Embracing Innovation in Construction

Construction has been an industry that both embraces innovation and resists change. I know that seems at cross purposes, but it has generally been true. We like to solve complex problems and figure out how to build great projects. That being said, many of us don’t like changing our processes or embracing new products — mainly because they often seem riskier than what we know. We are successful because we build good systems, and changing those systems is hard because they are core to our business

When I was a kid, I recall my dad getting our company’s first computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The TRS-80s were pretty cool if limited in function. 4 kilobytes of RAM were a big deal in 1977! The first spreadsheets made business and estimating easier, but they really did not change the game. I recall Dad customizing spreadsheets and programming them to make them work. The technology worked but really wasn’t that much better than hand counting and recording the counts on a piece of graph paper. Adding them up was a bonus and maybe helped limit some errors. It was also great to be able to edit a document and then print it, instead of having someone decipher and type whatever was handwritten.

The early computers and related software were less meaningful than the “briefcase” phone in Dad’s truck, allowing instant communication with the office and with some foreman. The phone just made us work a little faster; it really did not change that much, but it did make it a little easier to solve problems. For a roofer who had to make weather calls, it was invaluable. 

The point of these examples is that construction companies were some of the first non-tech companies to embrace computers and cell phones. The technology did not change our work much on day one. Still, the TRS-80 has become a souped-up computer or cloud server running Rivit, Procore and/or Autodesk. That briefcase phone now fits in the palm of your hand (or used too before Apple and others made phones big again) and has more computing power then a warehouse full of TRS-80s. Small early innovations adopted in the 1970s shape how we run our companies. 

Today, we are talking a lot about Artificial Intelligence. AI is about as far away from the TRS-80 as the sun is from Earth. Like that TRS-80 though, it is making some things easier — estimating and contract review come to mind. Same with data organization and workflows. We are adjusting to this innovation and creating new innovations around it. SMACNA started an AI task force in 2024, and I am very interested to see the resources that we produce to assist members. I hope you have already taken part in our programming in this area. 

Innovation means being open to new products, processes and technology. It also means being willing to change and move on from the “old way” of doing something. The goals of innovation are for projects to become more efficient, cost-effective, safer and of better quality. If a contractor can do that, they become more competitive and can do more projects — both in number and complexity.

Innovation sounds great. Who doesn’t want to build amazing projects and become more profitable? Or work safer? The problem is that it is hard to do new things. There is a learning curve, and many new or innovative ideas might not work the first time or at all. It is hard to get over the idea that if it “isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Those are the things that got us to where we are. Said another way, good enough can be the enemy of great, but trying to be great is not cost- and risk-free. Anyone who has gone through a tech implementation knows how hard it is to change — both processes and people.

This edition of SMACNews has articles about innovation that provide members examples and ideas to consider as you grow your business. We have members, both large and very small, who run highly innovative companies. They have in common a strong understanding of their market niches, tolerances for risk, and commitments the pursuit of the better. Not every solution is for every company, and it is important that you clearly understand what you need, the problem(s) you are solving and the goal you have in mind.