In my experience, there are two types of engineers: those who are very apprehensive about moving away from their proven, yet antiquated, ways of working, and those who are eager and excited to explore the future of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, robotic process automations (RPAs), and other innovations — virtually nothing in between. Bridging this gap is an uphill climb.
But it’s not Everest; it’s a climb with a summit in reach. My first 100 days as an innovations program manager at an engineering firm attests to this possibility.
During this time, I’ve focused on persuading the non-believers, adding fuel to the fire of the hopeful, and providing digestible structure to all the wonderful chaos.
I’ve begun with a situation analysis. The inevitable disruption in the AEC industry has started to rear its ugly head — keyword: ugly. It may be harsh, but the most popular tools and programs used by engineers are some of the most mundane-looking, unaesthetic things you’ll see. For this reason, there’s a boatload of opportunity in simply reinventing existing tools and giving them a makeover/facelift. (Probably explains why I’ve so quickly developed such a strong relationship with our marketing team.)
From a functionality standpoint, I’ve discovered similar pitfalls. After speaking to people from each discipline at Syska Hennessy, I found myself asking each of them, “Why can’t you do this?” “Why does this take so long?” “Does a tool not exist to do this?” They’d respond: “That would be great if we could do/use/add that!” So, we have an agenda.
That said, there are so many engineers already thinking about how to make their work lives easier. I didn’t have to come up with too many ideas on my own in my first 100 days; they were already sitting on people’s desks under some finished schematic designs. Engineering is truly the quintessential industry of production — of designing the unthinkable and making it a reality. What engineers need to do is channel more of those same efforts towards innovation.
I once had a teacher tell me that “color is good for the soul.” In this industry of brilliant skeptics, undeniable talent and untapped potential, I’m excited to be a part of unearthing its vibrant colors.