Dr Buddhini Ginigaddara Appuhamilage

Construction and the way we build are shifting in the face of new technologies, and researcher and industry educator Dr Buddhini Ginigaddara is passionate about ensuring the industry keeps up. You could call her a modern construction enabler.

One of Buddhini’s primary goals is to identify and quantify new skills that emerge due to technological advancements in modern construction methods. Simultaneously, she’s addressing the challenges of some traditional construction skills becoming obsolete as technology takes over. Her research, therefore, involves modernising construction training and education in the built environment to develop pathways for up skilling and re-skilling.

“The construction industry worldwide is considered one of the least industrialised and least digitalised industries that relies on extensive labour requirements,” says Buddhini.

“My research is about bringing digitalisation and industrialisation into construction through modern construction methods.”

Through her work, she’s also exploring how the construction industry can attract a more diverse range of skills to address the ongoing skill shortages. This includes looking at different demographics, such as women in construction, notably migrant women, and Gen Z youth who are well-versed in tech.

From construction passion to skills prediction

Buddhini has been passionate about the construction industry since she completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Quantity Surveying from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 2017.

She was intrigued by the rapid phase of technological change in the world and wanted to explore how it was transforming the construction industry.

After graduating, Buddhini worked for Access Engineering PLC, one of the largest construction firms in Sri Lanka, which supported her interest in remaining engaged with academia through some visiting lecturing.

She then achieved a full scholarship to pursue a PhD in Engineering at the Centre for Smart Modern Construction at Western Sydney University. And it was through her PhD research that she developed a skill profile prediction model for typologies of offsite construction.

Understanding the skills of offsite construction

“The model helps to quantify the skills needs in offsite construction projects that use Industry 4.0-driven emerging technologies,” Buddhini shares.

“The modern methods of construction I’m looking at include prefabrication, modular and offsite construction.”

Prefabrication is the process of manufacturing and assembling building components or entire structures in a factory or offsite location before they’re transported and installed at a construction site.

Similarly, modular is a construction method in which a building or structure is constructed offsite in sections or modules and then transported to the final construction site for assembly.

Offsite construction is a term that incorporates both pre-fab and modular construction. It involves making buildings in factories, similar to how cars are manufactured, rather than traditional onsite construction with many workers.

Offsite construction offers many benefits, including improved health and safety, reduced build time, reduced waste and energy and better quality control. It also prevents delays due to weather.

Partnerships lead to practical solutions

In her pursuit to understand the current context of construction practices and modernise them to match 21st-century advancements, Buddhini has collaborated closely with industry organisations, educational institutions and government bodies across Australia.

“It has involved identifying emerging skills needs, developing training programs and recommending policies that align with the sector's evolving needs. And these partnerships have been instrumental in translating research into practical solutions,” she continues.

Buddhini is also a part of The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB – Conseil International du Bâtiment), where she’s involved with both global industry practitioners and academics in the build environment.

Through CIB collaborations, she conducts industry-led research, which ultimately helps her translate the findings into research-led teaching as an educator.

While at WSU, Buddhini led the CIB Student Chapter and has now established a similar CIB/ECR network here at the University of Newcastle, which helps to improve collaboration and research activities among higher-degree research students and early career researchers.

Revitalisation and reducing skills shortages

Collectively, Buddhini’s work to date is helping industry practitioners understand and anticipate their evolving skill needs, especially as they adopt advanced technologies in construction.

Her research has the potential to revitalise the construction industry in the Hunter region and New South Wales by helping it adapt to modern methods, ultimately creating more efficient and sustainable construction projects.

“This, in turn, can lead to economic growth and job opportunities, especially in line with creating new skills that match technological advancements.”

At a national level, Buddhini’s research contributes to workforce development and should help reduce skills shortages in the construction industry, benefiting our country’s infrastructure and economy. The findings from her PhD prediction model are already important for decision-making in Australian offsite construction projects.

These benefits translate globally, a scale that’s being enabled by her international engagements and collaborative research.

The more human impact is an increasingly skilled and adaptable workforce, which can lead to better job opportunities and career progression for construction professionals.

In addition, her research that focuses on training women from migrant and refugee backgrounds is helping to reinvigorate a disadvantaged demographic who often struggle to get a foothold in a new country.

The challenges and the motivation

One of the big challenges Buddhini has encountered in her research is bridging the gap between traditional construction practices and modern technologies.

Buddhini explains, “As technology adoption cannot occur overnight, the benefits and drivers of such changes must be effectively communicated to create a cultural and attitude shift in embracing technological advancements in the industry.”

To overcome this, she’s collaborated with industry experts and educators to develop training programs that facilitate the transition to modern construction methods.

Buddhini is proud that her research has the potential to reshape an industry that’s traditionally been resistant to change.

“It’s motivating to think about how we can leverage technology to build better and more efficiently with a more skilled workforce. The prospect of helping individuals and the construction industry as a whole adapt and thrive in this digital era is what motivates and excites me the most.”

Buddhini is also fervent about conducting research-led teaching, bringing research learning into the classroom via teaching to help prepare the next generation for evolving career paths.