By: Marty Beneton
The construction industry has historically been slow to embrace digital tools, but recent shifts show a clear acceleration. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Engineering and Construction Outlook, technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital twins, robotics, and automation are being adopted more widely to improve coordination, streamline project workflows, and reduce both delays and operational costs. This growing use of integrated digital systems marks a practical response to the industry’s long-standing inefficiencies and signals a deeper transformation in how construction projects are planned and delivered. These inefficiencies—fragmented systems, resistance to automation, and reliance on manual coordination—are not limited to Europe; they remain prevalent in major construction economies like the U.S., making scalable solutions like HandyDay increasingly relevant globally.
According to Roman Belov, a software developer whose work has significantly advanced the adoption of digital tools in construction across Northern Europe, with measurable impact and public recognition, including state-backed innovation grants and peer-reviewed publications, such advancements open up unique opportunities for IT professionals to bring real value to a traditionally conservative industry. With over a decade of experience, Mr. Belov has witnessed firsthand how technology reshapes one of the most conservative industries. As the CTO and co-founder of HandyDay, he led the platform’s development from the ground up, forming a remote IT team and scaling the system to support a growing client base. Under his leadership, the project received a highly competitive 900,000 SEK grant from Vinnova, Sweden’s leading innovation agency – an impressive achievement considering the product was still at the very early stage at the time of application. This funding is awarded to a limited number of applicants and is regarded as a national-level endorsement of their technological potential. Under Mr. Belov’s leadership, the platform achieved a 30%reduction in project management time—an outstanding result in the construction sector. For comparison, even leading digital innovations such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) typically yield up to a 20% reduction in planning time and a 25% increase in overall productivity, according to PlanRadar. While McKinsey & Company notes that industry-wide productivity could potentially rise by up to 60% through comprehensive reform, such gains are rarely realized in practice. Against this backdrop, Mr. Belov’s result surpasses standard benchmarks for digital interventions in construction, while also demonstrating the platform’s exceptional efficiency in streamlining complex project workflows.
We turned to Roman to examine the key technological shifts in the construction sector, the barriers to digital adoption, and how IT-driven solutions are reshaping industry practices.
Digital breakthrough in a conservative industry
Despite growing interest in technology, the construction industry has long remained one of the most resistant to digital transformation. Companies were wary of adopting new IT tools, often sticking to familiar—but inefficient processes. This slowed progress, reduced transparency, and hindered resource optimization, even in the face of clear benefits from automation and analytics.
Roman Belov successfully tackled this challenge through his platform. Early in the project, he faced skepticism: one of the co-founders shared that a previous attempt to launch the product with an external development agency had failed. It quickly became clear that success required more than just code—it demanded a deep understanding of the industry and a client-focused mindset. Roman took full ownership of the technical foundation and independently created the platform’s technical architecture, tailoring it to address specific operational inefficiencies in construction—something external agencies had previously failed to do. Few professionals possess deep, hands-on expertise in both software systems and construction operations. This dual competence has been a key factor in delivering results where prior efforts failed. His understanding of both software engineering and construction workflows proved critical to the platform’s success.
“It wasn’t easy in the beginning,” Roman recalls. “I had to earn trust, dig into the industry’s real problems, and prove that tech can be a practical tool, not a burden. Even an imperfect product will gain traction if it addresses the client’s core pain points. That’s been our approach: listen, understand, and solve the right problems.”
From Pilot Project to Scalable Impact
One of the biggest challenges in bringing innovation to the construction industry lies in overcoming organizational resistance to change. As Roman Belov explains, many companies are hesitant to experiment, fearing that new tools might disrupt established workflows or create unnecessary complexity for their teams. That’s why he focused on a gradual, user-centric approach on his platform, designing a solution that complemented existing routines rather than replacing them outright.
In his leadership role, Roman guided the project from concept to implementation, building a remote team and introducing development processes aligned with the realities of the construction sector. Under Mr. Belov’s strategic guidance, the project achieved significant milestones, including securing a prestigious 900,000 SEK grant from Sweden’s innovation agency Vinnova — the country’s leading source of public funding for innovation. Each year, Vinnova awards only a select number of projects from hundreds of applications, making the competition a national-level endorsement of a project’s technological relevance and commercial viability. The funding also helped attract private investment and supported practical outcomes, enabling clients to reduce project coordination time by nearly a third and significantly decrease documentation errors.
“In my view, lasting solutions come from understanding the daily struggles of users,” Roman says. “Technology works best when it adapts to real-life workflows, not the other way around. If you take time to observe, listen, and prioritize practical value, you can build tools that teams actually want to use every day.”
What’s Next: The Role of AI and Predictive Tools
Looking ahead, Roman Belov sees immense potential in the growing application of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics across the construction lifecycle. “Right now, most digital tools are reactive—they help you document and coordinate what’s already happening,” he explains. “The next step is making them proactive: identifying risks, forecasting delays, and recommending actions before issues arise.”
According to Belov, the key to unlocking this potential lies in data quality and integration. Many construction companies still rely on fragmented systems or even manual spreadsheets, which limits the effectiveness of AI models. At HandyDay, Roman is already exploring how to combine scheduling data, communication logs, and real-time updates to support smarter decision-making on the ground. By combining predictive insights with user-friendly interfaces, the platform aims to help teams anticipate problems and act faster.
Mr. Belov’s perspective on this shift is grounded not only in practice but also in research. As a peer reviewer and author of multiple peer-reviewed publications on topics such as client-server architecture, DevOps methodologies, and performance optimization in distributed systems, he contributes to the broader discourse on how software can evolve to meet complex, real-world challenges. His work has been featured in respected scientific journals, reflecting both the academic depth and practical relevance of his work. Notably, he is the sole author of all published articles, underscoring his independent expertise and thought leadership. His article “Integrative Models of Client-Server Technology Interaction in Web Development” appeared in APNI in September 2023, offering a novel framework for understanding the dynamics of web architecture. In March 2025, Universum: Technical Sciences published his work “Modern Principles of Performance Optimization in Distributed Web Systems,” which introduced practical optimization strategies now referenced in multiple applied projects. Most recently, in May 2025, his article “Modern Methodologies for Organizing DevOps Processes in Web Development” was published in Vestnik Nauki, contributing valuable insights into workflow automation and systems integration. APNI with the article “Integrative Models Of Client-Server Technology Interaction In Web Development” in September 2023, Universum: Technical Sciences With The Article “Modern Principles Of Performance Optimization In Distributed Web Systems” in March 2025, and Vestnik Nauki with the article “Modern Methodologies For Organizing Devops Processes In Web Development” in May 2025.
These developments signal a shift from digitalization as a support function to a strategic driver of efficiency, quality, and competitiveness in construction. As Mr. Belov concludes:
“We’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible. The more we tailor solutions to real-world construction needs, the more powerful this transformation becomes—for both the industry and the people working in it.”