As a younger cohort coming up with expectations about automation, data access and connectivity in their lives, the Top 20 had some pointed thoughts about the industry’s relatively slow adoption of new technology. But a consensus emerged among the group that change will only happen if people step up and make it so.
Aine O’Dwyer: I came from a large construction company, and one of the things we offered was site monitoring. With the end user of that service, it’s very archaic in the way it is done. You need people to go out to sites and take readings to collect data. I can pull out my cellphone and monitor my house; why can’t I do the same thing when it comes to a construction site? Whether it’s the internet of things, whether it’s making devices smart, we’re in an age of communication now where everything can talk to everything else, so let’s bring that more into construction. I think we’re certainly seeing there’s a lot more drones in everything, and we’re seeing the growth of VDC and BIM.