Towards a digitised process-wheel for historic building repair and maintenance projects in Scotland

Abstract

PurposeWith the increasing demand for high-quality economical and sustainable historic building repair and maintenance (R&M) allied with the perennial problem of skills shortages (project management (PM) and on-site practice) investment in new technologies becomes paramount for modernising training and practice. Yet, the historic R&M industry, in particular small- and medium-sized enterprises have yet to benefit from digital technologies (such as laser scanning, virtual reality and cloud computing) which have the potential to enhance performance and productivity. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative participatory action research approach was adopted. One demonstration project (Project A) exhibiting critical disrepair, showcasing the piloting of a five phased digitised “process-wheel” intended to provide a common framework for facilitating collaboration of project stakeholders thereby aiding successful project delivery is reported. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry employers to facilitate the process-wheel concept development.FindingsImplementing only Phase 1 of the digitised “process-wheel” (e-Condition surveying incorporating laser scanning) resulted in an estimated 25-30 per cent cost and time savings, when compared to conventional methods. The accrued benefits are twofold: provide a structured standardised data capturing approach that is shared in a common project repository amongst relevant stakeholders; inform the application of digital technologies to attain efficiencies across various phases of the process-wheel.Originality/valueThis paper has provided original and valuable information on the benefits of modernising R&M practice, highlighting the importance of continued investment in innovative processes and new technologies for historic building R&M to enhance existing practice and in form current training provision. Future work will focus on further piloting and validation of the process-wheel in its entirety on selected demonstration projects with a view of supporting the industry to digitise its workflows and going fully digital to realise optimum process efficiencies.