For the first time, in 2020, rather than a technology “disruptor” impacting the construction industry at-large, a global pandemic forced companies into a situation where they were forced to meet unprecedented demand. In a fast-evolving environment, companies like InEight, a provider of project management software, had to adapt or be left behind. Swim or sink.
InEight’s Chief Design Officer Dan Patterson is optimistic about the future of technology in a post-COVID-19 world for several reasons.
New Tech Isn’t a Surprise
“I think COVID has been an accelerator of what was already a gradual transformational change within the construction industry,” Patterson says. Although many contractors were reticent to adopt digital transformation strategies pre-COVID-19, they have all been pushed into the deep end; what might have previously taken years to achieve has now taken months.
While this means there have been some growing pains, the result has also been a vast amount of ingenuity. What were previously small start-ups, such as Zoom, have become ubiquitous overnight. And tech companies, as well as the industry at-large, have become less intimidated by what were previously thought of as “risks.”
One such idea is that of heavily embracing artificial intelligence and machine learning—with a twist. Instead of using these technologies to review a building or test a design, they can be adopted to digitally capture, digitize and store the irreplaceable decades of organizational experience that exist for contractors nationwide. So, whether due to retirement or untimely loss, organizations can take a serious look at securing expertise for the next generation.
Another update is platform-based construction management. Once thought of as a futuristic pursuit, these single-vendor systems allow for “a massive value-add in the form of information being shared and enriched,” Patterson says. In fact, this condensing of the project lifecycle via a single, free-flowing platform is the “biggest change” Patterson has seen made to the industry.
Remote Work Is Extremely Productive
Patterson asserts that software companies require two key ingredients from employees: productivity and creativity. Like most other industries, where possible, construction has found that working remotely works just as well as working from an office. “Our productivity has actually been higher with working remotely,” Patterson says.
He says creativity is the tougher side of the coin. “It’s hard to beat getting a development engineering design team in a conference room with a bunch of mock-up pens and a whiteboard,” he says.
But, as chief design officer, Patterson is never creatively blocked for long. He believes that software companies (such as InEight) are the ones that should be coming up with solutions to better connect people so that they can create more effectively.
Beyond the average video call, remote project management software can make operations such as cost markups and scheduling available online. But what’s truly special is the ability of such a technology to “capture differing opinions because that forces us down the path of having to come to a consensus,” Patterson says. “This consensus forms the basis of understanding risk.”
It’s ideas like these—that transform multi-step, behemoth tasks into simple, collaborative environments—that have ensured the industry stayed afloat with ease during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If nothing else, COVID-19 has, ironically, endorsed and validated the belief that work can be much more efficient—whether it’s during the planning phase or the execution phase—through a digital environment, rather than necessarily relying on in-person interaction,” Patterson says.
Things Can Only Get Better for Contractors
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, InEight is not only familiar with the technological practicalities of COVID-19—it encountered the onsite, contractor-facing realities as well. “I was honestly a little apprehensive,” Patterson says of the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But, despite the potential of a complete standstill, the propulsion forward out of a traumatic experience has created an opportunity.
“Hard times make us stronger, right?” he asks. “Innovation versus invention has always been fascinating to me because I don’t believe that many or any of us actually create anything new. I think where we as an organization and we as a human race make the biggest difference is actually through innovation. We’ve been forced to innovate even faster and create even better—and the net of all that is going to be good.”
