Thoughts From the Field - Volume 1 Issue 4

Welcome

Given the current state of the World, I have been centering the theme of these newsletters on resilience. I started by discussing the importance of taking four steps to adapt to a new normal, and I continued by expanding on what I called Step 1 - embracing a new culture that balances performance, health, and security. In this edition, I will continue the discussion of resilience and provide some thoughts and some resources for each of the other three steps that you should consider taking as we all try to adapt to a new normal…whatever that may end up to be.

By the way, one of the reasons that I am rolling all of this discussion into a single newsletter this time, is that I realized that LinkedIn Learning has some great on-line instructional content to help with all of these issues, and some of it is free right now, but only until the end of September. So if you are not already a LinkedIn Learning or LinkedIn Premium subscriber, read on to see what’s free for the rest of September.

Step 2 – Accelerate the roll out and adoption of digital solutions and workflows

One of the things that makes it difficult to successfully deploy digital solutions and workflows in engineering, architecture, and construction (#AEC) is that we are made up of a very diverse workforce with people from many different backgrounds and many different experience levels. I know senior structural engineers who are exceptional designers, but have almost no experience with technology. When their more technically savvy staff discusses things like virtual design and construction (#VDC) or building information modeling (#BIM), they are not speaking the same language because they don’t share a common frame of reference to begin a productive conversation. On the #construction side of the industry, the divide can be even greater.

It is far too common at larger companies to have a VDC Manager who is in the know about all kinds of technology and digital workflows, but they often lack the field experience to truly understand how to implement new workflows in a meaningful and impactful way. Often, when they try to work with the field managers and personnel who need to be involved in the process, the discussion is hindered by the same issue: the two groups have no common frame of reference to begin a productive discussion.

I see this all the time, and it’s a difficult issue to tackle. I decided to take aim at solving this issue by creating a course called Digital AEC Foundations. The goal of this course is exactly what the title describes; to lay a foundation for everyone in AEC so that we all understand some basic terminology and concepts.

Once we all have a common frame of reference, we can begin to have more productive conversations about how to deploy technology and digital workflows in a meaningful way.

Step 3 – Taking the time and making the commitment to upskill your entire workforce

Of course this one is something that I am passionate about, its why I moved into the training and education side of AEC. In my opinion, this industry does not have a good track record of continuing education. Construction companies are reluctant to set aside time for training unless its required by some regulation, and designers hesitate to give up billable hours to take the time for continued education unless there is some requirement for licensure renewal.

At this point in the evolution of engineering, architecture, and construction, it has never been more important to break this habit of putting off learning. The industry is changing so rapidly that it is imperative that we all take time out for continuing education in order to keep up and advance the industry. Alternative project delivery methods, new productivity methodologies, and increased use of technology are all areas where we should be encouraging continued education.

Step 4 – Identify opportunities to work offsite

As this pandemic has progressed, one thing has become clear. Work will never be the same. Many companies have been forced to find new ways of getting work done without having many people working closely together, whether that’s in an office or out on a job site. I have watched as some companies have created innovative ways to continue working while maintaining distance, and I have watched as others have done very little to acknowledge the issues and are suffering as their employees' concerns grow and remain unanswered.

Much of the news cycle these days talks about how the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology, and while this is certainly true in our industry, I think it’s also important not to overlook the effect that this has had on accelerating efforts to move work offsite.

In AEC, there are really two different types of work to consider when discussing moving work off site. First, there is office work. Work that can be done remotely, from home (or from potentially anywhere). As the industry learns to adopt and accept remote work practices, or work from home options, the potential impact can be significant. If we are truly freed from the constraints of physical location, the talent pool can be significantly expanded. In the past, if I needed a detailer, or an estimator, I would expect to hire someone local that would work out of my office. In the (very near) future, this may not be the case. If technology, digital workflows, and proper remote work practices are in place, this position can be located anywhere. The AEC industry needs to carefully consider this. Tech firms routinely have senior level staff that work 100% from home. It allows them to hire the best talent regardless of where they live, or where they might want to live in the future. It is time for AEC to leverage the same abilities.

