On 10th July 2019, MagiCAD Construction Solutions launched a brand new version of its flagship Construction Quantity & Cost product, Cubicost TAS C.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) HQ lecture hall provided an apt back drop for the final stage of these worldwide events that have touched Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia & Hong Kong and it has attracted some 1800 professionals to date.

The afternoon featured informative talks on surveying & digital construction from a  host of guests. Digital Transformation was the key theme of the afternoon with a call to arms for all surveyors to adopt BIM technology into their main processes as other sections of the industry have.

The afternoon opened by Construction Director Tom Young, with a welcome that included thoughts on construction at present within a turbulent political climate and how technology may provide a beacon as we fight to move forward.

James Fiske, Director of Delivery & Operations for RICS gave attendees an insight into how times are changing for surveyors, covering topics such as Laser Scanning, AI, Drones, AR, VR and Offsite construction as well as how these technologies will augment the profession.

“This is not the end of surveying; this is about evolving, being more productive and pushing surveying up the value chain. There isn’t a more exciting time to be part of surveying and underpinning the evolution of our industry, and this isn’t about the future. This is now.”

Later in the day Richard Paxton, Senior Account Manager was joined on stage by Cubicost Customers Michael Hardman of Colliers International & Chris Maguire of Bill Solutions Ltd. Representing very different sides of the surveying spectrum, Chris and Michael gave candid insights into their respective BIM journeys’ and what needs to change for a QS to make full use of the BIM & construction technologies in their everyday work.

Michael pointed out that for a large business such as Colliers attracting talents remains a key issue and that technology has a role to play in it, while reduction of risk remains an area where we have the most to gain.

As a bill production company working with the largest names in construction, Chris highlighted concerns for Bill Solutions around level of detail and construction contracts not facilitating a BIM transition. However, both highlighted that opportunities are emerging for companies that make the necessary investments in R&D, and do not just leave it to others, ensuring the QS remains a valuable part of the construction equation.

Richard Paxton hosts a fire side chat with Michael Hardman & Chris Maguire.

Supported by Cubicost, both companies are shaping the practical application of BIM for their Surveyors. 

For too long BIM quantity and cost have received a muted response from surveyors. Due to the lack of data and flexibility when drawing information from models. Cubicost TASC aims to revolutionise the industry by providing a greater level of intelligence to BIM Quantity & Costing by running models through measurement in the context of materials, using localised measurement rules while providing means to add & control model data.

General Manager of Cubicost Jack Zhang introduced the core concepts of Intelligence, Visualisation & Interconnectivity that drives the Cubicost Development Team to create products for the next generation of Quantity & Costing.

For 2 years Jack and his large team of developers have re-imagined how BIM quantification could be achieved through intelligent model understanding & automation.

Tom Young introducing new product features for TAS C.

This new version of TAS launched by the UK team signals and exiting new era for Surveying as the diverse role continues to develop through technology. The sentiment from all those involved was that the future is here and the time for change is now.