Preparing for a digitally driven future
Digital excellence and innovation remain a key focus area for the design and construction industry. The ramp up in the adoption of digital tools across our organization has supported our global teams’ ability to collaborate and deliver for our clients, while also allowing us to offer innovation as a service.
One way our team has been using innovation to improve the quality of digital deliverables is through automation and digital centered procedures. Automation for day-to-day design has resulted in high quality outputs, cost reductions, and design certainty. It also allows for improved cross-regional collaboration spanning across our global business lines.
As the new Head of Digital for the Asia region, I work with the business to put digital adoption strategies in place for the entire region. We may have different requirements and tools across business lines, but we’re all seeing a fundamental shift in how we support our clients on their digital transformation journey. We’ve established the Asia digital consulting practice which partners with clients to create strategies for projects and programs that will support our client’s success into the future. By creating mutual digital goals to deliver projects in a more effective way we enhance and improve digital adoption for AECOM and our clients.
The BIM Harmonization project is a great example of how our new digital consulting practice helps clients on their digital journey. We worked with the client to create a harmonized standard for use in all future public works deliverables. The new standard enables the sharing of information regardless of the technical software used, which is especially useful for BIM and GIS disciplines. As a result of the project it will be easier for the client to make assessments across their entire program, and they know what to expect from the models because they are standardized.
Cities today face unique challenges which can be solved with innovation and the use of digital strategies to pre-empt risks and digitize city assets. A recently published Digital Cities report offers perspectives from myself and other global leaders at AECOM about solving these unique challenges. We’ve found there are also numerous opportunities for urban planners to work holistically in the expansion and alignment of urban underground spaces by using advanced technologies such as the latest VR and photogrammetry technologies together with 3D spatial technologies. The Asia leadership group contributed to a chapter in the Underground Cities publication which discusses the future of underground space development. In Hong Kong, we saw a lot of excitement over the Fast Track CityHack which we hosted earlier this month. The event helped introduce new solutions to accelerate better outcomes for how Hong Kong can simultaneously provide livability for its people while supporting the sustainability of our planet. It’s an exciting time to work in the AEC industry, and I’m so proud of the way AECOM is part of the conversation transforming our industry and moving into the digital future.