Managing Complexity in Engineering and Construction through Digital Technologies

While the demand for new infrastructure and real estate projects is rising, engineering and construction firms are facing skilled worker shortages, project overruns, supply chain disruptions, and increasing regulations. To address these challenges, businesses are accelerating their digital transformation journeys by leveraging connected construction platforms, project management solutions, automated tools for modular construction, and remote project inspections. Additionally, engineering and construction companies are using digital technologies for improved productivity, process efficiency, and increasing profitability, investing heavily in virtual reality and product life cycle management tools. These emerging trends are covered in Avasant’s Engineering and Construction Digital Services 2022–2023 RadarView™. The report is a comprehensive study of digital service providers in the engineering and construction industry, including top trends, analysis, and recommendations. It takes a close look at the leaders, innovators, disruptors, and challengers in this market.

Avasant evaluated 23 providers using three dimensions: practice maturity, investments and innovation, and partner ecosystem. Of the 23 providers, we recognized eight that brought the most value to the market during the past 12 months.

The report recognizes service providers in four categories:

• • Leaders: Infosys and LTIMindtree
  • Innovators: Accenture and Wipro
  • Disruptors: SAP and TCS
  • Challengers: Capgemini and Tech Mahindra

Figure 1 below from the full report illustrates these categories:

“The engineering and construction industry has been a technology laggard for a long time,” said Henry Guapo, Avasant partner. “With rising challenges like the skills gap, project overruns, and supply chain crises, enterprises need to embrace technology in all aspects of their business.”

The full report provides a number of findings and recommendations, including the following:

1. 1. Engineering and construction firms are using digital technologies to enable time- and cost-efficient operations. They leverage construction management solutions, remote inspections, and virtual reality solutions to cut excess costs and maintain project timelines.
   2. Enterprises are strengthening their workforce strategies by investing in workforce safety and health monitoring tools, using AR/VR for training, automating hazardous and repetitive tasks, and adopting modular construction techniques.
   3. Companies are improving their supply chain efficiencies by employing digital tools for vendor and logistics management while keeping carbon emissions in check.
   4. Real-estate firms are analyzing customer needs and buying patterns with value-added services such as virtual home tours and AI for lead conversion.

“Bringing together the construction processes, stakeholders, and workers, and leveraging digital technologies, is a key disruptor for the engineering and construction industry,” said Praveen Kona, associate research director with Avasant. “Qualified partners can help firms realize the art of the possible.”

The full report also features detailed profiles of eight service providers, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in assisting engineering and construction companies in digital transformation.

This Research Byte is a brief overview of the Avasant Engineering and Construction Digital Services 2022–2023 RadarView™ (click for pricing).