ndustry Initiatives Aim for Greater Efficiencies without Process Overhaul MANCHESTER, N.H., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey of leading architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) executives has found that 10 of 11 firms are pursuing software initiatives to raise process productivity without disruptive re-engineering of their work practices. The research is available in a new white paper, Improving AEC Project Execution: Lessons from 11 Industry Leaders. Newforma, Inc., a New Hampshire-based software developer, commissioned Spar Point Research of Danvers, Mass., to interview North American AEC executives in five market segments: architecture, building engineering, civil engineering, design-build, and transportation infrastructure. While the executives agreed on the business pressures and project risks their organizations face, no consensus arose over how best to tackle key challenges such as resourcing growth, managing risk, maximizing productivity and implementing efficient project processes to raise profits. Spar Point Managing Partner Bruce Jenkins attributes the absence of industry-wide best practices to the relative newness of process improvement as a discipline in the AEC industry. Among the problems AEC firms face, those mentioned most included scarce human resources, compressed project schedules, culture gaps between companies on the project team, incompatible work processes and fragmented software environments. Firms represented in the study are BNIM Architects; Bohannan Huston; Burns & McDonnell; Dynasty Group; Ghafari Associates; HOK S+V+E; Jaros Baum & Bolles; Jordan, Jones & Goulding; Psomas; The Walsh Group; and Walter P. Moore and Associates.
