MODUS Asia-Pacific Edition | Q4 2019 by ROF Media

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04/19 ASIA-PACIFIC EDITION

DIGITAL SPACE RACE 12 / DATA DISRUPTORS 18 / WHO OWNS INFORMATION? 36

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What we can learn from… … the Philippines’ development of new urban centres to accommodate its burgeoning IT-BPM sector

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Rethinking Technological innovations and greater data access are changing the role of the broker – how will they adapt?

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EXPERIENCE

Let me introduce… How Scan to BIM is bringing heritage buildings to life

RICS news, events and notices

What if? Is blockchain the future of real estate transactions?

INTELLIGENCE

Philippine tiger / Investing in proptech / Data standards / The role of the broker /

New Clark City will be home to more than 1 million residents, and is expected to be the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first smart, resilient and green metropolis

WHAT WE CAN LE ARN FROM

FUTUREPROOF URBAN CENTRES

INTERVIE W BY ALE X FRE W MCMILL AN; IMAGE BY BROADWAY MALYAN

To accommodate its increasing popularity as a global outsourcing hotspot, the Philippines is creating smart, green, disaster-resilient cities

The Philippines has fortified its position as the call-centre capital of the world. It has replaced India as the top voice-based market in 2010, and is second only to India in non-voice complex services. These successes are creating the need for new forms of office space in new markets. The rise of information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) has made the Philippines the top destination for businessprocess outsourcing. It has also made the Philippines a leading hub for global in-house centres, where a multinational chooses to centralise some of its services in a skilled but lower-cost location. The country has a young, English-speaking, educated workforce, with neutral accents and a close affinity to Western culture. IT-BPM operations initially crowded in Metro Manila, where university graduates are plentiful. The capital also has high-grade real estate that’s still cheaper than many regional peers, first within the established

commercial business districts, and increasingly the emerging planned urban developments that surround Metro Manila. Due to growth in outsourcing, the consolidated Grade A office stock in Metro Manila is currently 82m ft2 (7.6m m2) and will grow close to 96.9m ft2 (9m m2) in the next two years. The Manila office market is one of the best-performing markets in Southeast Asia, with steady growth in office rents, despite a huge jump in development completion. Yields still enjoy a relatively good spread over borrowing costs, at an annual average of 250 BPS over the past 10 years. IT-BPM firms are now searching for space outside Metro Manila, and some are outsourcing and offshoring services in more advanced fields such as accounting, engineering, healthcare and financial services. The expansion of functions requires a strategic growth plan for IT-BPM companies. This is changing the landscape of urban design and commercial planning in the

Philippines. New urban centres are being developed in areas such as Metro Cebu and Metro Davao to accommodate industries related to the IT-BPM sector. Most are being redesigned to form smart, green, disaster-resilient cities that will address the limitations and obsolescence of Metro Manila’s urban design. These emerging cities are intended to attract not just the IT-BPM sector but also alternative growth sectors that will provide sustainable development. One such forward-looking initiative is the long-term development plan of the 360 km2 (139 square mile) New Clark City. For now, the weak global economic recovery means more demand for outsourcing, as companies look to trim costs. Multinationals are also looking to diversify location as a risk-mitigation strategy at a time of geopolitical instability, which will further drive activity in emerging markets such as the Philippines. The proponents of these new growth cities should remember that a superior infrastructure backbone is necessary. A strong public transport system, good road connections, ample housing, advanced telecommunications, and essential utilities such as water and power will be required. The correct delivery of those assets and services will create futureproofed urban centres. Claro Cordero Jr is director of research, consulting and advisory services at Cushman & Wakefield, Philippines

HARD TO BE AT: THE VALUE OF IT-BPM TO THE PHILIPPINES

$25 BN ESTIMATED RE VENUE IN 2018 FOR THE IT-BPM INDUSTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES

845K

JOBS IN VOICEBASED SERVICES

2ND

RANK IN ASIA FOR ENGLISH PROFICIENCY – BEHIND ONLY SINGAPORE

6.2% GDP GROW TH FORECAST FOR 2020 – 2ND IN ASIA BEHIND INDIA ’ S 7.0%

12.5% ANNUALISED GROW TH IN ASKING RENT IN MANIL A

Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 5

INTELLIGENCE

“ THERE IS A TENDENCY IN ASIA TO THINK FAILURE IS UNACCEPTABLE -THE KEY IS TO LEARN QUICKLY AND MOVE ON ” JONATHAN HANNAM MANAGING PARTNER, TARONGA VENTURES, SYDNE Y

Having managed the Real Tech Ventures Fund for four years, I often get asked how we identify businesses that can navigate the worlds of big data and new technology. We see some recurring themes, and our present focus is on procuring opportunities in four key areas: energy and sustainability initiatives with measurable impact; data and analytics that provide customer insights; wellness; and construction technology, particularly concerning safety. We constantly meet big corporations to understand the challenges they face, so we can secure opportunities of direct relevance to them. The test of when and how much we invest comes from that collaboration. We also like to see how an early-stage business performs when we put them in front of a major operator. There are some key attributes we seek before investing. Like many venture capital funds, we focus on the long-term success of the founder. We work with KPMG’s High Growth Ventures team to equip our founders with the tools they need to build long-term, sustainable businesses. We also look for companies relevant across the region and looking to grow into Asia, and beyond. During our RealTechX programme, we take the entire cohort to a new market and facilitate introductions. Our next cohort will go to Singapore, where we can make introductions to our partners, government and sources of capital. It’s also vital that businesses can show a financial benefit to a large owner such as ISPT, which manages A$18.1bn in property assets. Or we ask what impact they will have on a specific office building. Our investment in Ynomia, a Melbournebased business that provides a low-energy Bluetooth-enabled tracking device that monitors the movement of machinery, people and materials, is a good example. There’s a lack of transparency in worksite management. Too many construction accidents occur, and there is the longerterm concern over building quality. The concept immediately impressed us – as

did Ynomia’s founder. But it wasn’t until we shared the technology with a couple of our partners, and they immediately responded, that we completed our investment. The company now has the backing of US construction venture capital investors Bricks & Mortar Ventures. Another example is Work Club, a Sydney-based co-working manager. It offers more than just a desk and a chair – its key difference is a focus on the personal development of the individual. When we first met the founder, the business had already secured sites with Investa, and was looking to expand into Asia. We facilitated discussions with several of the largest owners of space in Australia, and globally. Work Club has since signed for further space in Melbourne, and is in talks with landlords across Australia and in Asia. Large corporations have to reconsider a variety of issues when investing alongside technology entrepreneurs. Are they open to fail? The key is to learn quickly and move on. Across Asia, there is a tendency to think that failure is unacceptable. And it’s not easy for an emerging business to work with a big company. For instance, procurement policies have to change. Payment terms of 60 days to even 180 days can kill an early-stage business. Collaboration for the sector is critical. Big companies publicly state they invest into early-stage businesses – often to stop them going to their competitors, which effectively kills the company. Technology and innovation can lower operating costs and deliver higher returns. But long-term success will require a change in mindset from large corporations.

ILLUSTR ATION BY DANILO AGU TOLI

OPINION: PROPTECH SUCCESSES

CHARTERED TERRITORY

PROPTECH: HOW DO WE REGUL ATE AND S T IL L INNO VAT E?

#RICSMODUS ON T WIT TER @OAKLEYCRE

17%

INDUSTRY SELF-REGUL ATION

The PropTech sector is growing rapidly, but is, as yet, unregulated. We asked our social media followers how we best ensure confidence and transparency without stifling innovation.

THE FREE MARKE T DECIDES

Could [someone] have a word with whoever comes up with the increasingly unintelligible and idiotic infographics in #Modus?!

@THISISMANNAH

20%

GOVERNMENT LEGISL ATION

Travel time not wasted this morning with the latest #RICSmodus. Wellwritten articles on modern slavery, anti-money laundering and homelessness have given me something to consider.

@LOUATTWOOD An interesting edition of #modus on the importance of #publicspace design for people not cars @RICSnews

@GREENGINGER_UK Always find #RICSMODUS a good read and interesting to see focus on blockchain

57%

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 7

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

8 / MODUS APAC / Q4 2019

To find out more about how to use RICS Data Standards, visit: rics.org/datahandling

“ TO REALISE THE POTENTIAL OF DIGITALISATION WE NEED TO STANDARDISE WHILE WE DIGITISE ” CHRIS BROOKE FRICS RICS PRESIDENT

ILLUSTR ATION BY DANILO AGU TOLI

Digitalisation offers huge opportunities for professionals working in the built and natural environment. As we adapt our practices to integrate new technology, we still need to think and act differently – more “smart”, in fact – to reap the full benefits of the digital revolution. The built and natural environment sector has been something of a latecomer to digitalisation. Even so, we are seeing the emergence of digital solutions that connect real estate clients and customers at a previously unachievable scale – particularly in the field of valuation. Professionals are now also using BIM to create digital twins of assets to reduce costs within construction phases; and to manage and maintain the assets through their lifecycle once completed. But to realise the full potential of digitalisation, we need to standardise while we digitise. We have already seen – from the automotive sector in the 20th century, to the music industry in the 21st – how certain industries have implemented standardised data-driven processes to increase profitability and efficiency. Standardisation has allowed these sectors to collect and use data to optimise business performance, create new revenue streams and transform customer experiences. Doing this in our sector presents a challenge. The way we currently collect and analyse our data is, in most situations, unique and the results unstructured, which makes data difficult to share and compare with confidence. Where we do hold data in more formal, structured databases, the absence of common standards still makes

sharing it within organisations and across the broader marketplace problematic. Without data being available and shareable in a common format, the ability to carry out meaningful benchmarking of global construction and infrastructure projects is limited. This means forecasts are less accurate, projects less predictable, and investors less confident. We can only use data to its full potential if it facilitates good collaboration and timely decision-making. The role of standards here is key, as they create a consistent basis for measurement. RICS has developed data standards to help professionals convert information produced via International Construction Measurement Standards and International Property Measurement Standards into shareable digital formats. We are now expanding this suite of standards to include International Land Measurement Standards and International Valuation Standards, offering greater scope for professionals to act with confidence when providing digital services. These products will help resolve the issue of inconsistent, unstructured data in the marketplace. Crucially, our suite of data standards do not replace our existing standards, but instead complement them by supporting the capture, verification and sharing of construction and real estate data into common formats. Data is now woven into the fabric of the modern world. Just as we navigate around cities, so too do we trace routes through data, and use it to build knowledge and products. My advice to the sector therefore is this: digitalise soon, be open to working differently, and don’t look back. Ultimately, the value of using these technologies lies in their potential to generate insight that helps us work better together, and therefore provide greater confidence to the people and societies we serve.

