A 2017 McKinsey & Co. consulting study singled out construction for having the lowest productivity gains of any industry over the past two decades, highlighting the slow adoption of technology among the building trades.
But construction managers, architects and engineers who embrace evolving technologies such as virtual reality, 3-D modeling and Internet of Things building sensors stand to profit, industry executives said at Thursday’s “Women Who Build” leadership summit at Goodwin College in East Hartford. The event was sponsored by The Construction Institute at the University of Hartford.
Developer Skanska, which performs its own construction projects, has awarded $2 million in research grants since 2010 to employees and partners in the tech and academic worlds, said Allison Scott, a Skanska marketing and management strategist.
“Competition is fierce, and we’re trying to get better and deliver on our promises to clients,” Scott said during a panel discussion on innovation strategies.
The results have included a program that provides training and licensing for employees who use drones at job sites. Skanska also is adopting Internet of Things building sensors and predictive analytics as part of its smart buildings strategy.
“What is the experience when we turn over that building to the client? We have to deliver on our promises for the next 30 years,” Scott said.
In Portland, Maine, a hospital project provided the impetus for an civil engineering firm to adopt 3-D software modeling to anticipate potential conflicts on a small urban site, said Jessica Chambers, a senior consultant at Microdesk.
The effectiveness of the technique prompted the undisclosed firm to open a new practice specializing in airport interior designs, she said.
“Their goal was to solve a challenge on a particular project, and through that innovative process they got this whole huge new revenue-generating discipline,” Chambers said.
Ginger Chicos, a virtual design manager at Gilbane Building Co., compared the use of building information modeling software to a game of Tetris.
“My goal is to resolve issues in virtual reality so they don’t become real problems out on the job site,” said Chicos, whose firm’s projects include Fairfield University’s 70,000-square-foot Egan School of Nursing, which opened last summer.
