Exponential Growth of Technology

Technology innovation has always occurred at an exponential rate and has been starting to impact the $1 trillion construction industry at increasing rates.

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In many cases we don’t recognize innovation that is happening at an exponential rate because the starting point is so small that we only start to see the growth when it reaches a tipping point.

Sustainable Growth: Accelerating Technology Innovation. What does Technology look like in another 6 years? How does it impact your business?

Consider the changes that that occurred just in the mobile phone between 1983 when Motorola released the first “Brick” phone until 2005 when Nokia “Candy Bar” phones were ubiquitous.  The changes during that 22 years seem evolutionary because the phone pretty much did the same thing with each successive version being smaller, lighter and cheaper.  

Looking at the next 6 years and by 2011 contractors were starting to work collaboratively on plans with their mobile phones and now tablets thanks to companies like PlanGrid. Moving forward another 6 years to 2017 and you have augmented reality integrated with on-demand training being used in the construction industry.

Things are really starting to change quickly in the construction industry around technology.  What does 2025 look like? What about driverless vehicles? Automation? What is your team doing to put yourselves in a position where you have a competitive advantage or at minimum don’t lose your current position?  




Integrated Systems
Poorly coordinated people, processes and technology become exponentially more inefficient as the business grows eroding profits, morale and customer satisfaction.
Change Orders and Average Cost Impact to the Project (Industry Survey)
Changes are a part of the construction process with many underlying causes. While we have all heard the average of 10% changes on construction projects, it is interesting to look at an industry study for validation.
Premature Optimization
Construction technology innovation has exploded and is continuing to accelerate. The quantity of experienced talent is at a low point and will continue to decline throughout the next 10+ years. There are probably more unknowns than knowns.