APRIL 2024CONSTRUCTIONBUSINESSREVIEW.COM 19without concern for compatibility of the next tool in the digital workflow? The second technology imperative in construction is to democratize the data, making it agnostic to software platforms so we can easily connect the design, engineering, subcontracting, procurement, construction, and maintenance phases of our business digitally end-to-end, enabling frictionless access to actionable data and insights for real-time decision making. For now, we spend countless resources customizing and connecting all of the disparate systems and technology tools available.For this vision of a tech-enabled future, we need to transform from an information-hoarding industry into an information-sharing industry. Builders rarely share what they learn from project to project with competitors. We see those learning as a value we can bring to our next client. But that pays off only if the next client wants to build something very similar to the project that produced that learning. Clients want us to build what THEY want, not what WE recently built.That seamless transfer of knowledge from platform to the platform must be based on broadly shared information, not just the data each company has accumulated. Knowledge sharing -- like we see in other industries -- will benefit all of us. While we wait for the catalyst that aligns the industry around this notion, we are keeping an eye on a number of technologies, including.Artificial Intelligence can do the heavy lift analysis and provide actionable data using analytics and insights.Robotics, can remove our workers from harm's way and supplement a shrinking workforce, as well as allow us to be more efficient with the workforce we have.The Internet of Things, sensors, and smart devices help us capture data from the field and measure the performance of our buildings in real time during and post-construction. Conceptual design tools leverage the rapid iteration capabilities to move the design process forward more quickly and evaluate more options. Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality -- and their inevitable transformation into the metaverse -- hold tremendous promise for bringing people together in virtual settings, enabling the construction of digital twins of the buildings we are planning to build (so we can identify challenges and solutions before a shovel hits the ground), and layering vital information directly on top of a work area.I don't know what catalyst will launch the technology revolution the construction industry sorely needs. In the taxi industry, it was Uber, which owns no vehicles. Media was upended by Facebook, which produces no original content. The lodging industry is struggling to compete with Airbnb, which maintains no real estate. Somewhere, perhaps in a garage, someone is developing a technology that will awaken construction to the need for a new approach based on knowledge sharing, seamless integration of tools, and end-to-end digital processes.Until then, we will continue to filter out the noise, put promising new technologies through their paces, and adopt what adds value. We need to transform from an information-hoarding industry into an information-sharing industry
< Page 9 | Page 11 >