INTELLIGENCE

RETHINKING

THE ROLE OF THE BROKER

INTERVIE W BY ALE X FRE W MCMILL AN; ILLUSTR ATION BY ROBERT HE ARN

With technological innovations and greater data accessibility changing their profession, Piers Brunner explains how brokers of the future will have to adapt

The digital age has brought with it drastic and fundamental change to the global economy, with technology such as blockchain reshaping entire sectors, and ushering in a sweeping reformulation of process and strategy. But while the highly competitive real-estate brokerage business has certainly not been completely immune to such impact, it has been comparatively slow to evolve. Data was once considered industry gold to brokers. Those who could accumulate and provide the best intelligence gained the greatest advantage in the market. In Asia, where tenants and owners had limited choices, regional cultural challenges saw a profound lack of transparency from brokers, for their own benefit. Many of them believed that information, as the key source of value, was best kept close to one’s chest. That’s despite the fact that such practices would sap significant time and energy from brokerage leaders who wanted to change this culture and use data more broadly. Instead, what happened was that the teams that got the most of this intelligence suddenly became the highest performers. But this phenomenon faded as industry regulation improved and data accessibility increased. As brokerage houses began to adopt internal cultures of information sharing, data became available externally, followed closely by the appearance of

data aggregators. The role of broker had evolved organically to include analysis. What does this mean to the client, given that they themselves can now access the same information? The answer is “not much”, as the real value lies in the personal connection between broker and client. It’s a relationship that produces tailored analysis and insights, based on a comprehensive understanding of client needs. Close relationship For this, the broker must possess an intimate knowledge of the client, one that goes beyond the basics of headcount and size and location requirements to encompass vision, values, business lines, product and services, growth strategies, organisational structure, and so on. All too often I have seen companies relocate to inappropriate buildings based on “strong brokerage”, only to have to repeat the process soon after. With close contact and deep understanding, such incidents can be avoided. Brokers can instead tailor multifaceted solutions for clients, and focus on specific business outcomes. With brokers repositioning themselves as advisers rather than the mere middlemen of the past, the future of the brokerage lies in strong, dependable advisory services provided by high-calibre real estate professionals. The broker skill set will have to expand to include broad professional

knowledge, with extensive training on specific technical matters, and the ability to rally teams of experts, be they colleagues or third parties. This is already happening, to a degree. The most successful brokers are those who have adopted this approach, and they are now reaping the rewards. Another key battleground of the future will be mobility. Indeed, the contest is already raging, with fast, accurate response to customer requests being a new commodity. There is a list of applications currently in various stages of development that will attempt to streamline processes and boost precision. Over time, some of them will prove their value and proceed to widespread adoption, while others will languish into obsolescence. In both cases, managers must play an active role in mitigating any complications this causes. With the real estate sector continuing to evolve and new technologies changing the market landscape, the brokers of the future will need to be highly responsive and mobile advisers trusted by clients to deliver superior results every time. They will require a client-centric approach, matched with superior business acumen, strong analytical skills, broad technical knowledge, and an appreciation of seamless team operations and culture. Piers Brunner FRICS is CEO for Greater China at Knight Frank Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 11

The real estate industry has so far not proved adept at exploiting the data it generates. The lesson for property companies in tech-savvy Asia is â&#x20AC;Ś

USE IT OR LOSE IT

DATA MANAGEMENT

迄今为止，房地产业界并未展示出其能善用所收集的数据。在善用科技的亚洲，房地产公司所获得的经验是…

不能善用，就会失去

世 WORDS BY ALEX FREW MCMILLAN ILLUSTRATIONS BY CAROLE VERBYST

he world has a new currency: data. To the surprise of many who happily used social media platforms such as Facebook, the information they handed over was being comprehensively monetised by the site owners. A decade ago, few people wondered what big tech did with the big data they generated; heading into 2020, we all want to know. The real estate industry generates a huge amount of data: capital values, transaction prices, lease terms, rents, yields, mortgage borrowing, usable area, specs – far more, in fact, than Facebook gets handed by its users. Yet the property sector does not have a handle on how to use all that information to its benefit. Its use of data is decidedly old school in a tech-savvy world. “We are sitting on a goldmine of data, yet very few in our industry have figured out how to leverage it,” says Brandon Sedloff, managing director at real estate investment management software developer Juniper Square. The statistics support his claim. KPMG’s Global PropTech Survey 2019 reports that 56% of companies rate their business five out of 10 or below in terms of digital and technological innovation and maturity. When asked whether they have an enterprise-wide digital and technological vision and strategy, 66% said they haven’t. Companies in Asia, however, are better placed to handle the technological transition. Through a lack of traditional physical infrastructure and a rapid adoption of mobile technology, the region appears willing to shift into a world where real estate services are as essential as the bricks and mortar they serve. A cultural affinity for technology may enable Asian real estate companies to capitalise on this stream of data rather than be overwhelmed by it. “A more constant response to change decreases the gap between legacy and modern practices when it appears,” says John Sarokhan, executive director leading the global technology initiative for PGIM Real Estate. It’s incumbent on landlords to capture this data stream and channel it for their benefit and their clients’. By investing in data collection and data analytics, they can provide a point of differentiation over the competition – one that goes beyond the physical space they provide. “Being able to pinpoint weak spots within a portfolio and analyse tenants’ behaviour should enable them to be more competitive against their rivals”, one real estate analyst at an investment bank says. “Landlords who are also able to make efficiency savings by automating mundane parts of the property management and reporting process should also benefit.” Investors are also demanding far more detail from landlords and portfolio managers. They want a precise level of reporting, even down to the performance of individual parts of a multi-use property – that’s far deeper than the top-level portfolio information they could expect in the past. It’s important that property professionals interpret the data that they and their partners generate for their clients. Instead of being gatekeepers of Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 13

information, they become stewards and guides. They must also understand their clients’ needs on a deeper level, to serve them as much as a “growth consultant” as a purveyor of space. Apps that track the use of a building can support operators and owners to maximise their use of space. This tracking of occupants, while being aware of their privacy rights, also generates essential information for investors. The first implementation of “smart” technology in real estate is typically sensors for predictive maintenance, energy management and to control the physical environment – and save on costs. Sensors can generate occupancy heat maps that can optimise usage and inform future lease negotiations. These are the so-called “hard’” benefits, but there are also “soft” benefits that also deliver value, but perhaps aren’t as easy to measure. For example, apps can also be used to monitor how people feel about the space they use by tracking satisfaction, social-media sentiment and perception of the spaces we occupy. Companies that can tap into this “experience economy” by providing on-demand services and personalised content to occupiers will have an edge. Indeed, M&G Real Estate notes in its May 2019 report, Asia Pacific Property: Innovation and the disruption of technology, that offering end users of retail and office space tailored experiences can bolster occupier satisfaction and improve the quality of a real estate asset. This, in turn, plays a part in expanding the longevity of a real estate investment. It adds value to a portfolio through occupier satisfaction and asset quality, while also futureproofing the property and ensuring it delivers a stable, long-term return. For instance, Australian developer Investa’s digital occupier portal, Insite, offers concierge services, events, meet-ups, news and special offers, and has been shown to improve occupier satisfaction. Investa has also launched a sustainability toolkit for occupiers of its properties to gain insight on how to operate their workplace sustainably, including environmental performance and occupier productivity. Show and tell Another way in which brokers and portfolio managers can provide a valuable service to their clients is to package the data in an attractive and easy-to-use format. It’s not enough to give them a vast list of numbers – they must be interpreted and presented for clients to understand. This starts with how data is stored. Ensuring customer contact information, accounts, transactions and performance points are consistent, unified and accessible reduces the burden of complying with customer and investor demands. To help address this, RICS has developed a set of standards outlining how data should be compiled and recorded, and which complement the growing suite of international standards. The Data Standards are already available for the International Construction Measurement Standard (ICMS) and International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS), with the International Land Measurement Standard and International Valuation Standard (IVS) soon to follow. All were created with the aim of making the storage and dissemination of real estate data consistent across the industry. Storing data in a standardised manner doesn’t just make collaboration and fluid decision-making simpler; it also improves internal communications and cuts down repetitive data input tasks, which should keep staff happy. After all, property companies are “not only competing for capital and deals, they also compete for talent,” notes Sedloff. “Many of the most talented professionals are choosing to go to firms with best-in-class technology knowing that they will be able to focus on higher value work.” According to the KPMG survey, 31% of real estate companies say they are most likely to use automation as a technological innovation in the short term; another 27% say they’re most likely to use big data and data analysis. Doing so will require a dedicated and skilled IT department, and rigorous screening of third-party providers. Digital operations will have to be of the same security standards we expect from money management, as property companies are fiduciaries are now not only of funds but also information.

