Autodesk has announced the findings for its latest IDC InfoBrief, a survey which has found that Australian and New Zealand construction companies are most advanced when it comes to COVID-19 recovery planning and preparation.

The paper, dubbed Road to Recovery: Overcoming COVID-19’s Impact on the Construction Industry with Digital Technologies, says that 30% of construction companies are leading the recovery and are prepared for the ‘new normal’.

“Across the Asia Pacific region including Japan (APIJ), construction companies are in different stages of recovery against COVID-19,” Autodesk Construction Solutions managing director, APAC operations Tomy Praveen says.

“Respectively, 17% of construction companies in APIJ are still deep in COVID crisis mode, trying to establish business continuity, and are focused on cutting down costs in response to a slowdown in revenue. However, a notable 32% of construction companies across the region are already making aggressive technology investments to secure future business viability.”

He adds that before the pandemic, only 19% of ANZ construction companies had committed to a long-term approach to digital transformation, on par with the regions before COVID-19.

Now, these same construction companies are leading the recovery. Autodesk adds that these companies are well-placed to manage digital transformation and jump on the opportunities for innovation.

For example, 41% of ANZ construction companies are still using paper drawings for projects, while just 5% are currently using a software solution for construction drawings.

“There’s still a way to go before we see the full digital transformation we anticipate in the industry. However, this is accelerating. ANZ construction companies have identified the opportunities for innovation, with 29% increasing the use of digital solutions by 41-50% during 2020,” Tomy says.

Across ANZ, the top construction phases for planned investments are design development for ANZ (49precent) and Japan (60%), testing and commissioning for India (64%) and handover or turnover for Singapore (60%).

“Although the ANZ construction industry is in recovery, companies are more cost-conscious than ever and are looking at ways to improve and develop efficiencies to remain competitive, just like the rest of the region,” Tomy explains.

“Technology is supporting streamlined workflows in this new era of convergence where industries, processes and teams are embracing innovative ways of making and have new challenges. In 2021, teams, data and workflows will be increasingly connected.”