Smart Contracts in Construction

ABSTRACT:
Blockchain provides an opportunity to integrate digital information, management, and contracts to increase trust and collaboration within the construction industry. In this lecture, how Blockchain enables new forms of finance, planning and procurement will be explained. Firstly, Prof. Dr. Daniel Hall and Jens Hunhevicz will describe the reasons why they find that blockchain represents an excellent fit for the construction industry. Secondly, they will introduce ongoing use case implementations they are working on at ETH. These include
(1) Incentivizing high-quality data sets from building information modelling (BIM), (2) Smart performance-based contracts using digital twins, (3) Blockchain supported decentralised construction project governance, and (4) no1s1 - a house prototype for autonomous space as a decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). Finally, the lecturers will give a short overview of their proposed decision framework that can guide future implementers toward more connected and structured thinking between the technological properties of blockchain and the implementation of specific use cases in construction.

SPEAKERS:
Prof. Dr. Daniel Hall (right picture) is Assistant Professor of Innovative and Industrial Construction at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at ETH Zürich. The overarching theme of his research is to enhance governance, productivity, and innovation in construction projects through a transformation from fragmented project delivery methods to new organizational models that integrate the supply chain of the vertically and horizontally fragmented construction industry. His work finds that in order to foster more innovation in products and processes, the AEC industry must embrace new technologies, governance strategies and organizational models. Daniel holds a Doctor of Philosophy (2017) in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) from Stanford University. He is founder and organizer of the Stanford Industrialized Construction Forum since 2014.

Jens Hunhevicz (left picture) finished his Master of Science (M.Sc.) in civil engineering with areas of specialization in construction management and geotechnical engineering at ETH Zürich in 2017. Next to his studies in civil engineering, he completed the UNITECH International program with an exchange semester of business studies at Trinity College Dublin (2016). In addition, he gained practical experience in internships as a civil engineer (Dr. Vollenweider AG & Rothpletz, Lienhart + Cie AG) and in supply chain management (Hilti AG). He joined the Chair of Innovative and Industrial Construction (IC) as a Scientific Research Assistant in July 2018."

RECOMMENDED READINGS:
Hunhevicz, J. J., & Hall, D. M. (2020). Do you need a blockchain in construction? Use case categories and decision framework for DLT design options. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2020.101094

Hunhevicz, J. J., Schraner, T., & Hall, D. M. (2020). Incentivizing High-Quality Data Sets in Construction Using Blockchain: A Feasibility Study in the Swiss Industry. https://doi.org/10.22260/ISARC2020/0177

AGENDA:
18:00 - 18:05 Welcome by Dezentrum
18:05 - 19:00 Lecture by Prof. Dr. Daniel Hall and Jens Hunhevicz
19:00 - 19:30 Q&A Session
19:30 - 20:00 e-Apéro

Looking forward to welcoming our Guests from ETH and all of you!