Talking Technology and Skills with Annette Pass of the Department for Transport

Peter Haddock met with Annette Pass, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Transport (DfT), recently at the Connected and Autonomous Plant (CAP) group conference at Harper Adams University to discuss the opportunities and challenges the sector faces as it seeks to improve safety and productivity.

As they both learned at the event, there are a lot of similarities between the agriculture sector and the construction sector. 

With the DFT responsible for over £33bn worth of infrastructure investment from roads to rail, Annette is a real advocate for the sector.

Speaking to Peter and others at the CAP event, she highlighted what we can do right now using the data we can already collect onsite. 

She also talked about how we can use digital tools to rehearse project delivery and measure productivity to establish a baseline for how we deliver projects now and what we can do in the future. 

Annette: “To make improvements today, it’s all about using the technology that is out there at the moment, like 3D machine control and AI safety systems, as well as utilising information from telematics data."  

“By understanding what can be achieved, we can continually invest time and resources into further digitalisation. And this is not just about machines. It’s also about people. We need to, therefore, attract the right talent as well as upskill our existing workforce for the future. ”