13th March: World Cafe in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The World Café was implemented on the 13th of March 2024. It was attended by 16 participants from the industry, academia, technology, research and development organizations, as well as from the government bodies.

The event was implemented in the form of an open discussion event by having two sessions with four open table discussions with all of the 16 participants regarding crucial needs and opportunities of the construction sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The first session named “Mapping local resources” focused on four aspects of improving the construction sector in the form of Local Readiness, Identifying opportunities, Training and Skills Development, and Environment and Safety.

The second session was named “Digitalization in the construction sector” and it focused on Cross-sector collaboration, Integrating robotics with traditional construction methods, Community acceptance of automated construction and Economic challenges and opportunities. 

Based on all the inputs from the session, we were able to conclude the following:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina's construction sector experiences increasing demand for infrastructure, sustainable practices, and digital technology integration.
• Readiness for automation is evident, supported by accessible technologies, favorable policies, and collaborative innovation efforts.
• Specific tasks that would benefit from automation include repetitive tasks, material handling, prefabrication, and quality control.
• Training programs are available to develop skills for operating and maintaining automated systems.
• Automation integration into construction industry would respect local craftsmanship while enhancing efficiency through collaborative robots, drones, and 3D printing.
• Community acceptance is crucial and is fostered through education, engagement, and transparency initiatives.
• Economic challenges, such as initial investment costs and job displacement, are countered by long-term benefits like cost savings and job creation.
• Strategies to overcome financial barriers include initiating investment, fostering collaboration, and providing supportive regulatory frameworks.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready for a transformative journey in construction, capitalizing on automation, innovation, and community involvement for a sustainable future. 

Having construction professionals, engineers, academic institutions, government bodies, industry professionals and companies, as event attendees, allowed us to analyze the problems of opportunities and challenges in construction in depth and gain insight into different aspects that need to be addressed for pursuing digitalization in this sector.