The birth of the data era in construction
18 February 2024The digital revolution and the emergence of ERP systems
18 February 2024The first documented evidence in construction dates back to the period of the construction of the pyramids, around 3000-4000 BC. Since that time, the keeping of written records facilitated and accompanied the progress in the construction industry, allowing the accumulation and systematization of knowledge, which over the next 10,000 years led to significant innovations in construction methods and architecture.
It took humanity about 5,000 years to move from oral conversations to written documents in construction project management, and the same amount of time to make the step from keeping records on physical media to using digital information.
The use of the first physical media in construction, such as clay tablets, papyrus thousands of years ago or A0 paper, to record data was not originally intended to apply this information to new projects. The primary purpose of such records was to detail the current condition of the site, including calculations of materials needed and the cost of the work. Similarly, in today's world, the availability of digital project data and models does not always guarantee its application in future projects and also often serves mainly as information for current calculations of the required materials and costs of works.
A papyrus document from the 3rd century BC which describes the cost of painting various types of windows in a royal palace using the encaustic technique
Just as trade and monetary relationships once fostered the evolution of writing and the creation of the first legal documents, so the first records of material costing and scopes of work in construction led to the emergence of the first managers in the construction industry whose duties were to document, monitor, and be responsible for key information about the time and cost attributes of a project.
As the volume of projects has increased, company management has been faced with the need to store and process the vast amount of information described through paper documents and drawings that require signatures, regular review and archiving in office cabinets. In response to this problem, starting in the mid-1990s, companies in the construction industry began to move en masse to the electronic creation and storage of documents, spreadsheets and drawings.
