Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced the publication of an International Data Corporation (IDC) InfoBrief, “Digital Transformation: The Future of Connected Construction” earlier this year, and with COVID-19 wreaking havoc across the globe and changing the way we all work, it’s proven even more relevant now.

Sponsored by Autodesk, the IDC InfoBrief – a survey of 835 construction professionals from large construction companies in countries across Asia Pacific (including Australia and New Zealand), Europe, and the Americas – assesses the construction industry’s digital transformation (DX) maturity and challenges.

According to the findings, most respondents worldwide (58%) are in the earliest stages of their DX journey, and only 13% are in the most mature stages.

“The report findings remain more pertinent than ever, especially as our construction industry is adapting to the unprecedented disruption that the world is currently undergoing. With job sites, employers and stakeholders becoming dispersed and facing greater resource constraints, the adoption of the right digitalisation tools will enable businesses to do more with less, helping to improve performance and profitability while at the same time effectively reducing risk,” says Autodesk ANZ regional director Andy Cunningham.

Autodesk ANZ regional director Andy Cunningham.

“Digital transformation within the construction industry will allow us to remain competitive on the global stage. Beyond project documentation and stakeholder management, digital construction solutions can lead to improved performance, project profitability and collaboration. As an industry, we must change our thinking, and adopt digital solutions early in order to stay ahead of the curve as a region.”

ANZ’s top three DX challenges: Data Security, Risk Management and Outdated Technologies

Findings show that Japan leads the DX maturity journey and is one of the top three most mature regions globally, alongside Germany and the United States.

In ANZ, while DX has been identified as a priority, there are key roadblocks and challenges that must be addressed first before its full potential can be unlocked. Similar to other countries globally, the top digital deadlocks in ANZ construction firms include data security and risk management. ANZ also faces the challenge of a lack of effective technologies, which are often outdated.

While digital construction solutions are available, over 95% of organisations worldwide use these solutions for less than half of their projects, and mainly for planning and briefing (56%), design development (54%) and site execution (42%) purposes.

In comparison, ANZ companies prefer digital construction solutions that aid with handover/turnover (63.6%) and bidding (52%), with one-third of the industry spending up to 15 % on this handover/turnover technology.

Compared to feedback from other regions, ANZ are investing more on digital construction solutions that aid in project documentation and stakeholder engagement. This is indicative of the Australian construction sector — while the industry generates over $350 billion in revenue, making up 8% of the country’s overall GDP, 90% of the sector is made up of small businesses with teams of around 20. Smaller teams often believe they have less of a need for project management tools, preferring to invest in areas like customer engagement.

A holistic approach to DX is necessary for ANZ construction companies to successfully advance to the next stage. While 38% of those surveyed in ANZ state they have plans to establish a DX roadmap in the next 12 months, more must be done to encourage the wider industry to do the same.

Wiley Construction is a Brisbane based construction management and building company, and an existing Autodesk customer using both AEC and D&M Collections.

Autodesk’s team has been working with them for the last 1.5 years on DX, primarily via BIM 360 Design and future expansion to Autodesk Construction Cloud products during construction phases.

Prior to COVID, Wiley Construction was already on the path to fully deploy BIM 360 as its preferred platform. Due to COVID, they accelerated their plan, made additional BIM 360 Design purchases and seamlessly moved to full cloud over a weekend.

ANZ is a DX mature country, but there is room to grow to a more advanced stage

“While many organisations worldwide have embraced digital transformation and are bringing new innovations into their businesses, the construction industry has yet to fully reap the benefits of digitalisation due to the unique challenges it faces,” says IDC AVP and APAC head of digital transformation Daniel-Zoe Jimenez.

“However, our research indicates that digital construction solutions (such as BIM workflows, bid management, project management and insights) can help improve construction projects, and construction companies are looking into new, innovative technologies to accelerate their digital transformation.”

Key statistics

• In ANZ, while DX has been identified as a priority, there are key roadblocks and challenges that must be addressed first, before its full potential can be unlocked. Similar to other countries globally, the top digital deadlocks in ANZ construction firms include data security and risk management. ANZ also faces the challenge of a lack of effective technologies, which are often outdated.
• While digital construction solutions are available, over 95 % of organisations worldwide use these solutions for less than half of their projects, and mainly for planning and briefing (56 %), design development (54 %) and site execution (42 %) purposes. In comparison, ANZ companies prefer digital construction solutions that aid with handover/turnover (63.6 %) and bidding (52 %), with one-third of the industry spending up to 15 % on this handover/turnover technology.
• Compared to feedback from other regions, ANZ are investing more on digital construction solutions that aid in project documentation and stakeholder engagement. This is indicative of the Australian construction sector — while the industry generates over $350 billion in revenue, making up 8 % of the country’s overall GDP, 90 % of the sector is made up of small businesses with teams of around 20. Smaller teams often believe they have less of a need for project management tools, preferring to invest in areas like customer engagement.
• A holistic approach to DX is necessary for ANZ construction companies to successfully advance to the next stage. While 38 % of those surveyed in ANZ state they have plans to establish a DX roadmap in the next 12 months, more must be done to encourage the wider industry to do the same.

To learn more and read the white paper, download it here.