” We are building the digital bridges that the AECO industry needs. ” CloudForma
Today we go controversial, we look at the Grand Paradox: why AECO trails auto and aviation in automation and tech adoption.
1. Introduction: An Industry of Giants, Stuck in Time?
The Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industry is arguably one of humanity’s oldest and most fundamental. From the pyramids to skyscrapers, we shape the world.
Yet, when compared to seemingly younger giants like the automotive or aviation sectors, AECO often appears to be operating a generation behind in terms of automation, digitalisation and technological integration.
How can industries that are mere centuries (or even decades) old be so far ahead in adopting cutting-edge tech, while AECO, with its millennia of history, still grapples with fundamental digital transformation?
This paradox isn’t due to a lack of innovation or intelligence within AECO, but rather a complex interplay of historical, structural and cultural factors.
2. The Accelerators: What Sets Automotive and Aviation Apart?
Before we delve into AECO’s challenges, let’s briefly look at what drives the rapid tech adoption in sectors like automotive and aviation.
Mass Production and Standardisation
Cars and planes are products designed for repeatable mass production. This incentivises massive upfront R&D investment in automation, robotics and digital twins because the cost can be amortised across millions of units.
Extreme Regulation and Safety
High-stakes environments demand rigorous testing, precision manufacturing and digital traceability, pushing for advanced modelling and simulation.
High Capital and R&D Investment
These industries typically operate on high-profit margins and require enormous capital expenditure, allowing for continuous investment in groundbreaking technologies and processes.
Integrated Supply Chains (Often Closed)
While complex, their supply chains are often tightly controlled and vertically integrated, making it easier to enforce digital standards and workflows across partners.
3. The Drag on Digitalisation: Why AECO Lags
AECO’s unique characteristics, while making it resilient, also create significant barriers to rapid tech adoption.
Project-Based, Not Product-Based, Every Building is a Prototype
Unlike a car or a plane, every building is fundamentally a unique, one-off project. This “prototype-every-time” nature makes it difficult to justify massive upfront investment in automation that can’t be easily replicated across diverse projects.
Impact: Reduces incentives for standardisation and mass production techniques.
Fragmented and Disparate Stakeholders
A typical project involves numerous independent entities: architects, structural engineers, MEP engineers, general contractors, dozens of subcontractors, owners, facility managers and regulators. Each operates independently, often using different tools and processes.
Impact: Leads to siloed data, communication breakdowns and a lack of integrated digital workflows across the project lifecycle.
Low R&D Investment and Tight Margins
Construction often operates on notoriously thin profit margins (e.g. 2-4%). This leaves little room for significant investment in long-term R&D, innovation or technology adoption compared to manufacturing (where margins can be 10-20% or more).
Impact: A “penny-pinching” mentality often prioritises lowest bid over long-term value from technology.
Risk Aversion and Tradition
The stakes are incredibly high: structural integrity, public safety, massive capital investment. Failure is not an option. This fosters a strong “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality and a reluctance to deviate from tried-and-true (even if inefficient) methods.
Impact: Slows down the adoption of new technologies and methodologies.
Lack of Standardisation and Interoperability (The OpenBIM Challenge)
Historically, proprietary software formats have dominated. Data created in one discipline or software often cannot be seamlessly used in another without significant loss or manual rework.
Impact: Hinders true collaborative BIM, digital twins and automation. This is precisely why IFC and OpenBIM are so critical.
Read our article on the origin of IFC for more insight.
Labor Shortages and Skill Gaps
A significant portion of the AECO workforce is aging and attracting young talent into construction has been a challenge. This creates a workforce that might be slower to adopt digital tools and a lack of new talent proficient in cutting-edge technologies.
Impact: Limits the capacity for digital transformation.
Contractual and Procurement Models
Traditional procurement methods (e.g. design-bid-build) can create adversarial relationships and disincentivise early collaboration or sharing of digital models, pushing risk onto individual parties rather than fostering integrated solutions.
Impact: Contracts often don’t properly allocate the benefits or costs of digital innovation.
4. The Tide is Turning: Why AECO Must Embrace Digitalisation Now
Despite these deep-rooted challenges, the AECO industry is at a tipping point due to pressures from:
- Government mandates for BIM,
- Climate change and sustainability goals (demanding precise resource management and lifecycle analysis),
- Increased demand for efficiency and predictability,
- New technologies (e.g. AI, robotics, generative design, advanced scanning and digital twins) reaching maturity and becoming more accessible.
These forces are pushing AECO towards a necessary digital revolution. The paradox of its past is becoming its greatest opportunity for future growth and innovation.
At CloudForma, we are passionate about unlocking this potential. By focusing on solutions that automate critical workflows like .e57 to .IFC conversion and championing OpenBIM standards, we are building the digital bridges that the AECO industry needs.
We are connecting its fragmented pieces, reducing friction and finally catching-up to (and perhaps even surpass) AECO’s more digitally mature counterparts. The future of AECO is intelligent, integrated and automated.
©CloudForma with the help of ©Gemini