The inaugural report released by the Global Industry Council (GIC) underlines the critical need for the engineering and construction industry to embrace digital technologies in project delivery.
Created by Aconex, a platform for digital project delivery, the GIC comprises some of the world’s top engineering and construction companies including AECOM, Bechtel, Chiyoda, Fluor, Lendlease and TAV Construction.
Authored by Aconex and The Boston Consulting Group, the GIC report titled ‘Five Keys to Unlocking Digital Transformation in Engineering & Construction’ focuses on the need for the industry to stay at the forefront of digital construction technologies, and shares key recommendations from GIC members to drive faster adoption of digital technologies.
Leigh Jasper, Co-Founder and CEO of Aconex describes the GIC report as “the first clear roadmap that provides actionable advice for asset owners, EPCs, and contractors to transform the challenges they face with digital transformation into opportunities for success”.
The report provides guidance to organisations on prioritising areas for action that will have the largest impact on their strategy and operations.
Kate Nelson, GIC council member and head of Business Technology & Innovation at Lendlease Building, observed that the report highlighted a number of cultural as well as technical barriers faced by many organisations in digital adoption.
She added that both aspects needed to be addressed for the industry to be able to fully leverage the benefits promised by the next wave of digital technologies.
Top five challenges faced by the E&C industry:
1. Integration across the ecosystem where organisations are grappling with complex digital systems
2. Rationalisation and standardisation of complex and non-standard processes across projects
3. Building digital talent across the workforce
4. Securing digital adoption by overcoming cultural and technical challenges
5. Establishing value and return on investment (ROI) by communicating the benefits gained from large digital investments
Being one of the last to embrace digital technologies for business practices, the E&C industry is struggling to consolidate fragmented platforms, standardise processes or even attract digitally savvy talent, leading to decreased productivity.
Engineering and construction companies can benefit significantly by implementing digital project delivery; remaining competitive, retaining/ growing market share, lowering costs, increasing productivity, ensuring safety, and delivering projects on time and on budget are just some of the advantages for the industry, which is expected to grow to $17.5 trillion by 2030.
Learn more about ‘Five Keys to Unlocking Digital Transformation in Engineering & Construction’ and access a copy of the report here.
