Australia is currently at a critical juncture, navigating the complexities of a booming population. The nation is making crucial investments in infrastructure, including housing, transport, utilities, and telecommunications, to improve liveability. Moreover, the $22.7 billion “Future Made in Australia policy,” aims to boost domestic manufacturing, accelerate the path to net zero, and position Australia as a “renewable energy superpower.”
However, resource constraints present a sobering reality. For instance, at Bentley Systems’ Illuminate event in May, the infrastructure community highlighted how inflation and rising project costs have led to a more cautious approach from the government, resulting in the scaling back and postponement of projects like the Melbourne Airport Rail Link. The landscape is further complicated by increasing project complexity, from design to operation. Compounding these challenges is the rapidly changing technology landscape and a shortage of well-trained engineers, making talent acquisition and retention increasingly difficult.
Traditionally, IT has been viewed as a support function in engineering firms. However, the work landscape has undergone a dramatic shift, and IT has evolved into a powerful strategic enabler of business transformation and value creation. Today, IT teams leverage advanced computer technology and AI to enhance efficiency and productivity across engineering workflows. Computer-aided design software and advanced simulation tools revolutionise the design process, optimise performance predictions, reduce the need for physical prototypes, streamline tasks, and free engineers to focus on innovation, improving safety, sustainability efforts, and facilitating seamless team collaboration.
How can leaders at engineering firms navigate this balance, to deliver efficiency in their IT portfolio, potentially transforming their departments and company? Here are five steps and best practices to consider.
1.Categorising and optimising your firm’s project portfolio
In the current business climate, where budget constraints are prevalent, it is crucial to categorise your IT/digital spending and optimise your project portfolio. Use the run, grow, transform model:
- Run-the-business (RTB): RTB spending maintains current operations and IT system performance.
- Grow-the-business (GTB): GTB spending enhances existing capabilities and improves IT processes.
- Transform-the-business (TTB): TTB spending creates new capabilities and enables new business models through innovation.
Balance these three types of spending based on your business strategy, priorities, and digital maturity. Eliminate any redundant or low-value IT spending to free up funds for digital investments. For example, if your current spending split is 80%-10%-10% between run, grow, and transform, you might aim for a 60%-20%-20% split. Set these goals in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure alignment.
2.Value-based approach to IT investments
Adopt a value-based approach to IT/digital investment decisions. Evaluate each IT line item, digital project, or initiative based on its expected value to the business, such as revenue growth, cost reduction, customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, or strategic alignment. Consider the risks, costs, benefits, dependencies, and trade-offs of each option, but focus on value rather than cost alone. Use a rigorous and transparent methodology for assessing and prioritising investments, such as business case analysis, ROI calculation, value realisation tracking, or portfolio optimisation
For example, Laing O’Rourke recently used SYNCHRO in a project to removing 85 rail level crossings in Melbourne that would enhance travel safety, reduce traffic disruption, and lower greenhouse gas emissions by 30%. SYNCHRO enabled the team to create a construction digital twin to visualise activities in 4D, significantly reducing development time, improving project visibility by 50%, and allowing the team to develop construction staging plans more than 70% faster than traditional 2D diagrams. This demonstrates how technology can add value by saving time, reducing risks, and contributing to successful projects.
3.Fostering an environment and culture that promotes innovation
Encourage creativity, collaboration, learning, and risk-taking in your business. Create an environment where people can explore new ideas, technologies, methods, and solutions without fear of failure or criticism. Provide the necessary resources, tools, time, and space for experimentation. Reward innovative efforts and outcomes.
Adopt an agile and iterative approach to IT and digital development using methods such as design thinking, prototyping, minimum viable product (MVP), or DevOps. These methods allow you to quickly test assumptions, validate solutions with real user feedback, deliver value faster, learn from failures, and adapt to changing requirements.
4.Collaborating and communicating across your firm
Ensure you communicate and collaborate with the rest of the firm on new initiatives. Transparency is key to fostering alignment and support, while also building trust and rapport with peers in functions such as finance, marketing, sales, operations, or human resources. By communicating and collaborating across business lines, you gain a deeper understanding of their needs, expectations, and concerns regarding IT and digital projects.
Employee buy-in is crucial for implementing technology, especially AI, as it ensures that the workforce is engaged, motivated, and properly trained to leverage new tools effectively, leading to smoother integration and maximum benefit. Illustrate how your projects or initiatives can enhance their functions, solve their issues, or boost their performance. Seek their input, feedback, and suggestions to refine the project portfolio. Ensure your projects align with the overall corporate vision, mission, and values, and clearly communicate the purpose, goals, and benefits of each project in the portfolio to gain widespread support.
5.Addressing talent acquisition challenges
Australia relies on approximately half a million qualified engineers to tackle its most pressing challenges, from climate change to clean energy transition and complex infrastructure and technology needs, according to a report by Engineers Australia. However, acquiring engineering talent presents a significant challenge because Australia’s engineering skills and labour shortage is at its highest level in over a decade, with demand outpacing supply.
Current staff are also often ill-equipped to keep up with evolving technologies. This requires educational institutions to adapt their training programs accordingly, and partnerships between industry and educational institutions are crucial in addressing these challenges. For example, the collaboration between UTS and Bentley Systems integrates advanced technology like digital twins into training programs, effectively helping to bridge the skills gap.
Digital twin programs can also help to attract and retain top-tier engineers, and enable them to work remotely from anywhere in the world. Remote working gives businesses access to a global talent pool which can reduce the costs of relocating staff and providing office space and infrastructure.
Conclusion
Balancing current operations with growth and transformation is challenging due to budget constraints and limited resources. As a business leader, collaborate with other units to prioritise projects. By aligning with business strategy, optimising spending, adopting value-based investments, fostering innovation, and collaborating on new initiatives, you can ensure your portfolio’s efficiency and effectiveness, driving transformative ideas and investments over time.
Director, Solution Engineering at Bentley Systems. Paul is a passionate advocate of construction innovation and global best practice for using technology solutions in the built environment. As a chartered engineer with broad experience of designing, constructing and operating infrastructure he enjoys helping organisations and projects to develop competitive advantage, generate business improvement and manage risk. Paul manages a global Bentley team advising construction participants about digitisation, collaborative working, and technology best practices. He speaks regularly at infrastructure industry events and has supported major projects such as Crossrail, Masdar City and London 2012. He is based in Sydney, Australia.
