Executive summary of professional thesis 2016

1. Executive summary
Will the digital revolution shake up the established
order in the building sector?
Facing the digital revolution, defined by the progressive
introduction but massive information and communication
technology in all areas of society, the building sector has
a reputation for evolving rather slowly, and has, therefore,
some difficulties to change.
Is it a matter of reluctance or resistance from traditional
players ? A matter of inefficiency of the digital initiatives
? A matter of ignorance of the possible issues ? A matter
of underestimating the potential opportunities and
threats?
I choose to particularly take a look at small building
companies (artisans, small and micro businesses), which
represent 94% of the sector. I am working to qualify the
digital drive, also called "digynamisme", of their direct
ecosystem, such as materials and equipment distributors,
goods and service providers, manufacturers1
[called first
circle]. I also choose to analyze players and tools that are
in principle more distant from construction sites, which
rely on the Internet and that could influence very directly
the sector's value chain: individuals, connected objects,
digital "pure players2
", and BIM3
[called second circle].
1
I often call businesses: the "industry professionals" and I will refer to them
generally as "construction players." The observations and conclusions that I
choose to present are specific to the renovation market and new housing. So I
decide not to address project owners, architects, majors, or the non-residential
market.
2
Whose model is based exclusively on the Internet
3 Building information model

2. Stephanie Bigeon-Bienvenu Professional thesis
Filled with examples, testimonies, reflections, analysis
and advices, the study are structured as follows:
1. Construction industry is a key sector in the French
economy but the large number of players, the historical
positions of each one of them, subdivision, and
conservatism, make it all together a difficult sector to
move.
2. If they remain generally traditional and attached to "face
to face" contact and to oral tradition, artisans also evolve
and are, at the very least, new technologies users, as
everyone else.
3. Digital initiatives operated by traditional players in the
industry [first circle] are multiplying to bring more
performance to construction professionals. Are those
"digital inside4
" services sufficient to create value? A
selection of digital offers is evaluated through a three-step
approach: first, measuring their “digynamisme”; secondly,
categorizing the level of innovation carried by each actor,
and finally, analyzing the relevance of offers regarding the
proposed customer experience.
4. But is there not an urgency to consider that some
initiatives coming from more distant actors [second circle]
may shake deeply the players’ core business? Four
trends are presented: the connected end user,
accelerating digitalization; connected objects (IOT 5
)
which move value; digital players (GAFA 6
) which are
4
Integrating Internet technology
5
Internet of things
6
Google Apple Facebook Amazon

3. Stephanie Bigeon-Bienvenu Professional thesis
embedded, and the digital mock-up (BIM 7
) supported by
the State which requires more transparency. Four trends
complemented by influencers’ vision that will help
understanding the urgency of evolving, and the range of
possibilities.
5. In conclusion, several recommendations are proposed
to "digynamise" traditional players’ practices, to ensure
they enjoy the benefits of new tools and actively contribute
to a deep change in the building sector.
The building
sector has
already climbed
a first step in
modernization,
but it would be
dangerous to be
satisfied. If it has
an inner
slowness that
has always
authorized it to
"see it coming",
now the digital
revolution makes
movements
"unpredictable" and it would be unfortunate for the sector
to lose its value. For professionals, integration of digital
tools should enable greater sharing of information, useful
for time savings, operational performance and to facilitate
market development.
7
Building information model