stern
In the evolving world of architecture, engineering and construction, the use of technology to improve service delivery and business outcomes is here to stay. Companies that take advantage of this opportunity will thrive, adapting to market changes and needs, but those that hesitate risk a decline in growth and competitiveness.
Companies must recognize that technology does not replace engineers. Rather, engineers who take advantage of technology replace engineers who do not. Adopting the technology ensures that companies are better equipped to navigate the AEC landscape as well as meet the forward-looking expectations customers have of an innovative and modern engineering company. Integrating technology into businesses and service delivery will be necessary to stay relevant as it becomes more ubiquitous.
To truly transform the industry and overcome today’s challenges, first focus on refining and improving the delivery of your current work by leveraging technologies that are already ready rather than redefining your work as a whole. By adopting this mindset, we can unlock a world of automation and efficiency gains, both internally within engineering firms and externally in our customer interactions before we use technology to reinvent the industry.
The accelerated and consistent evolution of technology, artificial intelligence and its many subsets such as machine learning, can prove detrimental to an industry like AEC, where traditional modes of project management, design and consultation reign However, there are tactics companies can implement to ease anxiety, manage risk and embrace technology enablement.
Check your mindset and take advantage of existing technology
Adopting technology does not have to be a zero-to-60 strategy. Engineers should be relieved of the pressure or assumption that entering the technology and innovation space requires the development of a radically new product. Rather, they should focus on exploring and ultimately leveraging existing technologies to improve current processes and services to deliver a better outcome for customers and the experience of their engineers.
Today’s landscape offers us a unique opportunity to leverage emerging technology in a way that prioritizes efficiency and elevates the quality of our work. We can do this with generative design. With generative design, engineers can rely on algorithms and artificial intelligence to create multiple design options in a fraction of the time it would take to create just one. This process ensures a fully optimized design, giving engineers more room to apply their expertise to additional project components and get ahead of supply chain issues that could delay construction.
Many technologies already exist that can change the way your business operates: better access to high-fidelity data sets, the use of augmented and mixed reality solutions, and the deployment of robotics and on-site inspection technologies remotes approach these existing technologies, leveraging their value to improve. its provision of services.
Create internal policies and procedures to manage risk
As technology continues to rapidly evolve, becoming universally accessible to businesses, customers and employees, it is critical that engineering firms develop policies and procedures around its adoption and implementation.
New advances in technology enablement can transform engineering, but without establishing a core set of policies that dictate how employees can and should use it, companies open themselves up to potential data and privacy breaches, security risks , misuse and misinformation. The first step is to create internal guidelines and rules to protect the integrity of your work and your brand.
Companies should rely on their legal and regulatory leaders to ensure that AI technologies are used safely and in a way that does not risk the dissemination of proprietary information. Working collaboratively across departments will help ensure all employees understand the internal standard operating procedure for using AI. It’s an intuitive measure but one that can be easily overlooked given the speed at which we see technological advances in the AEC space.
In addition to developing internal policies, engineering teams should create an established procedure for identifying and testing new technologies. Before integrating new technology into day-to-day operations, business offerings or service delivery, time should be spent understanding how the technology works with existing processes, the impact on overall project delivery, and if it even makes business sense.
There are many traditional technology assessment frameworks to follow, most structured around the same basic tenants: (1.) Be specific in what you are trying to learn/answer with your testing process, (2.) state your assumptions or hypotheses about how it might affect your business if it works, (3.) put this technology directly into the hands of the engineering teams that would use it, and (4.) be objective in reviewing data and results. If your assumptions and hypotheses hold, confirm it again. If you learned something new, modify and run the process.
In general, it is crucial that an organization and team are willing to test your technology in the field and on a project, learning what it does and how it should be modified for your team. Learning something new or unexpected from your tests isn’t a failure, that’s the point. The more you learn, the better you can decide how to integrate and operate as part of a new way of working.
Invest in current employees to grow your business
As the AEC industries continue to face labor challenges while project demand steadily increases, technology enablement is a critical strategy to meet both employee and project demand. Internal integration of new technologies has immense potential to develop talent and modernize traditional engineering practices. Engineers have always been problem solvers, and by embracing technology, we can empower them to solve complex challenges more effectively and efficiently.
However, engineers often lack the coding tools and expertise required to create innovative solutions. To bridge this gap, companies should seize this opportunity by investing in their people and launching tech skills programs. This will encourage the growth of your employees and encourage technological creativity. Through in-house education and development, engineers can expand their skill sets to include software skills and streamline the innovation process, and organizations can build talent internally without having to look for specialized knowledge in a restricted labor market .
Creating a program to empower engineers to write their own scripts and develop custom engineering tools is an additional way to develop talent internally. By providing basic and additional coding training, organizations can enable our employees to improve their problem-solving abilities and further increase the efficiency and quality of their work. For example, Ulteig has sponsored an internal efficiency team since August 2019 and recently implemented a citizen developer program to help employees upskill, resulting in more than 100 calculators and tools new internal engineering.
Integrating state-of-the-art technology into AEC operations, both externally with clients and internally with talent development, brings numerous benefits. Embracing technology is no longer an option but a necessity to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving industry. It is crucial to seize this moment and proactively incorporate technological advances into our business operations. By leveraging technology, AEC professionals can solve labor shortages while driving efficiency, collaboration, and overall project quality. It is time to recognize and embrace the potential of technology as a transformative force to revolutionize the AEC industry, propelling it into a new era of success.
Eric Stern is director of technology and innovation at Ulteig
