When it comes to adopting advanced AEC tech tools and processes, the nation’s largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms are feeling good, but not great, about their progress when compared with their direct competitors.
About half (42%) say their firm is “on par” with their most-direct AEC competitors, and more than a third (38%) are “somewhat ahead” of their market rivals. Just 4% are “significantly ahead” while a much more sizable group (16%) fears that their firm has fallen behind their key competitors on the AEC tech front. This explains the angst we’ve been sensing in the marketplace.
This data comes from BD+C’s inaugural Giants 300 Technology and Innovation Survey, which, as of May 23, had collected data from 105 AEC Giant firms. This research project is a companion to BD+C’s long-running (42 years!) Giants 300 Report, and aims to assess the state of technology adoption and innovation initiatives at the nation’s largest AEC firms.
While this project is ongoing (we hope to collect data from at least 200 firms by mid-summer), there are several intriguing takeaways from the data we have so far:
• Improved project team coordination was cited as the most significant business impact of AEC technology tools and processes. Three-quarters of responding firms named it among their top-three benefits of AEC tech. Other advantages cited often by respondents: improved client relations/vision meetings (40%); increased speed of work (39%); increased quality of work (37%); automates mundane tasks (35%).
• 3D laser scanning, real-time rendering, and design computation were cited most often as “high-ROI” tech strategies. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that 3D laser scanning offered a strong return on initial investment; 40% for real-time rendering tools; 37% for design computation. Other tech strategies that ranked high for ROI: virtual reality (36%), 360 video/photos (26%), drones (23%), and artificial intelligence (13%).
• The majority of firms report a high “innovation conversion” rate. When asked to rate the success of individual innovation projects implemented within the past 24 months, nearly two-thirds of responding firms reported a success rate of at least 40% on projects. A sixth of firms are hitting on 80% or more of their projects.
• Two-thirds of responding firms have hired an “AEC outsider” within the past 24 months to help with their innovation efforts. The most common additions: software programmer, data analyst, game designer/VR specialist.
The full report from the Giants 300 Technology and Innovation Survey will be available for free download (short registration required) on September 6 at BDCnetwork.com/2019TechSurvey.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
CONVENTION CENTER SECTOR GIANTS: Gensler, AECOM, Turner top rankings of nation's largest convention/events sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention/events sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
AIRPORT SECTOR GIANTS: KPF, Hensel Phelps, Jacobs top rankings of nation's largest airport terminal sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 15, 2015
HOTEL SECTOR GIANTS: Gensler, AECOM, Turner among nation's largest hotel sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest hotel sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR GIANTS: Stantec, Turner, Jacobs among top industrial AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
MILITARY SECTOR GIANTS: Clark Group, HDR, Fluor top rankings of nation's largest military sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Giants 400 | Sep 8, 2015
RETAIL SECTOR GIANTS: Callison RTKL, PCL Construction, Jacobs among top retail sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest retail sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
GOVERNMENT SECTOR GIANTS: Public sector spending even more cautiously on buildings
AEC firms that do government work say their public-sector clients have been going smaller to save money on construction projects, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
K-12 SCHOOL SECTOR GIANTS: To succeed, school design must replicate real-world environments
Whether new or reconstructed, schools must meet new demands that emanate from the real world and rapidly adapt to different instructional and learning modes, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
MULTIFAMILY AEC GIANTS: Slowdown prompts developers to ask: Will the luxury rentals boom hold?
For the last three years, rental apartments have occupied the hot corner in residential construction, as younger people gravitated toward renting to be closer to urban centers and jobs. But at around 360,000 annual starts, multifamily might be peaking, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY SECTOR GIANTS: Collaboration, creativity, technology—hallmarks of today’s campus facilities
At a time when competition for the cream of the student/faculty crop is intensifying, colleges and universities must recognize that students and parents are coming to expect an education environment that foments collaboration, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
