharing a device also means whoever is on your computer would have access to your company accounts where sensitive information is exchanged such as your employee portal and email address. It goes without saying that that’s a bad idea. Phishing emails It’s possible to click through a malicious link in a phishing email. With the coronavirus pandemic, cybercriminals are crafting their scams to appear like they are related to the pandemic. They might even impersonate your client just to grab your attention. Clicking on suspicious links exposes the company data to online hackers. Outdated security defenses Yours is a construction based company and your team may not be up-to-date with emerging trends in internet security. And sure, you cannot blame them; they spend long hours at the construction sites. Nevertheless, this lack of understanding may put the entire company at risk. The consequences of this ignorance could be very severe, especially now that they are working away from close supervision. DDoS attacks Hackers may launch a denial of service attack on your office network thereby disrupting your work schedules. 5 tips to help you stay safe while working remotely Keeping company data safe is not the responsibility of the IT department alone. With a number of all of the team members working from home; this is a collective responsibility that should be taken seriously by everyone. These 5 tips should help you and your construction team members keep your devices safe Set security policies Come up with a clear work from home policy. The policy should capture a must-follow procedure for working from home and should be adhered to by employees of all ranks. Take care of company-issued devices Avoid using company devices to complete your personal tasks. Observe strict boundaries even with your family members or other roommates. You may appear like a mean person but this a big step to maintaining the security of the company data. Investing in an encryption technology Your company should consider investing in data encryption technologies like downloading a VPN for team members. A VPN ensures data encryption making it inaccessible by third parties. It is the best way to secure your online correspondences with your team members. In addition to encrypting data, VPNs also mask your online activities. They make you and your browsing activities invisible. This protects you from attacks; hackers cannot attack an anonymous identity.   Conduct a sensitization program This program should let your employees know the risks associated with working remotely and how to avoid falling victim to online attackers. Team members should be given tips on how to identify potential scams such as phishing emails. Keeping devices software updated Keeping your software updated protects your device safe from vulnerabilities in security. Always keep application software updated as well as the operating systems.  You and your team will settle in; soon Things might feel a bit different during the first few days for many construction workers embarking on working remotely, but everything will feel normal with time. However, every member needs to accept that these are changes affecting the entire workforce and everyone’s contribution is important. 

With email fraud on the rise, Michael Gerard of Michael Gerard Solicitors (www.mg-law.co.uk) explains the issues around legal liability and email fraud. It’s fair to say that construction companies have not been at the forefront of the conversion to paperless processes. However, as a sector that often has a long supply chain and makes frequent use of sub-contractors, the financial and administrative transactions around a building project can be numerous and complex. This is one of the reasons why construction companies can sometimes be targeted by online scammers. Unfortunately, when phishing schemes and email hacking are successful, not only can it be disastrous for the defrauded businesses, it can also be difficult to determine liability.  Paper protection In a time gone-by, when invoices were issued by post and payment made by cheque, companies were afforded some protection by the cheque rule which allowed a payee to bring an action against the payer if a cheque had been stopped. This was due to the fact that issuing a cheque created a binding contract for both parties, separate to the contract for the supply of goods and/or services. Nor was there a legal defence for stopping a cheque unless it was stolen or fraud was involved. Essentially, once the cheque was signed and sent, the payer was obliged to settle the bill.      However, with electronic funds transfers (EFT’s) now the most common form of payment, the question of cyber security is one that all companies involved in the building trade need to address. Unfortunately, most of us have seen examples of how online systems can be breached. So, if an email system is hacked resulting in fraudulent transactions, who is legally liable? The answer might surprise you. The real-life results of email hacking Essentially, to avoid a claim where funds are diverted or not received due to email fraud, the payer would need to establish either a breach of contract or negligence. This is best illustrated by a real-life case. The main contractor on a building project lasting several months had engaged a specialist contractor who was involved most of the way through. It was agreed in the contract that they would receive regular payments throughout the project’s duration. As is now standard practice, all document exchanges and financial transactions were carried out electronically. So, when the specialist contractor’s email account was hacked, they became vulnerable. The