Dawid Fedko: – The construction industry offers many opportunities

• Dawid Fedko's day-to-day job is neither designing nor working directly on site, but implementing new technologies and digitalisation in the industry.
• His greatest joy at work comes from working together as part of a team.
• Artificial intelligence is developing at a dizzying pace and with it, design, engineering and construction will certainly gain in many areas.

Non-obvious beginnings

– I'll be honest, like probably many people, I chose to study construction because that's what my parents advised me to do. I won't lie and say that construction was a huge passion of mine. However, once I started my studies, I found that there were many interesting things to do in the construction industry. Several lecturers, including Dr Jolanta Dąbrowska, Dr Wojciech Kilian and Dr Robert Świerzko, inspired me and showed me an unusual direction in which to develop. I owe it to them that I found my way in this field. On a daily basis, I’m not involved in designing or working directly on the construction site, but in implementing new technologies and digitalisation in the industry – says Dawid Fedko, who works at Mostostal Warszawa. He is responsible for introducing new technological solutions such as BIM and streamlining processes in the construction industry through mobile applications and digital platforms for document management, among other things.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a technology that supports the modelling and management of building information. It provides access to a virtual object, which is a digital representation of the planned project that contains all the most important information in addition to a 3D model.

– BIM is not just a 3D model. It additionally has information contained in it, for example about the materials of a wall or the surface of a wall, which allows certain jobs on the construction site to be finished faster – explains the UPWr graduate, who also conducts, among other things, workshops for students on the implementation of BIM on the construction site and the use of software in this field.

– The important thing I try to convey during the workshops is the ability to make changes. I show how to implement and manage change, and how to convince people to improve processes, because it’s natural that change is associated with resistance. I think this is very important, as is the ability to work in a team. Collaboration is key, especially in our industry. I also want to show that teamwork makes sense and it is worth developing these soft skills – says Dawid Fedko, who at Mostostal Warszawa manages a team operating within the Digital Transformation Department.

Teamwork makes the dream work

– Outside of school I was interested in football and played it myself for many years. The team spirit comes in handy for me today, because managing a team at work requires knowing how to work together. In sport, the whole team works towards a common goal. It is no different at work – says Dawid Fedko. It’s the cooperation within the team that brings him the most joy at work – as he admits, he enjoys the development and success of his employees. And the most important thing for him is that the solutions they introduce make other people's work better. – 'It's nice to know that what we do helps others in their day-to-day work, whether on site or in bidding activities – he adds.

The future of construction

The UPWr graduate admits that he is happy to have discovered an area in construction in which he feels good. – There is a lot of teamwork, with new technologies, and I work in construction indirectly. As it turned out, after graduating in construction you don’t have to work in one specific profession. You can choose your own path, as I did. And it's even easier for students today – I call them digital natives, because technology is second nature to them. They are in a unique position, because the demand for knowledge of new technologies is growing – says Dawid Fedko, and emphasises that the current trend of developing digital technologies and information management techniques in the construction industry will only grow in popularity. – You have to take advantage of these gaps in the industry created by technological developments – he adds, emphasising that this is the direction he plans to develop himself in further.

Artificial intelligence is also developing at a dizzying pace and is slowly finding its way into all industries – with it, design, engineering and construction will certainly gain in many areas. Artificial intelligence combined with, for example, BIM and AR technology will take design to an even higher level.

- Artificial intelligence in construction is still in its infancy, but it will certainly help us in the near future to better analyse data and make decisions related to assessing the quality of what we do on site. Beyond that, the development of AR technology will be key. We will be able to use digital models directly on site in our day-to-day work, catching inconsistencies, planning work better and ensuring a better quality of work done on site. So the development of AI will be quite important for the industry – and I see my place in it. I will continue to work in digitalisation, just maybe in slightly different areas – says Dawid Fedko.

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