How Digital Twin Technology Can Bridge Gaps in AEC Project Delivery

Technological innovation is everywhere in AEC as part of a larger digital transformation of the industry. The key is being able to identify the technology that owners in your market are looking to utilize to support project delivery.

One example of technology that owners are embracing is digital twin technology. This type of virtual — or digital — representation of the same physical object can help bridge gaps between owners and AEC firms by enhancing collaboration.

By bringing everyone together using this technology, project delivery can be accelerated. This will set you on the path to revenue growth and becoming an AEC firm of choice capable of utilizing the latest technology to deliver projects on time and on budget.

Why Align With Digital Twin Technology?

Digital twin technology is powerful for bringing multiple parties together to address challenges, find solutions, and prepare for success before any of the actual physical work starts.

This type of AEC technology enables owners, firms, third parties, and project/scope delivery partners (P/SDPs) to review the full project life cycle in a digital form that mimics the physical reality of the project scope. You can bring together data from multiple, disparate sources to create a comprehensive replica of the components and systems in the planned facility space.

Then, each party can communicate about the challenges they see on the path to facilitating solutions. Discussions will advance from the typical conversations batting around potential scenarios to discussing actual scenarios that can be foreseen using advanced technology.

I am highlighting this technology as an example of how your firm can have more intelligent conversations with project owners during key stages of client engagement. During this age of digital transformation, your firm needs to understand how technology is changing the way that projects are delivered in your market. Then, you will be prepared to identify a fresh set of business and political challenges to align with that will help you develop deeper, more impactful client relationships.

Business & Political Issues to Align With in Digital Transformation

Owners that have embraced digital transformation are working through a unique set of business and political issues in their organization. Instead of technology merely supporting the organization, technology has become a central driver of how the organization is run. It’s different because what was in the background is now in the foreground.

So, what does this change mean? It means a louder voice for the IT, technology, and security leaders in the organization. It means more technology-driven conversations when interacting with the owner. It means your team needs to understand how to ask different questions and have different types of conversations.

Consider some of the chief business and political issues that you need to align with when collaborating with technology-driven project owners to support project delivery:

• What triggered the organization to pursue a technology-driven transformation?
• Who has spearheaded the use of digital twin technology or similar technology?
• How has the emergence of IT changed the way decisions are made?
• Which departments are aligned with IT to influence decision-making?
• What software platforms or tools is the organization using or considering?
• Which technology vendors are already embedded in the organization?
• What cybersecurity issues is the organization facing to protect project data?
• Who is responsible for the digital transformation strategy?
• Who owns the challenge of tactically executing the digital transformation?

Your team needs to ask these questions to gain a deeper understanding of how the owner organization has changed. Keep in mind that you won’t always find the answers from your usual points of contact.

You need to pursue new connections and develop multiple paths of connection to gain necessary insight from additional stakeholders, influencers, decision-makers, and gatekeepers that possess valuable information to help you better understand how technology is transforming the organization. Once you gather this client intelligence, you can better understand the bigger picture and the larger issues that are in play for the owner that you are collaborating with.

Suddenly, there will be a light bulb moment. You’ll understand what’s really going on that prompted the client to utilize digital twin technology or other forms of advanced technology to support project scope delivery. Perhaps the owner was tired of re-work, delays, poor communication, waste, or other inefficiencies. Unlock these triggers as part of your pursuit!

Then, you’ll find yourself having different conversations with the owner, looking for different P/SDPs to support project delivery, and thinking differently about the project to make sure that your firm is very intentional about aligning with key challenges the owner is facing.

Work With RESET When Aligning With New AEC Technology

Ultimately, your goal should be to pursue collaboration, align with the owner’s business and political issues, and be prepared to embrace new technology to support project scope delivery. The age of digital transformation is here, so don’t be left behind.

At RESET, we can help you better understand how to unlock business and political issues around the AEC technology that owners are embracing. There are hidden clues in this digital transformation journey that you need to find and utilize.

Then, we’ll help you identify ways to bridge gaps in project scope delivery by crafting a larger, technology-driven solution to help the owner achieve their project goals.

Let’s start with a conversation about the technological changes you’re seeing with the owners you’re collaborating with. Through our proven methodology, The Connection Process, we’ll help you identify connections to pursue and business and political issues to align with to grow your capabilities as a firm of choice. Then, you’ll be positioned to be leveraged for value and impact!

Contact us today to get started with a coaching consultation.