Engineering project processes have stood the test of time

 Is there more to come? You bet! Engineering project processes have stood the test of time. They consist of various work stages, for example inception, concept and viability, design development, documentation and procurement, contract administration and inspection and close-out. During this time, the digital advancements previously mentioned have shaped how work is conducted.

However, the base process remains the same. Projects have now become technically complex, and the sheer scale of work has increased dramatically. As a result of this, the amount of digital engineering data describing the works and data generated during operation has reached levels never seen before. Again, the base project process has not changed.This has resulted in the generally inefficient generation, coordination, transmission and storage of project information and data. Data generated by engineers is often stored in design systems at their offices, and only 2D construction-type information ever reaches site. Contractors struggle to understand the engineer’s design intent as they grapple with computer science vs computer engineering salary printed drawings, reams of specifications and bills of quantities.

Facility and asset managers also feel the pain as they receive a few boxes of operating and maintenance manuals to run their multi-million rand facilities. What this effectively means is that all the digital ‘gains’ achieved in an office environment are not providing value for the people who construct and run facilities.