Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or toughness or the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape. Perhaps there has been no greater time in recent history than the present time to have resilience. But, if you have spent any amount of time around Peggy Smedley, then you know she always says construction is one of the most resilient industries.
We are currently living in an era where we need more resilience than ever before. We need to stand back up. We need to, as the definition goes, recover quickly from difficulties. And we need to do this at a rate and a speed faster than ever before.
What does this look like for a construction company right now? As we have already discussed in this blog series, we need to inspire, motivate, and connect with our workers. We need to look at how some of our business processes will evolve, and how they will to continue to turn to emerging technologies.
As is stated in the JLL State of Construction Tech report, the urgency and severity of the pandemic condensed technology adoption that likely would have taken three years at a normal pace into a single year, with a big focus on moving toward virtual inspections, contract-tracing solutions, tracking project status remotely, and developing project plans to allow workers to maintain social distancing. Overnight technologies to improve safety and productivity skyrocketed.
Words like digital twins, AI (artificial intelligence), and more were no longer far-off realities. They became necessities to survive. Construction companies quickly scrambled to determine how to put foundational elements of technology in place to survive in a difficult working environment.
Within construction, 67% of firms have allowed remote work for office employees due to the pandemic, according to a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. While many large construction firms already used a form of digital collaboration, smaller local firms were less likely to have an existing system in place prior to the pandemic. Like too many other industries, the gap between the large and the small companies became greater during the pandemic.
At the same time, shutdowns and lower work levels have reduced demand for new projects—something Smedley recently discussed on her podcast with Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives, AGC (Associated General Contractors of America)—with many firms having turned to government support to stay afloat.
2021 seems to be looking brighter, but it isn’t all going to happen overnight. Companies that are able to keep standing back up will likely find things look very different on the other side of the pandemic. The companies remaining are going to be resilient, savvy, and adopt technology at rates faster than ever before. Will you be left standing? What will you do to be there? It starts now.
Original Article: https://constructech.com/a-new-year-resilience-in-construction/
