Mega-Influences Bring Opportunity And Threat

Two huge influences will impact our sector in a big way in the coming years and indeed decades. These ‘mega-influences’ are not unrelated, but we describe them herein separately then consider their interactions. They are advanced digitalisation technologies, and sustainable development/ climate change. If we under-manage them, we are lost, yet if we get them right, there are big advantages in the offing.

Advanced Digital Technologies

The cutting edge of highly advanced digital technologies are fast coming to fruition, such as artificial intelligence, cloud, internet of things, blockchain, additive manufacturing/ 3D printing, virtual reality, advanced smart materials/buildings and others. During our careers, it is likely that there will be opportunities to deploy these to great effect in engineering design, construction, and maintenance. Leading businesses are strategizing to incorporate these and integrate human intelligence with what can best be leveraged using such technologies. This innovation frontier will lead to fast changing designs of the built environment and how professional consultants do their work. We are already fully in the age of cloud computing, and quantum computing is coming. Implications are potentially large at many levels:

1. At the national level, Australia is at risk of being left behind by

China, USA and Europe in terms of development of these new technologies and their deployment. Its not so much our level of

R&D that lags, but more our ability to commercialise, an age-old problem in Australia, because our governments have underfunded innovation capability for decades, when they should be catalysing industry to do more.

2. Companies, including large and niche consulting firms, can get ahead of the pack by implementing technology strategies as part of their business strategies, always aiming to bring business advantages, in terms of costs, quality/ service, speed, or differentiated services and designs.

3. Individual professionals, such as engineers, architects, lawyers, accountants and business leaders should be continually refreshing and educating themselves on the moving frontier of what these new technologies are capable of.

The fourth industrial technology revolution that we are right now experiencing brings opportunity at all three levels above to those who ‘go hard’ with them, and threatens those who underestimate what is happening. Be the Netflix and Amazon of your industry, not Blockbuster, Borders or Kodak. The first step is to design and fit a technology/innovation element to your business strategy, which won’t happen by itself but needs careful crafting, development and testing. Winners in other industries, such as Singapore’s DBS bank, and of course the global giants Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon have built their businesses based on deliberate technology strategies.

Sustainability and ESG (environment, social, governance) Factors

The advance of climate change and the multi decade set of efforts required to counter it have recently been bringing major forces of change upon us. Sustainable development has morphed into the broader domain of ESG, and big shifts are occurring in finance and investment markets, in how companies select their tender bids and suppliers and in how talented professionals choose where they want to work. In the investment world, major players such as Blackrock have completely changed how they guide clients, evaluate and select investment targets. In Europe, more money is now going into ESG oriented investment vehicles than not. From original concerns over environmental factors, all stakeholders, including customers and employees, are now scrutinising the social and community practices and performance of organisations. Further, the quality of governance can make or break organisations, for example consider BHP’s best practices1 in contrast with Crown and AMP. I have been scoring and evaluating companies that are excellent in ESG, such as Toyota, and inevitably find that it correlates and indeed causes business outperformance results! A mounting body of business research shows that efforts made in taking ESG factors forward lead to advantages in cost, reputation, innovation, stakeholder support, license to operate and lower risks.

Integrating these mega influences

The opportunity exists for our professional service firms to grasp these influences, not as separate but together. Looking first through the ESG lens, improvements in environment, societal and even governance qualities can be facilitated by the new digital technologies.

Advanced technologies including building materials, renewable energy sources, modular building designs, supply chain’s technical advances, and AI and cloud can themselves move the needle on environmental, social and governance outcomes. They present as good for business when carefully implemented and this rolls up to be in the national interest. There are large opportunities to develop and export such advanced services to ASEAN countries, as well as in local markets. Including advanced technology and ESG pervasively into our business strategies will benefit our nation, our sector and companies, and the individuals who own and work in these.

Engineers and consulting engineer companies are well suited, indeed beautifully positioned to take good advantage of these megainfluences, because we understand the technical underpinnings of each, and can match them with developing business acumen. The innovation opportunities present great opportunities for further lifting our consulting businesses’ game, through leading our economic development in advanced technologies and ESG. Will we? n

Professor Danny Samson University of Melbourne

Professor Danny Samson conducts short-courses for Consult Australia, and he lectures and conducts research at the University of Melbourne. Comments welcome: d.samson@unimelb.e du.au

1 - Argus, D. Samson, 2021, Strategic Leadership, Palgrave, https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789811594298