CECE speaks at the Czech Presidency's Digital Construction Conference

CECE’s Secretary General Riccardo Viaggi was invited to speak as part of the first discussion panel opening the conference. He highlighted the role of machinery and equipment in pushing for a speedier digital transition of the construction industry. With more and more smart machinery entering the market in Europe, CECE explained that digitalisation is becoming the norm for contractors and rental companies.

What is important for building and infrastructure contractors is to understand the applications and the use-cases of digital and connectivity tools on machinery. During the panel, Riccardo Viaggi highlighted the strong connection between digitalisation and sustainability, which is at the core of CECE’s 4-pillar approach to decarbonising construction. He also made it clear that digitalisation potential of construction activities goes way beyond the design and planning phases and the use of BIM software, which was the focus of the discussion initially.

While supporting the policy-makers’ role in the sector’s digital transformation, Riccardo Viaggi also insisted on the need for the EU to come up with innovation-friendly regulation. He insisted that this is currently not the case with the EU Data Act, which may have the counterproductive effect of diminishing the ability of construction machinery manufacturers to invest in smart and connected equipment. For more information, see the CECE position paper on the EU Data Act.

In addition to that, CECE had the opportunity of presenting InfraROB as a clear and positive example of public support to the digital transition of construction activities. InfraRob aims at developing (among other things) a fully autonomous paving machine, making infrastructure maintenance & construction less prone to accidents & disruptions.