Monday, November 14, 2016

Thinking About Future Civil Engineering Skill Sets

From ICE:

"We are already in the reality of 3D concrete printing from BIM models. We are discussing car trains on digitally controlled motorways. Some consumer suppliers will be delivering products via drones, changing how infrastructure is used. Renewable energy sources will become more sustainable as hydrogen technology and battery storage improves, changing energy distribution systems. Design life will shorten as we design to accommodate faster changing technology. Design itself will be carried out by computer algorithms. So, is my first question about skills shortages as easy to answer as we think? Let me ask the question a different way. What skills will we need in the future to deliver our infrastructure? Is it a from the traditional engineering background or will it be someone from somewhere completely different such as data analytics, a technology company, or a manufacturing or logistics organisation. Maybe even a flat pack manufacturer! If we are to deliver on 2025 and be more efficient, generate more savings, reduce construction times, reduce carbon, should we be looking to other industries and asking who do we need to speak with, work with, to deliver the infrastructure for the Google self-driving car on the intelligent highway that responds to user requirements in real time? We may, like the Japanese, then be able to export the delivery model."

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