Energetic, enthusiastic, motivating, thought provoking, enjoyable – who’d have thought all these were comments from delegates attending a building-industry conference!

PrefabNZ is a hub for innovative construction. Whether you are looking to build a home, are working within the industry or are just interested in the latest building solutions – this is the place to be.

PrefabNZ CoLab 2017 – held at AUT on March 21st was sold out quickly, and it was not hard to see why. This year’s keynote speakers from around the globe delivered a spectacular array of knowledge and relevant content that held the audience of 170 delegates captive from start to finish. I didn’t see a single yawn.

Helena Lidelow (University of Lulea / Lindbäcks, Sweden) delivered the keynote and quickly gained the attention of her audience by delivering some stark industry facts regarding waste operations on building projects. Just 20% of the time is considered “Direct Work” compared with 35% “Pure Waste” and 45% “Indirect Work”. Talking with some delegates after the keynote, these facts had clearly done their work and the “off-site manufacture” message had firmly taken root! Helena’s presentation went on to compare prefab to the automotive industry and how different the two industries are – but to learn these lessons and understand the industry more, you’ll need to get yourself along to the next events. (http://www.prefabnz.com/Events)

This year, CADPRO Systems provided a 15-minute talk on how people see the world in different ways. Not everyone can read a drawing and yet we still present incredibly technical diagrams to clients and expect them to engage with a project. During the short talk, we introduced virtual reality (VR) and how it brings the only “full scale” immersive experience to potential clients and stakeholders – regardless of their technical ability. Our VR rig in the exhibition area was in constant use by delegates and exhibitors throughout the day. As usual, it was fascinating to see people become so quickly and emotionally connected to a simple model, and their understanding of the potential uses for the technology was inspiring.

| A CADPRO Systems release  |  Wednesday 22 March 2017   |||