Work from home can be challenging for both the employee, and their company. There are many issues for employees and employers to consider. There are several resources on LinkedIn Learning that can help you adjust. Two of these courses are among the 20 most popular courses of the year, and they are free to watch right now:

• Time Management: Working From Home by Dave Crenshaw
• Remote Work Foundations by Mike Gutman

In AEC, the other opportunity we have for moving work off site involves the construction phase of work. Work that has traditionally been built in place, on-site. As we grapple with keeping people on-site, but distanced, or reducing the number of people on-site at the same time while remaining productive, the option of identifying pieces of the project that can be manufactured off-site, in a controlled factory-like environment, has become a viable and oftentimes favorable solution. To give this solution the time it needs to be properly discussed, it will be addressed in the next issue or two of Thoughts From the Field.

What I am Checking Out

I am a fan of using applications I already have in new ways to solve challenges more efficiently. In keeping with this newsletter’s current theme of resilience and adapting to a new normal, I have really been interested in how I can continue to expand my use of Microsoft Teams. This application is really a very robust app that can do many things you may not have thought of. Yes, it can operate just like Zoom, or any of the other virtual meeting applications that we have become accustomed to over the last six months. But, in many cases you may already be paying for Teams as part of your Microsoft Office 365 subscription, so why pay for something else? Just this week Microsoft announced at their Ignite Conference that new features will be rolling out to Teams including breakout rooms and improved collaborative calling.

With these new features added to existing features such as Together Mode, this will solidify Teams as my go-to virtual meeting application. I must not be alone on this, because it turns out that Microsoft Teams Essential Training is listed as a top 20 course of the year on LinkedIn Learning. That means the course is free in September!

There a few more features that are driving my adoption of Teams. The integration with the other Microsoft Office Applications just can’t be overlooked or understated. The file sharing abilities that integrate seamlessly with my existing cloud storage, the whiteboarding features, and the built-in chat that also integrates with my Outlook account makes Teams work for many different things.

While we all try to remain socially distanced, the ability to…

• collaborate via chat, file share, and Planner,
• instantly schedule, calendar, and conduct a virtual face to face with the entire team,
• record the virtual meeting and store it directly in teams for anyone that wasn’t able to attend,
• seamlessly invite people from within my organization as well as people from outside companies, and
• facilitate hybrid meetings where some participants are together in a room and others are remote

…really makes this application an indispensable tool in the AEC industry.

Here is an example to consider:

Think about remote inspections. If I have a client that needs me to look at something in the field and make a recommendation, I can instantly create a dedicated space in Teams. They can upload any relevant documents such as construction drawing sheets in a PDF format, images of existing conditions, specification documents, and links to web sites. I can review and have discussion with the team on chat, and invite additional collaborators. When the time comes, I can switch to calendar view and schedule a Teams meeting. I can attend the meeting from my home, the design team members can be in their office, and the field team can attend from the Teams app on their phone or tablet to walk us through the situation and show us the conditions in real time. We can resolve the item, agree on a solution, and document that solution in Teams. That dedicated space I created in Teams can hold every bit of this process for reference later.

What’s New on LinkedIn Learning

The biggest announcement here in this issue is my new course called Digital AEC Foundations that I discussed at the beginning of this issue. In the last issue I pointed out the latest list of top 20 courses on LinkedIn Learning, but I failed to mention that each of these courses is free for the month of September, so if you want to check them out while they are unlocked, click here for the list of courses, and click the links in that post to jump over and view them for free on LinkedIn Learning, even if you don’t have a subscription. But hurry. They are only unlocked until October 1st. 

Jim Rogers is a construction management consultant and LinkedIn Learning Instructor. I may receive a commission from the links included in this newsletter and have financial relationships with some of the entities and applications discussed herein. My thoughts are my own and nothing in this newsletter is meant to represent the positions of LinkedIn or LinkedIn Learning.