DATA MANAGEMENT

“ WE ARE SITTING ON A GOLDMINE OF DATA, YET VERY FEW OF US KNOW HOW TO LEVERAGE IT ” BRANDON SEDLOFF JUNIPER SQUARE

In Asia, companies can again set themselves apart with how they store, protect and control access to data. However, the approach in the region, so far, is a little fast-and-loose with client information, which is often shared in email or unsecure communications. “The cost and risks around this should not be underestimated, including the reputational risk and cost of potential data breaches,” says Neil Brookes MRICS, head of capital markets for Asia Pacific at Knight Frank. “Sophisticated data modelling and data mining needs sophisticated tests to ensure output is robust.” RICS has been consulting on a professional statement that outlines best practices for handling data and how companies should ward against cybercrime. As part of the statement, which is due to be published in early 2020, there’s a mandatory set of obligations with which RICS professionals and RICS-regulated property firms must comply. They include mandatory requirements that companies must store data behind a firewall, and use anti-malware and anti-virus software at all times. There are also more general requirements on companies to define and adhere to a data-retention policy, and put a specific person in charge of controls concerning data. Technology and big data are only a threat to the real estate industry if applied incorrectly. In the right hands, they’re powerful weapons to protect a property portfolio, and deliver gains in the physical and psychological space – for occupiers and owners alike. n RICS’ Data Standards can be read and downloaded at rics.org/datastandards. For more information about the forthcoming Data Handling and Prevention of Cybercrime professional statement, go to rics.org/datahandling Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 15

Data is meat and drink to the surveyor, but the nature of that data is changing as it becomes possible to gather gigantic quantities of unstructured information, crunch it into accurate insights via cloudbased computing, and connect the dots using a plethora of mobile apps. Where is it all headed â&#x20AC;¦ and who is ahead of the game? Find out here

The big data 20 WORDS BY BRENDON HOOPER DAVID HATCHER DEBIKA RAY AND STEPHEN COUSINS

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GIACOMO BAGNARA

01: Energy efficiency

02: Building scanning

Centre for Energy Epidemiology takes stock

Matterport breaks 3D modelling mould

Previously, assumptions about energy use were based on imprecise averages and estimates, but our growing ability to gather huge amounts of data, as well as developments in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and smart meters offers an opportunity to analyse energy demands on a more granular level, and make more effective policy as a result. For the past six years, University College London’s Centre for Energy Epidemiology (CEE) has been at the forefront of this data-driven approach, which has enabled it to find, for example, that dwellings are leakier than their regulated design targets, and that electricity use is 2.5 times greater in offices of more than 20 storeys than in low-rise buildings. As well as developing tools to gather and analyse data, it has created 3DStock, which uses digital maps and commercial rating data to generate 3D energy models of entire cities. In June, the centre started working with the Greater London Authority to develop the London Building Stock Model, which will contain data including dimensions, purpose and construction on every building within the M25 orbital motorway in an effort to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency. A four-year collaboration with universities in India will involve creating a 3D Building Stock Model in India, using an existing city and a planned one as examples. cee.ac.uk

Matterport isn’t the first company to sell cameras that enable its customers to create a 3D model of their properties. Where its strategy differs is to integrate that hardware with software, via a subscription to its online platform. Customers download the Matterport app and scan the property using their camera. They upload the data into their account where the model can be edited, customised and refined. The model can then be shared privately via a link or distributed by uploading to Google Street View and on social media. Landlords and occupiers can drive more traffic to their businesses’ websites by providing potential customers with a clearer understanding of what their experience will be if and when they travel to the places captured. Matterport has uploaded 1.5 million spaces in 100 countries but aims to expand to 100 million spaces and create an open-source “digital twin” for all spaces on earth. To aid this expansion, new chief executive, RJ Pittmann, former chief product officer at eBay, presided over a $48m fundraising in March, which valued the company at $325m. matterport.com

THE BIG DATA 20

PORTR AIT BY G ARE TH IWAN JONES

What impact have recent advances in 3D laser scanning had on the profession? There is a huge variety of scanning options available. For the surveyor, it’s just a matter of picking the right tool for the project. Advances in software have made things really exciting. It’s now possible to view a whole city’s worth of mobile mapping data in real time. A client with limited technical skills can simply click on a link to view 360º panoramas of buildings, take measurements, and start building up a database of useful information.

03: Data visualisation

“It’s now possible to view a whole city’s worth of mobile mapping data in real time” Veteran geomatic land surveyor Nick Blenkarn MRICS, director at Severn Partnership and MD of Seeable, explains recent advances in laser-scanning technology and democratising access to 3D data.

What prevents projects from accessing the benefits? Procurement is stuck 20 years in the past and there’s a big issue with the level of knowledge in construction teams. The client might procure a drone image of the site for archaeology or a ground investigation, then at a later stage ask a surveyor to scan everything using tripod-based laser scanners. But a much faster and cheaper solution would be to initially use a high-accuracy drone to map and mesh 70% of the project, then do a single day of tripod fieldwork to infill the remaining detail. That mesh and related engineering data can then be used to create visualisations for stakeholder engagement, master planning, health and safety briefings and marketing. Seeable develops bespoke 3D visualisation apps for various end users. Why did you set it up? Projects invest huge sums of money in 3D or BIM for use in design, but then the data is simply shelved and the value lost. We are able to recycle that data into apps for use in safety briefings, marketing or tender information to enable others to understand your site or asset. We aim to democratise access to data and exploit the fact that many consumer-grade mobiles and tablets now have built-in firmware and software to deliver augmented reality [AR] and virtual reality [VR] interactive 3D. For example, yesterday we carried out a scan survey of a major asset for Historic England. By this morning, the model was processed in the cloud and the client could view it on their mobile over a 4G connection. Where is geomatic surveying technology headed over the next five years? Visualisation and 3D data are increasingly merging together. US company Matterport [see opposite] recently released a “cortex engine” that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to convert 360º panoramic images into relatively accurate 3D. If a 360º image can generate 3D content through AI and machine learning, then we could soon have algorithms able to convert 360º video to point-clouds and scan without direct measurement. The spread of AR and VR as commercial, off-theshelf tools will also hopefully embed “immersive visualisation” as a category on the procurement portals of construction companies. seeable.co.uk Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 21

04: Mapping

Colouring London ’s online collaboration Launching this year, Colouring London – a project by the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London – aims to collate an open, visually accessible database of information on every building in London through a massive exercise in online crowdsourcing from citizens, public and research bodies and businesses. It comprises a website – developed in conjunction with Ordnance Survey, the Greater London Authority and Historic England – which asks people to plug in historical and current information about a building, centred around 12 categories, ranging from its age and material to whether people like it. The data will be visible to all in the form of an eye-catching interactive website that recalls the detailed, colourful maps that were made in the 19th century by social researcher and reformer Charles Booth. The idea is to make information about London’s built environment more transparent for both policy-makers and the general public, thereby helping with all manner of urban challenges, such as the heavy contribution that the built environment makes to global energy consumption, with which data about the age and construction of buildings can help. Information about specific construction systems and materials could allow developers to better target retrofitting and plan repairs. Demolition data and a “like me” facility could empower community groups to identify their favoured local assets to help ensure they are protected or considered in any future development plans. colouringlondon.org

THE BIG DATA 20

05: Valuation

Cloud-based RockportVAL speeds up valuations Helping valuation professionals analyse deals more efficiently and make informed decisions faster, RockportVAL’s cashflow modelling and valuation platform is based entirely online and in the cloud, eliminating the need for costly IT infrastructure requirements or support. “Being cloud based, it is a more user-friendly, affordable and powerful alternative to the antiquated ‘norm’ in real estate modelling

software,” says Stu Sleppin, managing director of RockportVAL. Furthermore, it can model real-time scenarios on multiple market leasing assumptions without creating separate models, and easily integrate with other industry technologies. “It was built with collaboration in mind,” adds Sleppin. rockportval.com

06: Flood defence

Arup futureproofs Leeds flood risk In 2017, engineering consultant Arup completed the first part of a large-scale project to reduce flood risk in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with an urgency exacerbated by a storm that hit the city two years before, causing £37m of damage. The immediate interventions to tackle this problem were targeted at the River Aire, and involved the removal of an island that was creating a bottleneck, the introduction of mechanical weirs and 3m-high walls along the riverbank – measures designed to combat the effects of the water overflowing, and to provide protection against a once-in-100-year storm until the year 2069. But the city was also at risk of surface water flooding, in part owing to intense local rainfall – levels average 1,025mm per year and it rains 152 days out of 365. Tackling this risk involved understanding and changing the way water flowed through the city. Arup developed a 275 km² (106 square mile) integrated urban drainage model for Leeds City Council – one of the largest such systems in Europe to date. This holistic approach to city water systems has been made possible by recent advances in computer technology, which allow better data gathering and analysis, and enables easier prediction of city-wide flooding. In this instance, Arup brought together past and present records of the Yorkshire Water network of sewers, five watercourses, laser survey data from across the city, and a detailed ground model and building outlines. The model that emerged painted an accurate portrait of the city and how it reacts to surface water and heavy rainfall in the areas that were most likely to flood. This was combined with information about the dynamic conditions of the river flow to create detailed assessment of overland water paths through the city centre. The engineer modelled three different scenarios: a situation in which the river levels were very high but there was a low level of rainfall, one where river levels were lower but rainfall was severe, and a middle option. As well as the water levels being lowered by the mechanical weirs, which would respond to predictions about the city as a whole rather than just the river, the model will allow local councils to better target focused, low-cost measures to resolve water accumulation at the eight key flooding hotspots Arup identified. It will also allow for a greater understanding of the impact of further architectural and public realm development on surface water levels, ensuring that the city is resilient for the future. arup.com

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What uses of technology within real estate have most surprised or impressed you in recent years? You cannot be dismissive of the use of machine learning opening up completely new investment analysis pathways. For numerous social and regulatory reasons, the industry needs to be careful not to hold opaque algorithms as blindly true, no matter how accurate they become. But the resulting business models, such as the iBuyers in the US [Offerpad and Opendoor], driven by automated valuation models, derived from machine learning algorithms and alternative datasets of urban big data, are a possible glimpse into the future of commercial real estate, where every asset will have a fair valuation, openly discoverable in real time.