hackers then installed software capable of reading all incoming and outgoing emails, flagging up key commercial words. The specialist contractor was unaware that their email system had been compromised and the situation was further compromised by the fact that part way through the contract they informed the main contractor of an intention to change bank accounts. At this point, the hackers sprang into action. Having intercepted an application for payment, the hackers advised the main contractor’s accounts department that a new bank account had been set up and requested that all future payments be paid into it. The accounts department duly complied, paying a five-figure sum into the hacker’s account. The email hack was only discovered when the specialist contractor started to chase payment. By this time, it was too late as the fraudster’s account had been cleared of almost all of the money. In terms of liability, the main contractor had complied with what appeared to be a legitimate request for payment into what they believed to be the supplier’s bank account.  However, despite the fact that it was the specialist contractor’s email account that had been hacked, the payer was still liable. This is because the specialist contractor had a strict contractual claim for the monies owed and to avoid that claim, the main contractor needed to establish either (a) a breach of contract; or (b) negligence to set-off the contractual claim. Furthermore, there was no evidence that the specialist contractor was aware of the fraud which could have shifted liability. Similarly, if the fraud had been carried out by an employee of the payee, they would be vicariously liable, but this was not the case. Finally, neither the contract nor common law imposed a duty of care on the specialist contractor to maintain a cyber-security system capable of preventing such a payment fraud. As a result, the main contractor was legally obliged to pay the amount originally owed – for the second time.   4 steps to guard against the impact of email hacking Such cases underline the importance of companies putting measures in place to protect themselves against email fraud and security breaches. Here are four simple steps that companies can take: As spam is the most likely cause of malware entering an IT system, businesses need to have a robust software security system in place, including a firewall to monitor network traffic and connection attempts in and out of a network or computer.   When setting up payment on an EFT, test the details sent by a supplier by transferring a small and unusual amount into the account, then ask the supplier to confirm receipt by telephone. Follow the same procedure if an existing supplier changes their bank details.  If someone in your organisation can read message headers and IP addresses, they can cross-check a particular IP address with a previous IP address to authenticate communications. Include contract clauses around minimum security standards on a supplier’s server, including protection against malware and viruses and a firewall, regularly updated software and a stipulation that changes to company bank account details be confirmed in writing by post or hand delivered and signed.  Breaches in cyber security are rising as hackers are constantly finding ways to get through security measures. So, if a company isn’t adequately protected, they could find themselves the next target. Having cyber liability insurance is a good move but won’t protect an organisation from all types of losses, so prevention really is the best option, and some of that prevention includes doing things the old-fashioned way – like using the telephone and post! Author background Michael

Optima Energy, a leading developer and provider of advanced energy management software, has seen a leap in the number of enquiries it is receiving as organisations seek to bolster their energy data systems. Optima says the growing threat of cyber-attacks is the number one reason more companies are seeking to invest in advanced software to keep sensitive data safe. A growing number of the enquiries it has received over the last six months are from NHS Trusts. To help energy and IT professionals working in the healthcare sector beat the growing threat of cyber-crime Optima has published The Good Sleep Guide whichprovides insight into the 7 ways the NHS can prevent energy data security nightmares. Steve Kemp, Optima Energy’s Business Development Director, says: “The number of cyber-security threats is growing all the time. Energy data is one of the areas most at risk from attack, but often gets overlooked. The value of energy-related data is considerable and hackers are always trying to find innovative ways to infiltrate systems. And it is the fact that these cyber threats can go unnoticed until the real damage is clear that makes them so dangerous. This is why we cannot stress enough the importance of making sure energy data systems are robust and secure.” Energy has always been a cornerstone of Optima Energy’s activities. It is compliant with several ongoing security initiatives, including full accreditation for the Information Security Management Standard ISO 27001:2013 and Cyber Essentials Plus, which is a Government-backed scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common online threats. Mr Kemp added: “By its very nature data protection will always be a moving target. Which is why it makes sense to work alongside partners who are not only compliant with industry standards but also have a track-record of ensuring energy security. By investing in secure energy management software businesses can enjoy peace of mind in at least one major area of operations.”