Infrastructure : What 2021 Will Bring Part One

 With the pandemic, all industries have reflected on the changes imposed on them due the virus and its consequences of economic and social disruption. 

In his article, How the Challenges of 2020 Will Shape the Infrastructure Industry, Theo Agelopoulos points to the reliance on technology "to improve the resiliency of the infrastructure sector's "soft" assets: people and data" (p. 24). He cites the use of technology by large multinational organizations to disseminate information among teams located remotely. Regional or local organizations, challenged by out-of-date data,  have to find creative ways to provide current estimates for existing projects. Technology has also assisted in enabling open meetings necessary for local and regional agencies to conform to federal funding requirements.  

This and other changes, such as meeting the social distance and interaction changes with masks, have resulted in modifications of operational processes. In the case of quality assurance and inspection, some firms have resorted to using drones to examine structures and generate data "to create digital models to drive design of repairs, alterations and additions (p. 25)." Many companies admit to the technical difficulties their employees face with working from home.  In contrast, Cloud Computing has eliminated the physical and organizational barriers of getting employees engaged on teams from anywhere.  For example, at Tetra Tech "we won't have people setting idle just because They're in a different operating unit (p. 26)".  Comfort with Cloud Computing and tools such as BIM, 3D, Virtual and Augmented Reality and  modeling become mandatory for engineers and other operational staff. Odeh expressed the technical upgrades this way, "We need to have an innovation toolkit, so engineers are able to help clients visualize new design ideas or solve large-scale challenges in infrastructure" (p. 26). 

Agelopoulos speculated on the economic changes that the pandemic will bring--the movement of the retail sector from in-store to online and the decline in mall construction and the increase of prefabrication. He also addressed the pre-pandemic issues of a worker shortage and the lack of diversity in the engineering field. As Odeh stated, "a more diverse workforce also will ensure that infrastructure itself meets the needs of a diverse demographic" (p. 28). With these reflections and fundamental changes, the industry prepares itself for the future. 

https://informedinfrastructure.com/59325/how-the-challenges-of-2020-will-shape-the-infrastructure-industry/