“Smart main contracting through blockchain”

Source: DWA.nl

The wonderful world of smart contracting
Smart contracts are frequently used in the financial sector. Eyes have also been opened in the construction sector. All process steps are, as it were, automated. Smart contracts can relieve up to 100% in process costs. Another major advantage is that no independent third party is required.

Smart contracting: what, why and how?
A smart contract is a written agreement in code language. A smart contract is therefore anything but a paper contract that you sign. It is a completely digital contract, consisting of computer code. The Smart contract contains all information of the contract. Such as the organizations between whom the contract is valid, when the contract should be executed, when the agreements have been recorded, and so on. Smart contracts are smart contracts that offer an innovative alternative to the everyday regular contracts used to arrange business.

Management and maintenance of buildings
These digital agreements can also offer new opportunities in the built environment. For example 'Management and maintenance of the building'. This means that, based on information from the building management system, sensors and other data sources, orders for maintenance, testing and inspections can be sent to connected service parties in a fully automated manner. Orders, communication, monitoring and payments can take place based on rules and conditions recorded in the smart contract. This allows you to remain in real-time control when it comes to the technical performance of a building. For example, by reducing management costs and increasing tenant satisfaction. Processes that normally take a lot of time, such as creating work orders and sending back and forth emails about the status, are automated. The rules and conditions, which in a traditional contract are written down in a document and stored in a (digital) folder, are now programmed into the smart contract.

No middle party
The contract is automatically executed without the need for an intermediary and is automatically effective once the agreed conditions have been met. The special thing about smart contracts is that the rules and conditions that legitimize such a contract are programmed into the contract itself. The coding of smart contracts ensures that these smart contracts can maintain themselves. These agreements can be viewed by the various parties, but they cannot simply be adjusted.

Blockchain: honesty lasts the longest
Contracts work using blockchain, a system used to record data. Everything that happens on the blockchain is backed up. So there is no danger of losing data. A blockchain is completely decentralized. Everything that happens on the 'chain' is verified by multiple computers (nodes) within the network. This process ensures that manipulation or fraud is virtually impossible.

During the Bits, Bricks & Behavior conference, Jeroen Perquin and Wilfred van der Plas will show the added value of smart contracts and blockchain in an interactive presentation and workshop. In this workshop these concepts are explained and applied to the built environment. The new DWA headquarters in Gouda has been linked by 2bSmart to a smart contract on the blockchain and through this proof of concept on indoor climate management, the participant is practically included in one of those applications in the built environment. After this workshop, the participant has practical knowledge of smart contracts and an overview of opportunities in the built environment.

Register for a free visit to the Bits, Bricks & Behavior conference by clicking on this link.