Own The Build
Own the Build is the podcast for Quantity Surveyors and Commercial Directors who want to sharpen their commercial edge and lead with confidence.
Hosted by Paul Heming, former Commercial leader and now co-founder of C-Link, each week’s conversation dives into the realities of modern commercial management — from procurement and contracts to digital transformation and leadership in construction.
Through honest discussions with industry leaders, forensic planners, and forward-thinking QSs, Paul explores how the best commercial teams deliver profit, performance, and project certainty in a changing industry.
If you’re serious about mastering the commercial side of construction — this is where you build your advantage.
Own The Build
The RICS AI Standard: What It Means for QSs and the Future of Professional Practice (EP 250)
For our 250th episode, we mark a major milestone for Own the Build with a special collaboration with the RICS and the Project Flux podcast. This conversation arrives at a pivotal moment: the RICS has just published its first-ever global professional standard for the responsible use of AI in surveying, coming into effect in March 2026.
To unpack what this means for QSs, valuers, project professionals, software vendors and construction leaders, Paul is joined by three people who helped shape the standard:
- James Garner — Head of AI & Data at Gleeds, Chair of the Project Data Analytics Task Force, and host of Project Flux.
- Chris de Gruben — Senior Director & Head of AI at Artefact; co-chair of the RICS AI Working Group.
- Matthew Lavy — Barrister at 4 Pump Court specialising in technology disputes and AI liability.
Across this wide-ranging, practical and occasionally provocative discussion, the panel explore:
• Why the RICS created this standard now
Member demand, regulatory pressure, industry lag, and a cultural shift from “AI as a threat” to “AI as a professional tool”.
• The core pillars of responsible AI use
Risk registers, explainability, transparency to clients, PI considerations, shadow AI, enterprise-grade tools, and why “professional judgement” remains non-negotiable.
• What AI will — and won’t — replace
From AVMs and automated cost analysis to complex valuation, negotiation, context, and human judgement.
• The difference between enabling and restricting innovation
Why the RICS guidance is intentionally light-touch and principle-based, and how it avoids the rigidity of the EU AI Act.
• What this means for QSs, valuers, employers, universities and software vendors
Future training, AI literacy, cultural change, documentation, and how practitioners can protect themselves while accelerating adoption.
• The future of surveying and construction in an AI-native world
Agentic workflows, robotics, quantum computing, and the real-world impact on productivity, risk, client expectations and professional identity.
This is a landmark conversation at a turning point for the profession. If you want clarity on how AI will shape surveying, cost management and construction over the next five years — and what you should do in 2026 — this is essential listening.
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Want to connect with Paul?
Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link.
C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.
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