"Pain point discussions at conferences like Autodesk University and IBM TechXchange often end up focusing not so much on the flaws of this or that solution, but on how tough it can be to get people to actually use good products," write John Raines, Director of IT/Systems, and Brittany Pylant, Director of Operations, in an advisory column published February 12. They oversee HFA's tech-stack and change-management team.
To get the most out of today's advanced collaboration, visualization, 3D scanning and data-integration tools, AEC firms "need to take a conscious, people-first approach to change-management," the technologists maintain.
And there is no need to race ahead on technology out of fear of falling behind: "Being realistic and grounded is not the same as stubbornly clinging to the status quo. To find the pace that works for your company, look at your specific goals and needs."
To illustrate, Raines and Pylant contrast the needs of two hypothetical AEC firms—one that has hundreds of architects and engineers spread out all over the country and another with a small, locally based workforce.
For the large firm, "the perfect solution might be to have all users' PCs sit on virtually distributed servers, with remote access to powerful graphics processors," write Raines and Pylant. "Without having to rely on their own machines, these architects and designers can collaborate from home while processing huge volumes of data in apps like Revit, Enscape and SketchUp."
By contrast, the smaller A+E shop might have little need to "virtualize" in this way. "Instead, software that drives project collaboration with third parties might be a more practical solution," the authors note.
Adopting new workflows tends to require a lot of time and effort from employees, so taking a measured approach to the tech stack can translate into higher adoption by employees. "Skeptics always wonder if higher-ups are rolling out a new platform just because it is a shiny object," write Raines and Pylant. "When you can easily demonstrate that a new approach makes sense and will lead to greater productivity and creativity, people are much more willing to embrace it."
They encourage AEC firms to consider creating an internal change-management team charged with responsibilities such as:
- clearly communicating why the company is rolling out the new hardware or software solution
- providing frequent updates on implementation progress
- gathering and sharing success stories that illustrate the benefits of the new tool
- soliciting honest feedback
The change-management team also could consider "gamifying" tech adoption as "a fun way to get employees involved and set a positive tone." HFA, for one, recently launched an AI innovation competition designed to uncover new ways to improve efficiency and productivity.
"Staging innovation contests can create more 'power users' of high-priority technology tools," explain Raines and Pylant, and gamification "can benefit AEC firms as their teams brainstorm to generate new data insights, catalyze collaboration, wow clients and claw back money and time."
Lastly, they note that the need for conscious approaches to change-management in AEC is likely to grow due to the explosion of AI-powered solutions.
Given all the sci-fi narratives and Silicon Valley hype, some employees "might worry that their jobs will be replaced by a superintelligent overlord," joke Raines and Pylant.
"Reassuring messaging about the role of AI could be important as AEC firms roll out AI tools that do things like respond to detailed queries or cull through internal datasets to summarize complex information."
And as AI continues to evolve, AEC firm will need to evaluate plenty of sales pitches from an explosion of new AI startups.
"An engaged, team-based approach can help them separate effective tools from the merely novel," conclude Raines and Pylant. "Get your employees fired up by taking a people-first approach to managing change."
The full article is available at:
https://www.hfa-ae.com/blog/aec-tech-adoption
Media Contacts: At Jaffe Communications, Elisa Krantz, (908) 789-0700, Email Contact.
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SOURCE HFA Architecture + Engineering
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