Fears about AI’s potential to make roles redundant could be fuelling the infrastructure sector’s hesitance to adopt the technology.
But it could also offset the talent drain the sector is facing, especially as engineers retire in increasing numbers.
That was one of the main points debated by industry experts as they came together to discuss the barriers to digital transformation at a recent ICE roundtable.
They included Sofia Leary, director at construction consultancy Turner & Townsend, who added: “The adoption of tech solutions needs to address job security”.
Sarah Calder, AI capability manager at Skanska, the construction and development company, cited research suggesting that only one-third of white-collar staff at large contractors have tried AI at work.
Explaining why this might be, participants noted that contractors have been wary of trying out emerging digital technologies – including AI – in a sector offering wafer-thin profit margins.
“Who in this industry will risk profit on IT?” asked Millan Martin, engineering and digital director at construction company Taylor Woodrow.
‘No substitute for experience and knowledge’
Panellists agreed that, while emerging IT is changing engineers’ roles, the human element remains crucial.
“There’s no substitute for experience and knowledge to evaluate the outputs,” said Nohman Awan, digital construction lead at infrastructure group, Balfour Beatty.
“Tech can add great value, but we must use it with care – be very clear on what we’re putting into AI,” he stressed.
James Chambers, director of global industry development at software company Nemetschek, raised the point about AI’s potential to offset the sector’s talent drain.
Capturing that knowledge before it’s gone should be a priority, according to Calder.
“Intelligence is embodied in people, but the industry is losing more and more of them,” she said.
“A problem for all of us is how to convert individuals’ intelligence into corporate or even industry intelligence.”
Industry pressures favour traditional methods
Fuelling the anxiety around new technology could be a limited understanding of what it can do for the industry.
Fergus Harradence, deputy director at the UK’s Department for Business and Trade, pointed to a lack of knowledge in areas such as “how technologies and skills will fit together and… create value”.
Noting that the level of digital maturity varied widely among organisations, Harradence acknowledged that large consultancies have made significant strides.
But he added: “I don’t see that among contractors, let alone subcontractors… Digitalisation isn’t percolating down.”
Argiro Alexandri, engineering integration lead at High Speed 2 (HS2), reported that consultants and more digitally mature contractors have struggled to persuade clients to try new tech.
“Projects are under great pressure to achieve best value, which favours traditional delivery methods,” she said.
Data-sharing and interoperability
Digital transformation is a key feature of the UK’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.
But Harradence highlighted a big obstacle he’s faced while implementing the national digital twin programme, which seeks to improve the UK’s ability to generate these virtual representations of physical assets.
He described the barrier as a “fierce, illogical, fact-denying mentality that data is too valuable to share”.
“We don’t seem willing to tackle building-block issues such as data-sharing and interoperability. If we don’t deal with these, we won’t make headway,” he said.
Awan agreed that the task of joining up technologies and information has proved “hard, challenging and painful”.
Martin observed that IT vendors “aren’t interested in interoperability. Each provider has a different operating environment – it’s a massive mess.”
“They set things up in their own way and, once that approach is in place, it’s fixed,” said Anthony Andryszewski, deputy director at the UK’s Environment Agency. “There’s no possibility of change.”
Contribute to the debate
The ICE wants to hear from its members on how the industry may overcome some of these barriers. In particular:
- Several initiatives supporting the sector’s digitalisation already exist. How can they be better aligned to develop an industry-wide digital transformation strategy?
- How should organisations measure their progress in this area and report on it?
- How should digitalisation and its impact on engineers’ roles be reflected in professional qualifications and standards?
- What can engineers do to improve data-sharing and interoperability between organisations, both within projects and across the sector?
- Case studies are a powerful tool for highlighting best practice and encouraging its adoption. What can the industry do to enable more knowledge-sharing this way?
Please share your insights with the ICE via [email protected].
The roundtable was co-hosted by software firm Bluebeam.
