More than 30 of Australia’s leading infrastructure engineers recently gathered to discuss what was preventing projects making the most of the promises of digital technology. Here’s what they found.
As engineering firms find themselves under increasing pressure to deliver on time and on budget, in an era of rising costs and supply uncertainty, previously unrealised efficiencies must be captured.
Digital transformation in project delivery has long created new efficiencies. Infrastructure digital twins create real-time insights and help avoid costly rework, data is used to identify trends and patterns, risk and reward, and designers can collaborate with operations teams thanks to the integration of various systems.
However, there is a sense that digital technology is only scratching the surface of what is possible. If we remove roadblocks – and some are significant – we enable that technology to be utilised to its full potential.
Late last year, Bentley Systems and Engineers Australia hosted more than three dozen of Australia’s most senior civil engineers for a series of wide-ranging discussions focused on how the Australian engineering and construction sector can better harness this potential.
A recurring theme was the need for governments, educational bodies and other stakeholders to support industry efforts to better enable digital project delivery. However, participants also identified a number of key strategies that engineers themselves can undertake.
Start at the end
The “why” of digital solutions must be defined before procurement or implementation. Understanding end-user needs will guide decisions around data relevance and scalability, ensuring equal access for all stakeholders.
Build trust at all levels
Trust is critical in Australian infrastructure engineering. Adversarial contract models, integration issues, and unclear data validity erode confidence.
There is a strong push for trust-based relationships with aligned strategies and goals to ensure technology adoption benefits asset managers, clients, contractors, users and engineers.
Adopt best-in-class data practices
Standardisation requires a single source of truth for project and other related data. This builds trust, enhances transparency, and identifies and fills data gaps to meet operational needs.
Constantly upskill and develop people
The best technology is only as good as its users. Comprehensive training across the entire supply chain can broaden the talent pool, reduce the duplication of effort, and deliver benefits over the long term.
Deploy AI as an assistant to human decision making
AI should support human expertise, particularly in the areas of analytics and predictive maintenance. Data transparency, AI explainability and ethical safeguards are all vital inclusions in the design of such solutions.
Understand that this is a long-term project
Digital transformation is not a quick fix. While benefits appear quickly, maximising a data-driven system takes time.
Earn executive buy-in
Without visible support, engagement and advocacy at the highest levels, including constant promotion of the value and strategic importance of technology, cultural change to embrace that technology becomes more difficult.
Leadership should actively champion digital transformation projects and, at a national level (including government), unify standards and drive innovation.
Share successes and failures
Along the same lines as regulatory and policy alignment, developers and organisations must, as much as possible, share their work in an open-source environment. This will enable proven solutions to scale quickly across new projects, and value will also be found in less.