07: Proptech

What ’s next? Automation Oxford University’s Saïd Business School is one of the leading institutions on property technology and its evolution. Its PropTech 3.0: the Future of Real Estate report has been groundbreaking in its analysis of how property technology should be defined and categorised, how it will facilitate the sharing economy and how the industry can and will start using blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). Modus spoke to Andrew Saull, a research assistant at the school’s Future of Real Estate Initiative, to gauge how effectively the industry is harnessing the power of technology and data. Do you think real estate is “behind” compared with other industries in adopting technology and using data? Behind, no. Younger, yes. We recognise

around 7,000 proptech companies, which is not [even] a 10th of those that refer to themselves as fintech. However, the velocity of transactions within financial services has enabled a wealth of digital data to be compiled, seemingly supporting a bold fintech ecosystem. This is not the case in real estate. The transaction velocity is significantly lower, because of the enormous legal hurdles in place. Looking at the use of technology compared with the availability of data, as opposed to the size of the market, real estate is not behind, only younger in experimenting with what can be achieved through the use of novel technologies. The proptech market relies on the prerequisites of established legaltech and fintech markets to support it, and only now are we beginning to achieve this.

Do you think real estate could become a more liquid (and investable) asset class as a result of advancements in technology within the next few years? Yes, without a doubt. Liquidity is a multi-dimensional concept. It encompasses time to sale, probability of sale and, critically, the costs associated with transacting. Seemingly, proptech, legaltech and fintech have the ability to reduce or potentially eliminate the inefficiencies in these illiquidity criteria for real estate transactions. Both the preparation and marketing periods of transactions will reduce in the near term, while any increase in time to sale will require a revolution in the due-diligence period, which is not likely in the near term, despite all the claims surrounding blockchain and smart contracts. What areas of the industry will undergo the most dramatic changes as a result of technology over the next five years? The rise of digital media, virtual reality, augmented reality, drones, satellite imaging and digital replicas of buildings will reduce the physical need to inspect properties prior to purchase and offer unrivalled marketing opportunities. At the same time as more digital data becomes available, automated valuation models will begin to consolidate all required risk characteristics within a trade, not only offering an unnegotiable price, but also determining the correct amount of finance and insurance available. This will make any acquisition decision significantly sharper. sbs.ox.ac.uk JUL-AUG 2019 / MODUS / 24

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08: Valuation

CoreLogic ’s AI boosts accuracy Although automated valuation models (AVMs) have been around for some time as a means to estimate the value of residential property, CoreLogic’s latest AVM, named IntelliVal, is one of the first in the world to incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve accuracy. The firm’s valuation databases encompass a mind-blowing 4.5 billion records. With such a vast amount of information, AI is crucial to help find out what the data means to their clients. “The aim is not to replace the work of valuers with a machine, but to enhance the role of both in performing the task in a more efficient and effective way,” says Kevin Brogan FRICS, principal in valuation at CoreLogic. “We want to enlighten both man and machine as to what is driving the market, so we can better estimate property value, and ultimately better manage the collateral risks for the financial institutions lending against the property.” corelogic.com

09: Facility management

Czech start-up Spaceti digitalises buildings Czech start-up Spaceti was set up in Prague in 2016, and now has offices in London and, since the start of the year, New York. It began with the aim of safeguarding the occupiers of buildings by alerting them to emergency situations via sensors and a mobile app. It was able to inform them instantly of the situation – such as a fire or an attack on the building – and guide them to the nearest safe place in the quickest way possible. The company’s founder and chief executive, former IBM executive Max Verteletskyi, realised that the technology had created a more extensive digital solution to monitor and enhance

the performance of buildings. The data Spaceti now collects includes physical occupancy, humidity, carbon output and temperature that allows facilities managers to reduce operational costs, owners to determine where investment is most needed and occupiers to understand whether they are leasing too much space. Its app can be used to analyse the use of hot desks, shows car park users the best place to park, has guides and maps to get around buildings and allows tenants to change lighting and heating levels. spaceti.com Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 25

10: Aerial survey

Percepto drones use AI to solve challenges from above Drones are now a common feature on many construction sites. Perceptoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s units push the envelope by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), machine vision and autonomous 24/7 operation. The Israeli firm honed its technology as a defence industry supplier and, thanks to financial backing from US billionaire Mark Cuban, Chinese angel investor Xu Xiaping and others, made its first move into commercial markets with the launch of the Sparrow I drone in November 2017. The weatherproof drone is fitted with ultra-high-definition and thermal cameras and takes off from a base station used for intermittent recharging and uploading data. UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) can be deployed standalone, or in groups, depending on the coverage required. The system is able to provide round-the-clock, real-time visibility of various site conditions and collect data related to safety and security, operations and maintenance and regulatory compliance, without the need for human operators. In the field of operations and maintenance, drones can carry out pre-planned, fully autonomous aerial inspections, taking high accuracy linear, area and volume calculations. Machine vision enables them to automatically identify anomalies. In the field of security, the drone can use its machine vision to spot potential threats, such as a human or vehicle, then autonomously follow them to maintain awareness of their location. percepto.co

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11: Valuation

New York valuer Bowery provides an end-to-end software solution for commercial real estate appraisals, using public record integration, a mobile inspection app, exhaustive databasing and natural language generation with the aim of creating less expensive, more accurate reports twice as fast as the industry average. Modus spoke to chief executive Noah Isaacs to get his view on the future of valuation. What was the genesis of Bowery? My co-founder John Meadows and I were working at a large independent appraisal firm in New York for a number of years and were really taken aback at how inefficient and antiquated the appraisal process was. Appraisers were using the same websites for research every single time, writing reports by rewriting old Excel files linked to a Word document, and generally spending 40%-50% of their time on manual “busy work”, instead of focusing their time on the true art of thoughtfully valuing a property. As appraisers ourselves, we set out to build our dream toolkit to help appraisers focus their time on thoughtful valuation

and client service, remove silly formatting and copy/paste errors from reports, and remove friction from the appraisal process. Do you think traditional valuation practices will become obsolete? Not anytime soon. There are so many nuances within commercial valuation, and we haven’t seen anyone that’s been able to codify or structure all of the required knowledge to appraise accurately. Among our appraisal team, we have hundreds of years’ of appraisal knowledge and that’s hard to recreate with automated valuation. That being said, it starts with data, and we spend a lot of time making sure we confirm the information and keep our databases up to date with clean information. Our focus right now is simply to provide our appraisers with the best tools in the world to do their job more efficiently and remove the friction and “busy work” they experience today. What is the next big step in the evolution of the world of valuation? API [application programming interface]/ data integration. Today, we send 100-page

PORTR AIT BY MARTIN ADOLF S SON

“We were really taken aback at how inefficient and antiquated the appraisal process was” PDFs to our clients and they have to take all of the information in the report and manually enter it into their own systems. Our software provides the potential for our clients to not just receive a file where all the valuable data is stuck in a long PDF, but the opportunity to get all of that data in whatever format works best for them. We’re already working with some clients on building a fully-fledged integration to help eliminate all the manual work they have to do once they receive the appraisal. How should “traditional” valuers make sure that they are staying up to date? Traditional appraisers and individuals in the valuation profession shouldn’t fear “being replaced” by technology, but should be open to integrating technology into their business to help with the ancillary tasks that go into producing high-quality appraisal reports and valuation. No one needs “tech for tech’s sake”. However, there is a tonne of value-add and efficiency to be had, without sacrificing the human element or valuation methodology. boweryres.com

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12: Commercial property

13: Site inspections

Clarity from CompStak

GoReport transforms onsite data capture

Former commercial broker Michael Mandel co-founded CompStak in 2011 to help fix the inefficiencies of data sharing in New York’s commercial real estate industry, because, he says, “accurate and transparent data leads to better, faster deals for everyone”. The company is using crowdsourcing to gather enormous amounts of verified rental and sales data from professionals at commercial brokerages and appraisal firms across the US. Covering more than 600,000 properties, CompStak handles millions of data points each week to create a comprehensive and robust data set, which is free to access for industry professionals upon sign up. Earlier this year, the company partnered with Wiredscore, which will enable users to instantly compare a property’s digital connectivity to its peers, as well as gain an insight into whether a building’s owners have taken steps to invest in digital connectivity.

