AEC firms are churning out unprecedented levels of data and there is an opportunity to create value by looking closely at data, design, reuse, says Claire Rutkowski at Bentley Systems.
Data is the new currency in the architecture, engineering, and construction, AEC industry. Digital design and engineering methods, such as infrastructure digital twins, 3D, 4D surveying, and asset lifecycle analysis, are generating more data than ever and sparking further innovation.
The data you produce, access, and analyse could boost profitability or turn into a new revenue stream. But you need to be strategic about using it. What data do you need? How do you manage it today? Who owns it? Are the right people seeing the right data during and after projects? It comes down to your ability to use data and information to glean valuable insights that are useful in the marketplace.
According to the AEC Data Insights Report, the average AEC firm stores 2.5 times more data than industries such as real estate, retail, manufacturing, and life science. That is almost 150% more data to manage, store, and manipulate. The report also said that the amount of stored data is growing in volume and usage. On average, firms increased storage by 31.2% from 2017 to 2021.
In addition, AEC firms interact with these files more often than firms in other sectors, leading to usability, access, and management issues. Storing and accessing all this data comes at a price, so it is even more important to use the data to produce value for the organisation.
The data economy is a global digital ecosystem in which data is gathered, organised, and exchanged by organisations to derive value. Within AEC, digital design files and big data from the Internet of Things, IoT have created a global supply and demand for live data, data services, and applications, and the value created from them.
Digital twins, asset lifecycle analysis, and other innovations are products of the digital economy. Firms can then use the data captured to generate insights that inform a more personalised and rich client experience or cultivate new revenue streams.
In a data economy, data is your currency and the most important thing you can own. To succeed, think about three key principles.
Data culture
Research from the International Data Corporation, IDC shows that organisations realise the full value of their data when they have a data culture. To foster a data culture, your teams need to understand what data is available, how to access and use it, and how your data relates to solving problems.
Be wary of impressive-looking dashboards that do not solve critical business problems – or worse, lead you to make a poor decision because of faulty data. Instead, teams need to be on board with using data to solve problems or fulfil customer needs. You also need confidence in data quality across the organisation.
This requires a data culture that values:
Engagement
Get executive sponsorship and have project leaders comfortable running meetings with live dashboards, not static PowerPoints.
Development
Include data management training and learning in job descriptions, competency modelling, and onboarding.
Enablement
Ensure employees are trained on the technology as well as governance best practices.
Collaboration
Data collaboration, the process of gathering and sharing data from multiple sources and using it across the organisation, is the biggest differentiator for leaders of the data economy. According to Gartner, organisations that share data externally with partners generate three times more measurable economic benefits than counterparts that do not.
AEC firms that collect proprietary data can monetise it, creating new product offerings or supplementing existing offerings with value-added data components. Additionally, you can use client data, at an aggregate level, to create a proprietary data library and further foster innovation.
Secure your data
You generate massive amounts of data with modern design tools and processes. Some of it is your data, and some of it is your client’s. Regardless, make sure the data is secure as you use it across the organisation. Ensure your project team has secure access to the right information at the right time.
Consider these practices to extend data governance:
- Govern and deliver project information based on roles to ensure consistency within fluid teams.
- Safeguard your data with a secure, federated login that controls access to information based on user identity.
- Collaborate with supply chain partners using clearly defined data access and task lists.
- Enforce industry and project standards such as ISO 19650 with automated graphical workflows.
- Manage data updates with smart workflows and templates that ensure information is filed correctly.
AEC firms are churning out unprecedented levels of data. There is an opportunity to create value, but first, you must look closely at the data underlying the design to figure out how to reuse or repurpose the data for clients.
What insights can be gained from your stored data? Can you use it to create recommendation engines for clients regarding late deliverables, issues with designs, new risks, or cost objective misses? Or could you host digital twins tied to IoT devices and provide a service to host the digital twin, maintain it, and drive operations and maintenance?
To succeed, be flexible and creative, and foster a data culture, encourage collaboration, and champion data security at all levels. AEC firms that play an active role in the data economy are bound to deliver more personalised customer experiences and monetise data to generate new revenue streams.
