by Marie Grieve, Founder and Managing Director of Costello Palmer Communications & Global Vice Chair of Women in BIM

Digital transformation typically means harnessing the power of digital technologies to make operations more efficient, productive and safe.

However the definition of digital transformation differs from person to person, from organisation to organisation depending on their needs and their willingness to be open to change. “Digital Transformation” was the topic of my session on the Digital Stage at Futurebuild on Tuesday 5 March 2024 – when, together with my panel of digital construction experts, Emilia Cardamone, Associate Director at Turner & Townsend, Martha Tsigkari, Senior Partner, Head of Applied Research and Development at Foster + Partners and Narges Salih, Azure Solution Specialists at Microsoft shared insights into the technologies that underpin digital transformation. 

We looked at where digital transformation begins and why anything is possible! This led me to think further about digital innovation spanning the built environment and have we truly come to embrace digital ways of working or is it more of a reluctant acceptance? When it comes to adoption and acceptance of digital technologies within the construction industry not everyone has the same digital mindset!

Through my work at Women in BIM (WIB) I get to witness a spectrum of views, insights and opinions of people at the front line of digital construction, from BIM-beginners to tech geniuses.  It is commonly known that the construction industry has long been associated with traditional methods and a slow adoption rate of innovative technologies. However, in recent years we have witnessed a remarkable shift towards digitalisation, with many organisations embracing innovative tools and processes to enhance efficiency, productivity and sustainability.

Digital technologies gain power, acceptance and understanding as they grow and blend into traditional methods that people are reluctant to move away from because they know how they work. Familiarity has a far stronger fan base that change!

Taking the digital twin for example, it combines data, visualisation and connected sensors, offering new levels of insight into everything from energy use to maintenance requirements. But this is just the basics, and as human we are drawn to the basics first before we delve into the complex. If we started with how digital twins can connect our physical and digital worlds together to produce unparalleled results, this may be a first step too far.

Perhaps this is the mistake we made with artificial intelligence (AI), for many, the curiosity has transformed into trepidation, the fear of the unknown and how to harness the power of AI rather than AI having power over us.

For me, AI is an outstanding tool for creating content, but fundamentally humans are far more likely to successfully execute their own thoughts and plans rather than those given to them by others – or indeed by an algorithm.

Taking part in joint human interactions, helping to shape ideas and contributing to discussions – none of this is a waste of time that merits replacing with technology. It’s how people internalise ideas, become committed and get ready to deliver their ideas and plans.

AI is certainly another step in making information accessible anywhere, anytime and just as Google is a powerful tool for finding data sources, AI can provide a concise answer to most reasonable questions – however these technologies devalue knowledge and ideas.

AI is a revolutionary tool, but people are actually the revolutionaries because we invented the tools, and the people who know how to make best use of these tools are the ones that will really make a difference.

So for construction, I am a champion for a digital-first approach and encourage further digitalisation because as humans we are the ultimate power tool and we are driving the future of digital transformation, we’re just not all in the same lane just yet.