Launched in 2011, GoReport is the brainchild of Belfast engineer Conor Moran, who came up with the idea of collecting survey data digitally and directly on site, helping him and his team create and collate surveys far quicker than performing the same manual, paper-based tasks. The smartphone- and tablet-based app records data, photos and voice recordings, which can later be automatically transcribed for client reports and analytics, and backed up in the cloud. Surveyors reported time savings of up to 70% compared with traditional methods. “While the app’s functionality has evolved over the years, it remains today at its core an innovative technology that helps property professionals capture data on site, in a structured way to review and publish,” says GoReport’s CEO, Anthony Walker FRICS. “This in turn enables them to deliver added value to their clients, and improve productivity.” Passionate about all things proptech, Walker is a surveyor with more than 30 years’ experience in the sector. For 10 years before joining GoReport he led the UK Department for Education’s tech-driven Property Data Survey Programme, the largest single building surveying programme in Europe. He believes the construction industry is still in its infancy in terms of digital technology adoption, and lags behind manufacturing or the medical profession, for example. “But there are huge jumps of growth to come,” Walker adds. goreport.com

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14: Asset monitoring

‘Building passport ’ platform to enhance assessment During a building’s lifecycle, landlords and users gather an immense amount of data. While much of the data gets used, a lot is also discarded, not updated, or only generated in paper format. But what if every single piece of data could be retained and organised to help decision-making for investments, insurance, planning, design and maintenance? RICS is leading on a project within the Global Alliance of Buildings and Construction to develop a framework for a “building passport” – a data platform that could host all building-related data, from

design and planning through to demolition. It would provide market stakeholders, among them financing institutions, investors, insurers, policymakers, owners and operators, with access to information to help them assess the many factors affecting the overall quality and performance of buildings. A draft Building Passport Handbook is due to be discussed at the 25th Conference of Parties (COP25) climate summit in Santiago, Chile, this December. globalabc.org

15: Air pollution

Airlabs pioneers air-cleaning solutions to tackle pollution With the World Health Organization claiming that one in eight deaths are linked to air pollution, Airlabs is a start-up on a mission to reduce people’s exposure to air pollution in cities, by analysing and cleaning our air. “The air in cities features a complex mix of toxic emissions from cars, buses, planes, trains and industry, which gets trapped between infrastructure creating pollution hotspots,” says CEO Marc Ottolini. “For example, London regularly breaches its annual pollution limit, while breathing the air in Delhi can be as bad as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.” As well as using airflow and pollutant sensors to model local environments, which are then used to optimise directional flows of clean air within buildings, the company has developed a range of aircleaning products, such as the Air Bench – street furniture that actively sucks in and traps any gas pollutants around it. airlabs.com

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16: Construction

Avvir BIM tool prevents rework by catching mistakes as they happen Automated construction verification is an emerging field that offers huge potential to bridge the gap between design and as-built reality. US-based start-up Avvir is piloting advanced BIM software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms to automatically spot defects during construction. The “end-to-end monitoring service” compares 3D laser-scan data, captured progressively during the build phase, against the BIM model to highlight any elements that are missing or that deviate from the design. The tool is aimed at building owners, developers or main contractors that need to keep tabs on quality assurance and quality control issues. Given that rework is responsible for an average of around 10% of total construction costs, the software aims to make it simpler to catch mistakes early on and monitor the progress of different packages against the programme. Although some main contractors scan sites regularly to compare against BIM, Avvir claims that using algorithms instead of people to analyse the data is much faster and more reliable. The software is being trialled on several live sites in the US. Subscribers have the option to either scan the site themselves as work progresses, regularly submitting the 3D scan data to Avvir to align with BIM, or Avvir can complete the scanning itself at an additional cost. The results are displayed in an online portal, says Raffi Holzer, CEO of Avvir: “After X number of hours, clients receive an augmented BIM model that shows, for example, how many columns are out of alignment compared to BIM.” Each deviated element is shown twice: once in solid red to show where it should be built; once in a translucent red to show where it is actually built. Measurements show how far each deviated element is out of tolerance. Users have the option to either retain the defective element, in which case the BIM is updated to reflect that, or notify the contractor to rectify the problem on site. Once the issue is fixed, the area must be re-scanned and the portal updates to display the element as green. Avvir’s algorithms are accurate but unable to detect 100% of anomalies. Human operators are still required to identify smaller items, such as pipes and electrical conduits. At present, construction managers spend large amounts of time updating schedules. Avvir can help automate that process by tracking when elements of each package, such as the facade or the steel frame, have been completed and updating the schedule to reflect that. If a particular package is running behind, it can suggest a new completion date, which, if accepted, will automatically update the schedule. avvir.io

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17: Site inspections

Quantum sensing finds underground hazards Hidden underground obstacles can be a major headache for construction companies because they can take time to find before work takes place. Imagine if we could find such hazards 10 times faster than with current equipment? Quantum sensing is said to be a beyond-the-cutting-edge technology, which could revolutionise how we perform surveys. Professor Kai Bongs, director at the UK National Quantum Technology Hub for Sensors and Metrology, is part of a team developing the sensors. Measuring at the sub-atomic level, the sensors are so sensitive they can detect the tiny fluctuations in gravity that result from even small underground structures, helping to speed up survey times. “Quantum gravity sensors will mean we are able to see below the ground deeper and more accurately than ever before,” says Bongs. “This will greatly help civil engineers to detect hidden objects, such as pipes, mines, tunnels and sinkholes, helping them to build efficiently and safely on hazard-free land.” quantumsensors.org

18: Commercial property

Reonomy ’s algorithms supercharge search Searching for exactly the right type of commercial property can sometimes be a painfully slow process, involving scrolling through seemingly endless and mostly irrelevant listings. Instead, Reonomy’s search engine aims to prioritise quality over quantity – it sifts through more than 50 million commercial properties in the US to eventually display a tailored selection of properties, all featuring up-to-theminute specifications, while validation algorithms

are continually run across public data to make sure users are receiving trustworthy information. “Until recently, commercial real estate has been this elusive, gated industry that’s been difficult to break into,” says Reonomy’s CEO, Rich Sarkis. “With algorithms and machine learning, we can unlock insights and opportunities for everyone.” reonomy.com

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PORTR AIT BY DAVID VINTINER

19: Asset monitoring

“Everyone needs to understand that data about an asset is as important as the asset itself” Dr Jennifer Schooling was awarded an OBE for services to engineering and digital construction in January. The director of Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) and director of Applied Research at the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) talks all things BIM, “digital twins” and asset monitoring. Is BIM adoption in the UK progressing? The government mandate [for all public projects to be built to Level 2 BIM] only came in in 2016. The industry started from a largely paper-based information background and now we’re asking everyone to convert to not just digital data capture, but object-based data capture, which is a philosophical change people need time to come to terms with. What is the biggest challenge for a nationwide roll-out? Everyone needs to understand that data about an asset, throughout design, construction and ongoing operation, is as

important as the asset itself. The biggest benefits of data come when it is used throughout the lifecycle of the asset, so BIM requires the engagement of those who will own and operate the asset to ensure that project teams have the right information requirements to respond to. Is all the digital twin hype justified? Digital twins are digital replicas of physical assets that contain all the information captured during design and construction, plus live data generated in operation. This will bring benefits in terms of the ability to make the right operational decisions about the individual asset and to feed learning back when we come to build another asset of a similar type. CSIC’s experiments with sensors have improved the understanding of how assets perform. What is its most exciting recent project? Sir Christopher Wren’s St Mary Abchurch Church in the City of London was in danger of being damaged during construction of a

tunnel as part of Transport for London’s capacity upgrade at Bank Underground Station. We kitted it out with a range of instrumentation techniques, including fibre optics and photogrammetry, alongside the contracting company’s more traditional surveying techniques, to monitor for any movement during tunnelling in real time. The only negligible impact was expected as a result of tunnel construction, so the information provided by monitoring was used to justify not doing prior remedial works to the church, such as additional grouting. If any movement of concern were detected, action would have been taken, but thankfully nothing was and the technique saved the project a lot of time and money. In future, this approach could support better-informed decision making around the management of existing assets. It would mean that we can move to a regime where maintenance is carried out when it is needed, which is more cost-effective. centreforsmartinfrastructure.com; cdbb.cam.ac.uk Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 33

20: Tokenisation

Elea turns property data into digital asset Elea.labs has developed Property DNA, a platform that captures a data profile of a building using a vast variety of inputs. In March the company utilised the system to “tokenise” a property using blockchain technology - the Hello World building in Zug, Switzerland. Michael Trübestein MRICS, real estate adviser to Elea, explains how it was done. Property DNA allows owners and other actors in the real estate industry to store data in an easy and reliable way, creating a unique DNA for every building. The DNA is structured in a decentralised way and is filled with both publicly available data and private data such as Land Registry, rental contracts, tenants, size of a building and floor plans. The owner of the DNA decides if data shall be published or not. As more and more data is added and the lifecycle of the property continues, the DNA continues to grow. The aim of Elea Labs is to push the development of the Property DNA on an international level and make it the basis for benchmarking assets. During the tokenisation of a building, a defined number of tokens is issued. These tokens represent a part of a building, similar to a share of a listed company. The token issued can be structured in a cost-efficient, individual way and can be used for financing or investments in a building. The tokenisation of a property needs three elements: a reliable data structure so investors know about the buildings they are investing in – proven data is the foundation of every transaction; a transaction platform, as a token has to be created and traded as well as dividends paid out; and a stable digital currency, as many crypto currencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, are highly volatile and therefore do not fit in the investment portfolios of investors. There are several solutions for this conversion, where for example one US dollar, euro or Swiss franc can be transferred 1:1 into a digital currency. With this – non-volatile – currency, a token of a property can be bought. RICS has introduced several data standards, and will introduce more, to facilitate cooperation across the real estate industry to allow for buildings to be tokenised more easily. A common data standard by a global institution with a strong reputation, one which looks at the whole lifecycle of real assets, is the key to a better real estate industry, bringing together the traditional real estate companies and disruptive start-ups. RICS’ data standards may serve as the foundation of Property DNA and are therefore of high importance. The institution can also serve as a catalyst and encourage meetings, discussions and an international exchange of ideas. Furthermore, the introduction of real estate standards, such as the data standard, will be an important part of a global approach. n elea.io To find out more about RICS’ work on data standards, visit rics.org/datastandards, or email aknight@rics.org

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COLLABORATION

With BIM bedding in and an increasing number of sensors collecting information on the condition of construction sites and built assets, we’ve never had so much data on our hands. But are we culturally ready to make the most of this golden opportunity?

