The Digital Lead of VINCI is on a Mission to make Construction Cool again
Construction is the second largest industry in the world. A sleeping giant who has been slowly waking up from its productivity slumber. Lately, the industry has taken some firm and stable first steps forward, and because of people like Marco Bonelli, some teams are taking off like a rocket ship.
During our latest podcast, the Digital Lead of VINCI UK spoke with great enthusiasm about his role, the biggest challenge innovators face in construction as well as the things that make the industry special.
Don’t pick a solution, pick a problem
Marco began his career as a Digital Lead on the right foot by saving 80% of the rework cost of a project while working for John Sisk & Son in the UK. Despite being curious and enthusiastic about technology, his focus is always on how to solve the next big problem. His calculated approach to digitization started paying off, step by step, project by project, and his team at the tier-1 contractor ended up receiving an international digitization award in Las Vegas in 2019.
Next time you attend a Digital Construction conference, bring someone with you who is Resisting Digital Construction
In 2018 Marco presented at AU London to a crowd of 300 people for the first time in his life. He admits that Digital Construction conferences are a great place for passionate techies to network (and to sometimes pat each other’s back), however, he argues that these events must also serve as a hub to turn digital skeptics into devotees. As Marco says, his goal is not to preach to the converted but to engage with people who are uncomfortable with change.
You need a Digital Lead
Marco started his career as a structural engineer but eventually joined the growing list of passionate innovators who want to make paper disappear from construction sites. He finds himself in the center of VINCI’s innovation projects and is responsible to solve problems with new ideas and products that enable us to build smarter. “That can’t be done by the Director, he doesn’t have the time”, Marco explains, neither do project managers, who usually have more than enough things on their plate to deliver a project on-time and on-budget. Someone needs to take the lead in the digitization journey and tackle the problem in a practical and methodical way. That is where the Digital Lead steps in.
Make Construction Cool Again
The stark shortage of engineering graduates means there might not be enough qualified workers to meet the industry’s current and future demands. As Marco explains, part of his work as a Lecturer at the Metropolitan University in London is to show students that there’s more to construction than dirt and dust. As he says, “working in construction is not just brick-laying. It’s about using cool elements like a VR headset and drones”.
It’s also about solving some of the world’s biggest problems like reducing carbon emissions, limiting the impact on the environment, and producing cheaper, high-quality housing for everyone. The industry is transforming rapidly, and working in construction at the moment is literally about working to change the world.
Listen to Marco’s story and insights here:
