b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGETHE DIGITALTRANSFORMATIONOF CONSTRUCTIONO ne of the great things about thetechnology cant be viewed as a cost but rather construction industry is that we findan investment, and it is arguably as necessary creative solutions when adversityas investments that pay short-term dividends.strikes. We are builders. Overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges is whatIt might be helpful if we add some context. In we do. And that can-do culture has existed inNovember 2020, the Canadian Construction our sector for centuries.Association partnered with KPMG and undertook a deep dive into technological In recent years, we have found creativeadoption in Canadas construction industry. solutions for supply chain disruption, priceWhat they found is that many construction volatility, workforce shortages, carbon firms have had little to invest in technology, emission reductions and enhanced safetywith current procurement practices placing protocols, among other things. However,much of the project risk and associated costs the cost of overcoming these seeminglysquarely on the shoulders of contractors. They insurmountable hurdles is considerable, andalso said, however, that we are long past we do it without the tools to predict and affectcalling digital transformation a trend and that outcomes sooner. companies that seize the digital opportunity and integrate with others in their ecosystem For the most part, it is the practitionersover the next decade stand to gain athemselves that employers rely on for cost- significant advantage.effective solutions that we typically overcome one hurdle at a time. No surprise. OurInterestingly, a U.S. adoption survey found strength as an industry is our people. Andthat Tier 2 construction firms are often the we somehow achieve remarkable outcomesones most able to innovate since the business without predictive analytics, IoT, automationmodels imbedded in the Tier 1 companies and robotics. That in itself is extraordinary, buttend to restrict their flexibility. Put another way, it isnt sustainable, and it certainly does notbigger isnt always better. generate the productivity improvements and strategic cost reductions that go hand-in-handSadly, they also discovered that it is the with integrated strategic digitization. 50-something CEO and/or CFO who is the primary tech investment decision maker, and This isnt rocket science. Most employers wouldthese leaders cant always separate leadership love to invest in new technologies and betterfrom management, particularly when the exploit productivity improving/cost reducing50-somethings have survived so long without tools. The practical reality is that margins arechallenging the status quo. That perhaps almost always skinny in our fiercely competitiveexplains what Austrian-American consultant design-bid-build world, and the procurementand educator Peter Drucker meant when process is typically prescriptive. Put simply,he said: Management is doing things right; 10Quarter 32022 BUILDERSDIGEST'