EditorialThe Need of Digitization in the Construction IndustryIt's an interesting time for the construction industry. Growth has been strong the past several years, with U.S. construction spending now at an all-time high. Despite having weathered the storm of the Great Recession, the construction industry is still facing challenges, both old and new, moving forward. Rising material and labor costs, labor woes, increased competition and shrinking profit margins are some of the challenges construction firms face. There's also new rules and regulations that business owners must stay on top of like new OSHA rules or changes to building codes or the recent tax reforms.Recently, President Biden announced his $2 trillion plan to improve the U.S.'s infrastructure and economy. This includes the fixture of highways, bridges, ports, airports, homes, commercial buildings, hospitals and schools and most likely implies numerous new projects for the construction industry. But the lack of digitization is only one of many aspects that the construction industry needs to work on to be more productive and more efficient. Over the last years, many start-ups entered the industry and created solutions to improve all stages from the concept phase to completion of a construction project, i.e. 3D prints, building information modelling, general contracting, AI, AR/VR, robotics and project management.A few new technologies, like 3D-printed structures and smart glasses (in which a mini-screen is positioned in front of safety glasses), frequently make headlines. In reality, these technologies are still in early development and deployment is far out on the horizon. Rather than trying to guess what's in the future, companies should familiarize themselves with tools that are already being adopted and invest in them where it makes sense.As more and more technology startups bring construction tools to the market, there is an increase in the amount of "noise." People also experience FOMO (fear of missing out), which understandably intensifies when they feel threatened by disruption. The solution is to thoroughly research the current state of a given technology, create a companywide strategy for implementing new technologies, then document and assess progress according to agreed-upon benchmarks. Technology tools that are wisely chosen will help companies make the most gains.Let us know your thoughts.Joe PhillipManaging Editoreditor@cioapplications.comJoe PhillipCopyright © 2021 ValleyMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof.MAY 17, 2021, Volume 07 - Issue 10 (ISSN 2644-240X) Published by ValleyMedia, Inc. To subscribe to CIO ApplicationsVisit www.cioapplications.com Managing EditorJoe Phillip*Some of the Insights are based on the interviews with respective CIOs and CXOs to our editorial staffSalesSebastian Jacobsebastian@cioapplications.comEmailsales@cioapplications.comeditor@cioapplications.commarketing@cioapplications.comGraphics & ArtIssac GeorgeEditorial StaffBen JacksonDaniel HolmesEzra BenjaminJune MichaelRose DcruzSenior WritersClara MathewLeah JaneRoyce D'Souza
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