PANEL / CHARLES BOUDE T CEO, FRANCE, AND EME A DIGITAL AGENDA LE AD, JLL, PARIS ULRIK BRANNER BOARD EXECUTIVE, PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT PL ATFORM LE TSBUILD, COPENHAGEN MARK ENZER CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, MOT T MACDONALD, LONDON PAUL WILKINSON CONSULTANT ON CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, LONDON

he accumulation, interpretation and industrialisation of data has become the currency of our age. But while some sectors have been quick to embrace this fourth industrial revolution, the built environment professions have lagged behind. The problem is that data as we understand it today – continually forming in real time, and in gigantic quantities – can only really reach its true potential if it is shared, facilitating collaboration and fluid decision making. And although professionals are very good at collecting data, there hasn’t really been a culture of sharing it. How must we respond to the challenges that this new world presents? Who owns asset data – and does it matter?

Ulrik Branner / Construction is an industry that creates the second

highest amount of data in the world, bested only by financial services, but 95% of it is thrown away. At the core of LetsBuild is a drive to generate comparable data. The client has the responsibility to make this happen, particularly those in the public sector. They are the custodians of taxpayers’ money, and some of our biggest builders. They have an obligation to start gathering that information and lead change in the industry. The UK government mandating Level 2 BIM is a good example of what can be done. Mark Enzer / Ownership of data is an important issue, but perhaps more important still is the curation of the data: looking after it and making sure it’s of the right quality and in the right place. It makes sense for the data relating to assets to be curated and owned by the people who own the physical asset. However, the picture gets complicated when data is aggregated from different sources to produce something of greater value. In those instances, you may have different curators or different data sets, and when it is combined there are more questions to answer about who owns it. Charles Boudet / I don’t think data is going to be owned by any one category of player within the real estate industry. It’s going to become a commodity for anyone who is interested in developing a digital approach, digital tools or basically a digital way of working. No one in real estate should feel immune from the need to transform their traditional business into one being driven by technology. If you consider data as the raw material to fuel any digital product, and agree with the statement that everyone has to move towards that, then it becomes an asset that is critical to everyone. Paul Wilkinson / The gradual adoption of BIM over the last decade has seen us shift from being mainly document-centric to being more data-centric. We now talk about digital twins – realistic representations of assets, processes or systems that are connected to the physical structure. Asset data, therefore, now covers data created during the BIM process, plus historic and real-time information captured from systems and sensors embedded in the physical asset. If we are to collectively improve the performance of our built assets, we need to continue to collaborate and to share such asset operation data. Not only will this help the industry deliver better-performing assets, it will also help identify – and reward – the suppliers who help deliver better whole life value. What skills will professionals need to handle all this data and make sense of it? PW / Data is being created at an ever-increasing rate. Think of it as five “Vs”: higher volumes, at increasing velocity, with more variety (sources and data types), greater veracity (accuracy and integrity), and higher potential value. The industry professionals of tomorrow will therefore need to be adept at using analytical tools that can collate and interrogate that data, and to extract timely and valuable Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 37

Are we ready to embrace a culture of collaboration between architects, engineers, cost controllers and clients? PW / The idea of greater collaboration across a project team has been repeatedly proposed in report after report. [Most recently], in 2016, construction consultant Mark Farmer [MRICS]’s Modernise or die highlighted the continuing lack of a collaborative industry culture as one of the reasons behind the sector’s continued low productivity, low margins and inefficiency in the UK. However, [change] will take a concerted effort. Farmer highlighted how industry fragmentation has prevented change. Traditional design and construction barriers need to be broken down, as do industry data silos. UB / I think people are ready for change. When I meet clients that are driving behaviour change, I see an immediate reduction in friction between professions. The municipality of Copenhagen actually said that for four years they were going to work with one contractor, one architect and one adviser, and they are going to build a huge volume of projects. They guaranteed their margins and worked with completely open-book accounting. So, all of those organisations moved into a single office with 150 people for four years. It’s got to be client driven. It’s like a Mexican standoff. Nobody can lay down their guns for fear of exposing themselves. Someone has to say “guns down”, and the only person who can do that is the client. ME / I don’t think we’re there yet on collaboration. I do think that we work in quite a collaborative industry – other sectors can be far more dog-eat-dog. Across infrastructure, I think that we have a collaborative culture. However, it’s not an industry in which data is shared. I think a culture of data sharing is slightly different to more general collaboration in the industry. We need to move towards enabling and facilitating effective information sharing where it is appropriate. I’m not saying everyone should share everything with everyone, but there does need to be a bit of a shift in culture to enable secure, resilient information sharing across institutional boundaries where it makes sense.

“ IT’S LIKE A MEXICAN STANDOFF. SOMEONE HAS TO SAY ‘GUNS DOWN’, AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN DO THAT IS THE CLIENT ” ULRIK BRANNER LE TSBUILD

If we don’t make a success of it today, what will be the consequences tomorrow – for all professions? ME / I prefer to think about this the other way around, because the implications [for construction] if we get it right could be fantastic. The indications are that it could be worth £7bn a year, or 30% in cost savings. That’s backed up by what has already been seen in other industries. This isn’t something that is completely new to humanity – it’s just new to our industry. So, the opportunity is enormous. PW / [Calling your report] Modernise or die suggests that the consequences of failure could be extreme. In other industries, many inflexible, low-margin businesses persisting with outdated models have crashed – sometimes being replaced by larger, more agile, international competitors or new market entrants. In an increasingly connected and fast-moving world economy, construction cannot remain parochial or silo-based. Seamless multi-disciplinary thinking facilitated by instant sharing of accurate, timely data is going to be critical to business success. UB / I’m convinced that the industry will come out of this stronger, but it will be with a completely different guard. I hate to cry wolf all the time, but construction firms are vulnerable to disruption. Unity, which is a gaming platform working in a very high-revenue and high-margin industry, has established an architecture, engineering and contracting arm. It’s done it because it’s seen a massive opportunity. You see companies such as WeWork moving into the industry. Amazon bought a prefab housing company. CB / More data is available to more people and in a more transparent way. People who don’t embrace that principle, and think they create a competitive advantage by building walls around their data, are bound to disappear in the coming decade. The revolution that is going on really only happens once every 100 years. I am confident in the fact that embracing change will be positive for our business. n RICS is producing a data handling professional statement to help support our professionals in this rapidly expanding field. Consultation on the statement begins in September, get involved at rics.org/datahandling

INTERVIE W S BY ADAM BR ANSON

business insights from it. Data literacy will be important, as will the industry’s ability to apply machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify patterns or anomalies in data. ME / We certainly need people who are adept at collecting data, collating it, managing it and so on – all the basic data-related skills. Then there are a whole load of other roles for people who can make sense of the data, run the big data analytics and collate data from a number of sources. We see lots of people busily recruiting data scientists, and that’s good. It’s about adding value to data to provide insight. You also need people who work on the visualisation of data – it’s no good doing the analysis if the insights can’t be communicated effectively. And finally, you’ve got to recruit people who use the insights to make decisions. CB / To set up good digital products you need to have a number of competencies to be able to identify, develop and then sell them. In order to do that, at an early stage we try to identify technologies that can improve the way we work with our clients. We have launched a large global venture fund focused on proptech, called Spark. Data plays a very important part in that approach. It’s about understanding technologies, mastering the data and creating frictionless experiences for our clients. We’re having to invest in more infrastructure because we now capture more data than ever before. We also use more open-source or external data. For that, we need data scientists and product experts who come from the digital world, not the real estate world. In JLL France, for example, we have a team of more than 12 data scientists.

In the UK, fire exit

signs are green. In the US, they are red. The use of cladding on high-rise buildings in Dubai is restricted, while in Germany, it is banned outright. Across the globe, huge inconsistencies exist between fire safety codes. Some

countries donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any at all. Shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we end this confusion before many more lives are needlessly lost?

Burning issue WORDS BY ROBYN WILSON

FIRE SAFETY

The catastrophic fire that swept through Grenfell Tower in June 2017 took the whole world by surprise. But three years before, an eerily similar set of events had unravelled in Melbourne, after a fire broke out in the early hours of the morning on 25 November 2014 in a high-rise tower block, where 400 residents lived. Like Grenfell, the incident report concluded that the fire had spread with a speed and intensity caused by the building’s aluminium-clad walls; a material, it said, that was typically used in low-to-mediumrise commercial properties. Fast-forward to August 2017, and another large fire ripped through a residential block, this time in Dubai. This was the second blaze to hit the Torch Tower in two years, with the building’s external cladding, again, to blame.

The similarities of these three cases lay in stark contrast to the tough restrictions that exist in the US over the use of the cladding material, or to the outright ban that is in place in Germany. Debate has been sparked as to why these differences exist at all. Questions are now being raised about whether it’s time to establish a global set of fire safety standards for built environment professionals and what a standardisation of this scale would look like in practice. Leading the charge for standardisation is Gary Strong FRICS, who is chair of the International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition that was launched at the UN last July. The task of the coalition is to establish Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 41

a common set of internationally accepted principles for fire safety aspects of design, engineering and construction, occupation and ongoing asset management. “After reaching out to other countries, it quickly became clear that there were huge differences in the fire safety codes that existed and that, in some circumstances, some countries didn’t have any at all,” says Strong, who is also Global Building Standards Director at RICS. “For example, in the UK we have green fire exit signs and in the US they are red. I’ve been in the States and someone has said to me ‘that’s red, does it mean we can’t go through it?’. So, [these differences] lead to massive confusion.” These inconsistencies also make it difficult for built environment professionals working in different countries to comply with individual codes that exist, adds Strong. His concerns are echoed by other built environment professionals such as Nick Constantine MRICS, head of building consultancy at Asteco Property Management in Dubai. He explains that, before 2011, Dubai “didn’t really have a set of codes to follow that were UAE-specific, so it was down to consultants and engineers to specify codes”. In 2011, the country introduced its first fire life-and-safety code, which was then updated in 2013 to ban the use of flammable cladding on buildings that are more than 50m in height, he says. This update followed a serious fire that destroyed Tamweel Tower at the Jumeirah Lakes Towers development, which was covered in the material. After the Torch Tower fire in August 2017, the code was revised in 2018 to further improve upon the issues relating to cladding, says Constantine. It also addressed the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in the building of an asset, right the way through the supply chain from the owners to the manufacturers. “Dubai has generally been quite quick to respond when needed to address issues in the codes,” he says, although he adds that a common set of practices would still be helpful for industry professionals. Performance review The IFSS Coalition’s initial focus will be on life safety. The intention is that future principles may also deal with the protection of societally important buildings, the destruction of which would have a significant impact on a nation – as the recent fire at Notre Dame in Paris demonstrated. The coalition proposes to develop these standards on a set of performance-based criteria rather than prescriptive measures – a point that many in the industry are getting behind.

