Post – Technology Transforming Business Practices

Technology in buildings and at the ‘coal face’ certainly has changed the way Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) professionals and businesses operate. Eddy Krygiel et al (2007) writing about the Power and Light Building in Kansas City, Missouri, and which was built in 1931, have this to say: “The drawing set for a building of this size in the 1930s would have been about 30 pages long. The Power and Light Building was more complex than its predecessors but far simpler than today’s large commercial projects. There were no data or telecom systems, no air-conditioning other than operable windows, and no security systems other than locks on the doors.”

Today the drawing set for buildings can run into the hundreds. This calls for better management, coordination, communication and control. Hence, according to our custom when in a time of need, we responded by inventing, yes, inventing new technology for the workplace. Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) were designed and adapted. CAD, Word Processors, Spreadsheets, the Fax Machine, the Internet, Networking, and so on. And, more recently we have BIM.

To illustrate the impact that this technology has had on the workplace we only need to consider the roles and responsibilities of people working in AEC. Large Professional Practices have always appointed an Office Manager to oversee the production process. As Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) gained a foothold in these organisations the need to have an IT / CAD specialist became apparent, and so the CAD Manager entered the scene, soon to be followed by the BIM Manager, and other related roles and titles. To illustrate how IT has impacted on the workplace consider what Jack B. Rochester wrote in 1993 (Rochester, 1993): “… a recent U.S. government study concluded that by the year 2000, three out of five jobs that people will need to be trained and educated for do not exist today. Moreover, these jobs will almost certainly involve the use of computers.” Certainly back in 1993 many work opportunities for AEC professionals were only beginning to emerge.

Unfortunately, these roles have come to mean different things to different organisations. For example, some CAD Manager’s are recognised as key members of the management team while others are perceived as simply ‘techno-grease-monkeys’, there to get the work done without in anyway recognizing their contribution to developing the business.

What has been your experience in this regard?
What do you believe should be the role of IT (and similar) Managers?