In the building industry, convergence is a blurring of lines between technology, process and sectors such as architecture, manufacturing and entertainment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The goal? Finding better ways to design, build and make space.<\/p>\n
\u201cArchitects and builders are looking to manufacturing to make the construction process more like industrial assembly lines \u2014 modular, repeatable and efficient,\u201d Autodesk University writes<\/a>. \u201cAnd they\u2019re finding ways to use standardized parts and digital tools to improve safety and accelerate project timelines.\u201d<\/p>\n As VP Industrialized Construction at Autodesk, Amy Marks says construction business models are shifting to meet demands from a growing client segment called \u201cconvergence customers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think about what a convergence customer needs, it’s very different than what just a general contractor needs, or just an architect needs, or just an owner needs, or just a building product manufacturer needs,\u201d says Marks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey need a platform of connected data. They need the interoperability between many different ecosystem partners, whether that’s in services, or technology, or products. They’re looking across the silos \u2014 they’re basically burning them to the ground at this point. And I think that changes everything.\u201d<\/p>\n During her keynote address at the Advancing Prefabrication 2022 conference, Marks said 82% of the audience considered themselves convergence customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n But they\u2019re not explicitly asking for convergence solutions, Marks notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rather, clients tell her they are looking for integrated support because their business models are changing and \u201cthere are forces on my business, and the way in which I do business, and how I make money that have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n So if a contractor responds to an RFP by offering up an evolved framework that incorporates a convergence of prefabrication, technology and advanced processes, the customer feels better enabled to achieve their project goals.<\/p>\n Marks touches on two key ways convergence takes place in construction.<\/p>\n The first is a \u201chorizontal\u201d integration of different \u2014 but often adjacent \u2014 business types that merge, or incorporate another offering, to increase their shared value. \u201cArchitects are buying [pre]fab shops, and general contractors are becoming makers and makers are becoming designers of things,\u201d she explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019re seeing \u201cvertical\u201d compression too, according to Marks. \u201cWhether it’s the GC or the mechanical, electrical or plumbing subcontractor, or the traditional building product manufacturer \u2014 they are merging together as makers.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, she describes how an electrical contractor might not actually produce anything that\u2019s included in the electrical skids they supply.<\/p>\n Instead, they function as a \u201cproduct and system integrator\u201d of the manufactured items provided to clients. Or the building product manufacturer who creates those items offers the entire skid as an aggregated solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you think bigger, Marks says, this type of convergence can enable the creation of smart buildings<\/a> and even whole smart cities that function as vertically integrated environments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Envision future cities where \u201cplatform companies like Meta and Google own undersea cables to emerging geographies. The data center will be owned by them, the infrastructure that gets built around them potentially\u2026 I’m sure they would like it to integrate with their platforms down to the end use in their home,\u201d says Marks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so I think it’s a very interesting conversation about convergence and platforms that’s much more far reaching than we think.\u201d<\/p>\n Image by: Hero Images<\/p>\n Merging previously separate industries or processes is not a simple task. To make it work, all the stakeholders involved must learn how to speak different languages (in a figurative as well as terminology sense) to bridge contextual gaps, Marks says.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you\u2019re starting out and these business models are first changing, you have to understand the language of the genesis of the original core competencies. And then you have to understand the language of your adjacencies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For instance, \u201cthe DfMA in a manufacturing setting has different interpretations than DfMA may in an architectural setting. You’re converging with and reconciling the [industry] language to make sure that you both mean the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Merging with other specialties requires an appreciation of diversity and perspective to create shared understanding, and perhaps in the future, even a new language, Marks says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Randee Herrin, Senior VP of Construction Technologies & Manufacturing at TDIndustries Inc., says her construction and facilities services company utilizes a \u201cmodel-led workflow\u201d to spark collaborative understanding.<\/p>\n With this approach, all stakeholders come together to make shared decisions earlier than usual in the construction process, producing a virtual model (thank you, technology) for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to step outside of just [your company], and engage the entire team \u2014 the general contractor and the owner or the other key subs \u2014 that means those decisions between the entire team need to happen earlier. And it needs to be much more cooperative and a partnership upfront, to have a better outcome at the end,\u201d Herrin explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n Image by: DIRTT Construction Systems<\/p>\n \u201cThe future is about data. It\u2019s enabled by the [virtual] model and\u2026by offsite manufacturing,\u201d says Herrin, who thinks the construction industry is in the midst of a renaissance, as future-oriented firms rethink their approach to building spaces.<\/p>\n After all, who doesn\u2019t want their job to be made easier and to access greater project certainty through data, she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, it\u2019s how many constraints can we remove? We’re managing a workforce that’s hard to find right now \u2014 a declining workforce. And we could sit with that problem or we could say \u2018how can we solve it through off-site manufacturing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the obvious benefits of industrialized construction, some old-school misconceptions are also being debunked<\/a>, says Marks.<\/p>\n She scoffs at the idea that manufactured building products \u2014 a key element of construction convergence \u2014 are not considered beautiful or that architects and designers say, \u201cI will not have prefab on my project.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThose kinds of things are so 10 years ago,\u201d she says. Now there\u2019s widespread interest and acknowledgement of industrialized construction. Project stakeholders just need help understanding how to incorporate prefabricated solutions into their construction plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n One way or another, every building now incorporates manufactured products in construction, she points out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, I think at the end of the day, the word prefab won’t exist. It’ll just be products.\u201d<\/p>\n This item was originally posted here: Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How convergence in construction actually works<\/h4>\n
Shared context is key to evolve your business model<\/h4>\n
Perceptions of industrialized construction have evolved too<\/h4>\n