“ FREQUENTLY AFTER A BUILDING HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED WE FIND THAT FIRE DETECTORS HAVE BEEN COVERED UP ” NICK CONSTANTINE MRICS ASTECO PROPERT Y MANAGEMENT

What this means in practice is wide ranging, but Mark O’Connor, director and head of specialists in WSP’s property and buildings business in London, gives an example of the difference: “[A prescriptive approach to fire safety resistance in a building’s structure might say] if your building has this occupancy and is of a certain height, it must have 120 minutes’fire resistance. There’s no deviation from that. If you follow it, you will meet the structural requirements of the building regulations.” For performance-based criteria, on the other hand, an engineer would take into account several factors in relation to the specific building, such as type of occupancy, compartmentalisation and ventilation, to assess how hot the building would get in the event of a particular fire, after which they would design a structure that could withstand that fire. “So you’re treating a building on its merits and not just prescriptively applying the same rules to every building,” adds O’Connor. “[Instead] you apply the most fire-resistant elements to the bits of the structure that need it most, to maximise design efficiency.” As an extension to this latter point, there was a consensus among experts that a performance-based approach would allow for greater innovation in the design, construction and engineering of buildings. Furthermore, it is thought that a set of global standards – which by their nature would be new and updated – could provide greater flexibility in asset classes that are evolving, such as the private-rented sector and coworking. Balfour Beatty’s David McCullogh FRICS, chair of the RICS Fire Safety in Tall Buildings working group, notes: “Some of our current fire standards

have been based on things that have happened across history and some of it doesn’t have a lot of research behind it – it’s just common practice. So one of the biggest areas where [outdated standards] become a problem is if you have new developments, and new ways of using buildings and occupying them.” Self preservation A good example of this can be taken from Hong Kong’s self-storage sector, says Simon Tyrrell MRICS, managing director of E3 Capital Partners, which invests in alternative asset classes. He explains how a devastating fire in a self-storage property in June 2016, which caused the deaths of two firemen, brought to the fore the inconsistencies that existed in fire safety standards – particularly in sectors that are relatively new. “A lot of industrial buildings were built in Hong Kong during the 1970s and 80s, which at the time was a manufacturing hub,” Tyrrell explains. “So, when that industry moved away, to areas such as Shenzhen, Hong Kong was left with relatively old and obsolete property.” As a result, occupiers of these buildings, such as self-storage companies, had built out their sites relevant to the fire safety codes, but they weren’t necessarily updated to best practice. “As long as you built your space and it complied with the code of the building at that time, it was never checked, because it was compliant,” says Tyrrell. “No one said: ‘This is a slightly different use so it should have its own specific asset class.’ You were just zoned as an industrial user.” After the fire, the Hong Kong government questioned whether self-storage should have its own asset class and specification, and subsequently developed a set of rules and regulations, which Tyrrell says were

IMAGES BY GE T T Y, SHU T TERS TOCK

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clockwise from top left: two years on from Grenfell, a government report found that there are still 40,000 people in the UK living in tower blocks wrapped in the same cladding that directly contributed to the blaze; Dubai revised its building codes in 2018 to clamp down on the use of flammable cladding in response to the fire at Torch Tower; four people died in a fire at Mumbai’s Crystal Tower last August – the building’s fire-fighting system was found to have been defective; after a fire at the FR Tower in Dhaka, Bangladesh in March this year, two of the owners were jailed for violating building codes that led to the deaths of 26 people.

Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 43

INEQUALITY FANS THE FLAMES There were close to 121,000 fatalities from fires in 2017 globally. Death rates are falling but the difference between developed and emerging nations is still stark. Across sub-Saharan Africa, fires account for 5.76 deaths per 100,000 individuals, compared with 0.68 in Western Europe

WESTERN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 4.71 SOUTHEAST ASIA 1.13

SOUTH ASIA 2.32

EASTERN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 6.86 WESTERN EUROPE 0.68 SOUTHERN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 5.38 SOUTHERN LATIN AMERICA 1.77

CENTRAL ASIA 2.97

NORTH AMERICA 1.26

CARIBBEAN 1.95

AUSTRALASIA 0.48

OCEANIA 3.14

EAST ASIA 0.83

WORLD 1.89

CENTRAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 6.07

CENTRAL EUROPE 1.09

NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST 2.10 CENTRAL LATIN AMERICA 1.08

EASTERN EUROPE 4.37 SOURCE: IHME/GLOB AL BURDEN OF DISE A SE, 2017

TROPICAL LATIN AMERICA 0.93

FIRE SAFETY

very difficult to control. “We had building services saying we had to do ‘x, y, z’ and fire services saying we had to do ‘a, b, c’, but if you did one you couldn’t comply with the other because they weren’t talking to each other.” Eventually the sector worked with the government to come to an agreement. However, Tyrrell believes that a global best practice “would really add weight” to the work that has already been done in relation to his sector in Hong Kong, as well as other parts of Asia and Southeast Asia where the self-storage sector is growing. In terms of reducing business risk, Tyrrell flags the boost to investor confidence in newer sectors such as self-storage that global standards will bring. “Irrespective of what local regulations say, you could take the moral high ground in what should be done relative to what is done in other markets where a sector is perhaps more mature.” Constantine concurs: “Generally, I think investors would be pleased with [a global set of standards]. If they knew a country had signed up to a global standard, it would give them a bit more confidence in investing there. They would know that their asset is going to be protected and that there’s not going to be that risk involved of having to do an intensive technical due diligence to ensure that a certain standard that they want has been implemented.” Knowledge gap Plus, an overarching global standard could prove useful to the sharing of skills and knowledge between countries, Constantine adds. “Quite frequently, as surveyors, we find that after the building has already been constructed, tradesman or maintenance have come [post-construction] and affected the compartmentalisation, or the owners or occupiers have covered up the fire detectors due to things like cooking, so I would welcome a clear definition and education that would also help [for the operation of the asset].” Constantine admits that such a task would be difficult to implement – a point echoed by O’Connor, who explains the complexity of building regulations and rules in relation to Grenfell. “It’s not just about fire. [Grenfell] had to meet lots of other regulation requirements, so it’s a manyfaceted thing. We can’t just take fire safety in isolation. [For example], sustainability and environmental factors have led to an increase in requirements for the thermal performance of a building, which is what drove the use of [the Grenfell] material in the first place. Nothing can be taken in isolation, so to come up with a common standard that also works

“ WE SHOULD BE LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER, NO MATTER WHERE IN THE WORLD YOU ARE ” DAVID MCCULLOGH FRICS BALFOUR BE AT T Y

with countries and other regulations and requirements will be difficult to achieve.” On this last point, Strong does not underestimate the scale of the challenge, with the IFSS Coalition at “the beginning of a very interesting discussion”. McCullogh adds to this, noting how incidences of fire around the world can drive changes to building regulations and codes in an area, rather than them being discussed as a common issue. “This is why RICS is saying that we should be learning from each other, and that if something should be done, it should be argued logically, no matter where in the world you are.” As for what’s next, Strong says the coalition is working on the first set of highlevel principles (box, right), which it hopes to publish later this year. The group also intends to set up a document-sharing platform for built environment professionals to access and reference whenever they need, says Strong. After that, the coalition will focus on the more “granular detail” around fire safety standards, covering issues such as cladding or evolving asset classes. Navigating around the many political and environmental challenges will be no easy task for the coalition, particularly following the highly emotive events of tragedies such as Grenfell. But one thing’s for sure: as rapid urbanisation and globalisation increase the likelihood of people needing to live in high-rise buildings, the importance of not only having flexible fire-safety standards, but ones that can be shared easily across countries, will certainly come to the fore. n For more information about RICS’ fire safety work, including news, updates and the latest training courses, go to rics.org/firesafety

A FRAMEWORK FOR FIRE SAFETY Aims and objectives of the International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition The IFSS Coalition’s standard-setting committee will map existing, relevant fire safety standards and create a catalogue of fire codes for buildings to identify best practice and understand market needs. It will draft a conceptual framework, which will guide the drafting and understanding of fire safety principles into the future. This framework will include the following items: A common set of internationally accepted performance-based principles for fire safety aspects of design, engineering and construction, occupation and ongoing management. These will be relevant to all property classes, regions and nations regardless of the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal differences between nations The coalition will largely be concerned with life safety, although future editions of the principles may also deal with property protection, recognising the impact on society of the loss of a building – such as contents, operations, etc. Creation of a framework that will allow comparisons to be made on a like-for-like basis across countries. The coalition has also said that it must link to International Ethics Standards and other relevant standards that exist.

