Everything you need to know from CONEXPO, CCF
Technology Symposium, and the AGC Convention
With some of the largest global events for construction having just taken place in the US, we thought it was time to take you through the key takeaways from the event and what they mean for the future of technology in construction.
The main focus of the three events: CONEXPO, the CCF Technology Symposium, and The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Convention, was understanding new technologies, and how these developments will affect our industry.
But what do these developments mean for your business, and how can you prepare for the new wave of technology innovating the industry?
In this month’s blog, we’ll give you an overview of each event, unpack what this means for the future of construction, and break down the steps you can take to prepare for the inevitable shift in the industry.
CONEXPO and The AGC Convention
CONEXPO and The AGC Convention featured new and exciting technologies that, when applied at an organisational level, will transform and gain control over business processes, these included:
- Using drones to conduct assessments on progress, stockpiles, and property impact;
- Using 3D imaging to create layovers for use in initial planning;
- Leveraging Microsoft’s HoloLens, which allows users to create holograms of plans; and,
- Using Artificial intelligence to improve our connection to job sites, and our ability to capture accurate data in real-time.
Across both events, there was an underlying recognition that to be able to implement these new technologies successfully, business leaders need to understand and control workflows across their entire organisation.
However, there were few solutions which demonstrated the requirements for an organisation to sufficiently monitor their workflows to carry this transformation out at a practical level. And, in the future, this will be a barrier to entry for organisations looking to leverage new construction technology to improve their bottom-line advantage.
The CCF Technology Symposium
At the CCF Technology Symposium, I was a part of a panel discussing the Future Impacts on the Civil Construction Industry
through Technology and Innovation. A key focus of this panel was around how technology is driving growth in the industry, and how companies can implement technology to drive improvements in their performance. Across the panel, there were three core areas we discussed:
- The importance of integration and the concept of having multiple systems working together, each tracking different levels of data to enhance quality control and safety.
- The creation of a technology standard which easily allows different technologies to communicate together and produce
‘industry’ insights for future adoption.
- The development of a formalised process for providing advice and guidance for organisations looking to implement new
technologies.
It was broadly agreed that to successfully implement the new technological advances available, we would need guidance and input from industry bodies, such as the CCF, and government agencies.
What does this mean for me?
The new technologies showcased at each event present an exciting time for our industry. The process and productivity improvements that will be experienced by those leveraging these technologies will be invaluable for driving growth in our mature industry.
However, it’s also important to note that the industry-wide implementation of these technologies is likely to be some years away. And, to be able to experience the full benefits of these, there is an interim need to better understand and control existing processes, and streamline these where possible, so that future technology integration is a seamless and agile process.
Failure to get ahead of the technology revolution the construction industry will soon experience, may expose your business to risks, including:
- Loss of competitive advantage, as other organisations can offer more innovative solutions driven by improved processes;
- Reduced visibility across all areas of the business;
- Ineffective use of staff time and data, as manual tasks that could be otherwise automated eat into valuable resources; and,
- The loss of control of your worksites and workflows.
What should I do next?
For most organisations in our industry, paper-based processes continue to be the main source of information flow. With the
implementation of new technologies, the application of paper-based processes becomes increasingly difficult to maintain and control – even more so than it already is!
As a first step to positioning yourself for the future of the construction industry, it is vital to transition to a paperless system. A completely paperless management system allows you to easily integrate new technologies into your organisation by removing inflexible and manual paper-based processes. Going paperless ensures you can support new technologies by allowing the roll out of adjustments to workflows within an agile, malleable system.
At Kontrol4, we understand that for many businesses it can be a challenging task to overhaul your processes. However, effectively transitioning to a digital-based system doesn’t need to be a complicated process.
We have a team of experts who can work with you to understand your current processes, customise our system to suit the needs of your organisation, and ensure the transition is managed effectively throughout your organisation.
Give us a call on 1300 667 999 to have a quick chat about how you can ensure you are ready for the tech revolution.