7 Construction Lessons Learned by Richard Scott

In February, we welcomed a new valuable member to our Archdesk Team: Richard Scott. In case you somehow overlooked it, don’t worry! We covered Richard’s story here, so make sure you take a closer look at it!

Richard has been personally involved in the process of operating and growing a technology company, which embarked on taking a new concept and technical innovation into the construction sector. He deeply understands the challenges and rewards that come with such an endeavour. This is why we thought that interviewing Richard would be of great value, especially for CEOs of construction businesses.

Why CEOs? Well, when you are a business owner, you care about the big picture and that includes market position, project development, customers and costs. As a head of a company, your main objectives are managing projects efficiently, improving reputation, networking opportunities and revenue growth among many others. That’s quite a lot to handle, isn’t it? Having been a CEO himself, Richard knows the secrets of overcoming challenges and improving the overall performance of the business. Luckily, he shared them with us - so, get a pen and a paper and start taking notes!

7 Things to Bear in Mind When Working in Construction

Let us present you the highlights of Richard’s road that has taken him to us and what he learnt throughout all these years in the business:

• I

  Construction professionals are not usually interested in technology

  “They are rather interested in what it can do for them and how it will make their day better”. At the end of the day, it is all about investing time, money and effort into a solution that should streamline the processes in your company.

  To find out why implementing new technologies is worth the effort, read our article: Making Change That Matters: Why Implementing New Technologies Is Worth The Effort.

• II

  It’s essential to understand your client’s needs

  “To build trust and respect, it is essential to understand the operational challenges, working environment and motivations of the people who will use your product on a day-to-day basis”. Mutual trust is a must in any successful partnership.

• III

  Differentiate your communication according to your listeners

  “Within construction, there are inevitably two distinct buying personas. The tactical buyer is project-focused and interested in “tools” that deliver more successful project outcomes. The strategic buyer is business-focused and interested in multi-dimensional business intelligence and measuring the success of key strategic initiatives. These communities are vitally important, value different aspects of your product’s capability, and will be messaged in different ways”. Being flexible is a quality coveted from both sides here.

• IV

  Integration, integration, integration

  “The industry has woken up to the fact that many different systems are used independently and unconnected. It is essential to appreciate that any single product is part of a much broader portfolio of software products used within an organisation or at the project site and be proactive about product/data interdependency”.

• V

  The businesses’ purpose is to help the clients deliver better projects

  “Build a user community, meet and communicate regularly. Create a user focus group that meets quarterly and an annual user conference”. It will help all employees be on the same page with regards to the application of brand-new solutions.

• VI

  Architecture, Engineering, Construction and … ?

  “The AEC acronym has been extended to AECO. The additional ‘O’ represents building Operation and has become a focus of attention for many companies as it represents the most significant “timeslice” of the building’s life cycle. The growing need for construction companies to hand over a digital asset alongside the physical asset should be well understood”.

• VII

  The Construction industry has been the slowest to embrace digitisation

  “In 1998, the Egan Report “Rethinking Construction” called on the industry to not just do things better, but to do things differently. It proposed integrated project processes, a quality-driven agenda, safer working environments and improved leadership. The report set ambitious targets of a 10% reduction in project cost and time and a 20% reduction in defects. The industry has yet to achieve these outcomes or realise the digital transformation seen in other industries”.

  Change is always challenging; we look at some of the factors here: Fear of Digital Transformation: Why Do We Feel It and How to Overcome It?.

All of this comes from years and years of experience in the construction sector. Richard’s career path is long and full of “lessons learned”. In his case, the emerging technology was mobile computing, and the challenge that he was facing was the way in which information was captured, communicated, managed and reported.

We truly value all our team members very much. Although Richard hasn’t joined Archdesk until quite recently, his knowledge and experience have already been of great value. We are certain that our collaboration will only grow!