Excitement Surrounds New ACEC Technology Committee

The 7 a.m. meeting start time did not diminish the enthusiasm for ACEC’s new Technology Committee, which still drew a standing-room only crowd this morning at the Fall Conference in Austin, Texas.

With the Conference noted for its tech-heavy curriculum, the attendance confirmed the growing importance for firms to adopt advancing technology and learn new strategies for navigating an evolving business environment.

Raj Arora, Technology Committee Chairman and Jensen Hughes CEO, began the session with a brief overview of the Committee’s evolution over the last year. A day-long session this past spring in Washington, D.C. established a charter and created three subcommittees: Listening and Engagement; Education; and Advocacy.

From those initial conversations, a slate of challenges and priorities emerged regarding securing talent, managing demand for services, navigating a changing workplace, and the need to maintain competitiveness.

With firms of all sizes needing to fill open positions, the impact of tech on the workforce was a significant topic. “We’re all street fighting all day long for talent,” said Arora. “I think tech is going to help us both attract and retain workers.”

For many firms, resistance remains. The question, said Arora, is how to get the industry to do things differently. He went on to state that this is more than simply a tech question; it’s an issue of evolving management. As with any other seismic shift in strategy or focus, adopting technology must be done deliberately, with a wide view of the future.

This was also echoed by Javier Baldor, CEO of BST Global. “Don’t just think through the next move. Think beyond, to the full set of moves,” he said.