Follow the progress of the International Fire Safety Standards Coalition at rics.org/ifss Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 45

EXPERIENCE

LET ME INTRODUCE…

Scan to BIM Detailed, accurate computer models derived from laser scans bring some of the transformational benefits of building information modelling to older buildings, explains Raymond Murphy MRICS

X X X X X X XWX XBY INTERVIE X XBRENDON X X X X X X XHOOPER; X X X X X X IMAGE BY MURPHY SURVE YS

Over the past 10 years, the use of Scan to BIM technology has revolutionised how we look at planning, rights to light, industrial development and heritage conservation. Creating a BIM model of an asset following a laser scan allows us to quickly and easily pinpoint the location of any hidden items, such as cables or pipes, and where any new mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems can be positioned and run through buildings. When performed correctly, laser-scan data can provide an excellent historical record of a building’s features to an accuracy of 5mm. When it comes to preserving and conserving historical buildings, this helps enormously, because we can capture and record everything that exists within a building before any new work takes place, and we have something to compare the new work with. Rooms for improvement We were recently commissioned to scan 1,100 rooms of the Old War Office in London. Although it started out as a job simply to scan the room spacings, as the architects and interior designers came on board, we were asked to provide further in-depth, detailed scanning of each room’s intricate wood panelling and cornice designs, to record the asset before work began. The scan model is also being continually updated as work continues on site, with the surveyor re-scanning areas behind where there has been a strip out, giving the client an up-to-the-minute model of the entire asset. Over a three-year construction period, this could mean up to 5,000 scans. After a scan has been completed, clients don’t need complex and expensive software in order to view the BIM model of the project. User-friendly, online-viewing platforms such as Leica’s TruView Global, 3D Repo, or FARO’s Webshare allow clients to simply and clearly view a model, add mark-ups, take measurements, analyse what needs to stay or go, or request high-resolution 3D imagery of a particular object or facet of the building. Even if the client team is in multiple locations around the country, everyone is able to log in to the BIM viewer online and discuss the intricacies of the model. This is an incredibly

important aspect of where we are now with BIM – it’s crucial that every stakeholder can access and understand the model of the asset, rather than it being only understood by the BIM experts or technicians. Scan the horizon Advancements in scanning and BIM technology are moving at a rapid pace. Scanners are now using higher degrees of automation and alignment, and becoming smaller, cheaper and more accessible. Indeed, not only is interoperability improving each year, but there are also more online platforms that allow you to view any type of BIM model – providing everyone with a kind of universal access to BIM the industry did not have just five years ago. Of course, there is also a question of obsolescence – a scan or a model from 1o years ago would have a lot less accurate data than one today, and BIM users in 2030 will probably say the same about our models. However, as long as we include transparently the historical changes in data and accuracy in every model, it will give the future user a clear context to be confident in the model they are using, even if it is more than a decade old. Moreover, Scan to BIM is becoming crucial for high-quality asset management. This is when clients request a survey team to come in and scan an existing asset to create a BIM model, to be used by a facilities management team, or for redesigning healthcare or education spaces to include new MEP systems fitted around the old ones. Looking to the future, there are huge opportunities for surveyors to take ownership of real-world data capture and processing. Right now, so much data is being collected by non-surveyors – which is fine – but our industry needs to make sure that data is fit for purpose. We must work to apply and raise good data standards, so it is used correctly and robustly, much like we help raise standards in any other part of the chartered surveying world. Raymond Murphy MRICS is chief executive of Murphy Surveys, Kilcullen, Republic of Ireland. RICS has recently developed data standards to ensure data used throughout the profession is fit for purpose. Find out more at rics.org/datastandards Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 47

Southeast SoutheastAsia Asia Nominations Nominationsopen openinin early earlyJanuary January2020 2020 The TheRICS RICSAwards AwardsSoutheast SoutheastAsia Asiashowcase showcase the themost mostinspirational inspirationalinitiatives initiativesand and developments developmentsininland, land,real realestate, estate, construction constructionand andinfrastructure. infrastructure. They Theyrecognise recogniseoutstanding outstandingachievement, achievement, teamwork teamworkand andtheir theirimpact impactononlocal local communities. communities.Nominations Nominationsare areopen opentoto everyone everyoneworking workingwithin withinSoutheast SoutheastAsia. Asia. Awards Awardsdinner dinnerwill willbebeheld heldininSingapore Singaporeonon 9 9July July2020. 2020.

EXPERIENCE

NEWS IN BRIEF

EVENTS

JOIN OUR EVER-EXPANDING WORLD BUILT ENVIRONMENT FORUM

JOIN RICS ’ GLOBAL DATA AND TECHNOLOGY COMMUNIT Y

Join our diverse and rapidly growing community of industry leaders and next-generation talents. Through the exchange of ideas and experience, the World Built Environment Forum explores routes to progressive change in the built and natural environment, and is driven by the collective expertise of our stakeholders. We are seeking enthusiastic partners in our pursuit of collaborative, responsible and commercially viable approaches to managing urbanisation, population growth, resource scarcity, climate change and other issues of pivotal consequence for the future prosperity of the planet. Visit rics.org/wbef, sign up for the newsletter, participate in our webinars, attend our summits and follow us on social media.

The built environment is rapidly becoming a data-driven sector, and although this presents us with vast opportunities, much of the existing data on real estate is unstructured and often difficult to find and share. To address this issue, RICS has produced a suite of data standards that complement our written standards to support the capture, verification and sharing of data to a common format. Now, RICS is launching the “Tech Partner” scheme for organisations that are seeking accreditation for implementing our data standards. The aim is to provide assurance to the marketplace that data used to drive decisions for our clients can be trusted, and to showcase those third-party software solutions that comply with RICS standards. The Tech Partner programme sits alongside our Tech Affiliate Programme to form the wider Data and Tech Community. Find out more at rics.org/tap.

RECEIVE INSIGHTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR PROFESSION After extensive engagement with RICS professionals, their clients and industry leaders, we have identified three key areas on which to focus to respond strategically to the challenges and opportunities facing our profession: developing sustainable 21st century practice; adopting new technology; and delivering new skills and education reform. Achieving the goals set out as part of our Futures work will ensure a strong future for our profession, greater confidence in the built and natural environment industry and better places for the communities we serve. Sign up to receive insights and be the first to hear about our forthcoming report: rics.org/futureprofession.

WOMEN OF THE FUTURE AWARDS SOUTHE AST ASIA RICS is proud to once again sponsor the Property, Construction and Infrastructure category at the Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia 2020. Last year Josephine Lee, director of regional business development, occupier services, Asia Pacific, at Knight Frank, took home the coveted award. The shortlist for this year is now available online, as well as interviews with each inspirational individual. Visit rics.org/wotfsea to see the shortlist.

RICS International Surveying & Construction Management Summit 6 December, Beijing The Belt and Road initiative is a huge opportunity for China-based engineers and consultants to enhance their reach globally. The summit will act as a platform for these companies to share their experiences and explore how we can collaborate to improve investment and risk management capabilities, while enhancing China’s international competitiveness. CPD: 8 hours ¥1,180 rics.org/consummit APREA-RICS Property Technology Conference 2 December, Tokyo Many Japanese companies are finding it tricky to answer the question: “How will proptech really transform the way we do business?” In response to this, the conference will shine a spotlight on the latest trends and innovations, and provide networking opportunities for local and international attendees. The event will be conducted in Japanese only. CPD: 4 hours ¥5,000 rics.org/proptechjapan

RICS Asset Management & Innovation Summit 12 December, Shanghai This summit will focus on the investment opportunities and assets of the national real estate market, as well as the impact technology is having on the way these assets are managed. We will also look at what future issues may arise from urban renewal and stock management, with an aim of promoting and improving processes and sustainable development. CPD: 8 hours ¥990 rics.org/assetsummit

All prices exclusive of VAT or local taxes

For details of conferences, training sessions and CPD seminars near you, go to rics.org/events Q4 2019 / MODUS APAC / 49

EXPERIENCE

W H A T I F…

…blockchain took over p r o p e r t y t r a n s a c t i o n s? Using a distributed ledger will make real estate deals more secure and more streamlined, argues Bob Duncan

50 / MODUS APAC / Q4 2019

on what is happening in property markets, thereby improving the quality of analysis that real estate professionals provide. Once a streamlined blockchain-based land registry is in place, the opportunity to trade tokenised real estate securities will follow, opening up the property investment market for smaller investors. That could take five to 10 years, but there are factors that might slow progress: secure trading applications will need to be developed, regulators will pay increasing attention to the area, and you need a critical mass of interested buyers and sellers. Distributed ledger won’t put surveyors out of business, they will just be doing different things – sometimes much more efficiently – allowing them to take on more business and improve profitability. By using technology to do things quickly and cheaply you can serve far more customers. Dr Bob Duncan is a lecturer in accounting and data technology at the University of Aberdeen

“ Surveyors will no longer need to pay someone to check records or dig through dusty tomes ”

INTERVIE W BY ST UART WATSON; ILLUSTR ATION BY S ALLY C AULWELL – FOLIO ART

Blockchain allows us to create an extremely robust new form of database. It makes a multiplicity of copies of the audit trail for each transaction, so that you can know whether the information is correct because each copy checks all of the others. With so many copies it is computationally far too expensive for an attacker to hack more than half the nodes – the threshold at which consensus is reached on whether the data is correct – making the system far more secure than a conventional database. The fundamental strength of blockchain is that it is totally transparent. A hacker could modify traditional records to falsely show that they are the new owner of a property, but with a distributed ledger you can’t change the fundamental record; you can only add a note to the audit trail saying, for example: “We became the new owner by transferring money on this date.” There is clear provenance on all that has transpired in a transaction, from its inception right up until the current point in time. Land registries around the world are examining how blockchain can be used to carry out the basic elements of a property transaction more efficiently and cheaply. If governments take the lead, and issues around privacy and security are resolved, the technology has the potential within the next five years to yield huge savings in the time and cost of administration associated with buying and selling property. Surveyors and lawyers will no longer need to pay someone to check records or dig through dusty tomes; they will be able to get an instant report on a property knowing that it will be 100% accurate. Meanwhile, greater transparency will make it easier to get up-to-date information

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