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O P I N I O N
T he reality of construction is changing. An industry challenged by labor shortages and the effects of climate change and increasing urbanization now has the headwind of the global COVID-19 pandemic. To thrive in the future, accelerating innovation and adopting a more dynamic approach are more important than ever. We must apply our human intelligence to identify the real problems and leverage technology as a platform to bridge the gaps between tools, people, and processes. Technical problems need human solutions
Trevor Lunde
GLY has always embraced new technology. We were one of the first firms in our region to hire an architect in-house to lead the development of BIM (building information modeling). We collaborated with AutoDesk and their partners to develop an innovative new application for one of their tools. Our growing team of integrated design managers and engineers now touches every project we work on, and our R&D manager position reflects our desire to continue to explore the application of robotics and artificial intelligence in construction. However, we learned some hard lessons along the way. First and foremost, technology – no matter how smart or advanced – is not a panacea. In fact, to be blunt, our industry wastes significant amounts of time and energy trying to apply tech to problems fundamentally caused by simple human error. Delivering one of today’s highly complex buildings
in current market conditions has never been more challenging. It is characterized by: ❚ ❚ Condensed schedules ❚ ❚ Escalating finances ❚ ❚ Limited time and resources available only at a premium ❚ ❚ High stress ❚ ❚ Inefficient legacy processes and contractual agreements that mire the industry in the past TECH IN SEARCH OF A PROBLEM ISN’T A SOLUTION. As tempting as it is to grab the newest shiny object, advances in technology alone will not solve these problems. The solutions lie in how we apply our human intelligence to identify the real problems and leverage technology as a platform to bridge the gaps between tools, people, and processes.
See TREVOR LUNDE, page 13
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