We realised that the manufacturing component of the construction process could be taught to serving prisoners, helping to train them in marketable skills for use on release, and aiding rehabilitation.

However, with the likes of the Hub’s Defining the Need workstream and with a number of digital configurators in use, we are starting to put the enablers in place to facilitate this.. Can we look to digital marketplaces that already exist?.There are plenty of examples from which we can learn; the combination of standard components, digital tools and e-commerce has numerous precedents.

While none of them is a perfect fit for construction procurement, they all have certain synergies with a potential marketplace for Platforms and it is worth exploring them.. Amazon.Amazon is of course the most famous digital marketplace, and the one most people are familiar with (except Alibaba perhaps, depending on where you are reading this).But it is not necessarily the best example to learn from.

For one thing, the product range is far bigger and more diverse than construction would need.More importantly, Amazon is not a neutral broker, a place where the price is set by the market.

Amazon is itself a participant in the market and therefore sets or influences pricing.

A digital marketplace for construction should be as neutral as possible, providing a space for buyers and sellers to find each other, without influencing the transaction.. Xometry.For example, Highways England is currently transforming the.

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB).into a new form, aiming to set the standard for engineering documents in the digital future.

This could present an interesting model.. Another example where UK construction has excelled in this regard is with BIM.In the UK, our view and understanding of BIM is incredibly robust and widespread.