High Density AEC Automation Ideas with Bill Carney, Technology Leader DLR Group

AEC Tech Journeys with Mayur Mistry

• Bill transitioned from being an architect to a technology leader, making the crucial decision to stop designing and focus on teaching and implementing design tools after gaining early expertise in Revit (2004).
• At DLR Group, he evaluates technology investments using three key criteria: improving efficiency, enhancing quality, and enabling better design capabilities - projects must meet all three to be prioritized.
• The firm has a unique approach to R&D investment, with dedicated budgets and teams, unlike many AEC firms that invest minimally in innovation and technology development.
• His team follows a "20% automation rule" - aiming to automate 20% of routine work year-over-year, focusing on tasks like file archiving and project setup to free up time for more valuable activities.
• DLR Group uses a structured forum system to identify and prioritize technology needs, including sector-specific forums (like K-12, Cultural) and discipline forums (Architecture, Engineering), ensuring comprehensive input.
• Bill emphasizes gradual technology adoption using a "balloon analogy" - change is more effective when driven from within the organization rather than pushed from outside.
• The firm actively pursues partnerships with other companies to share technology development costs, as demonstrated by their collaboration on the space program module with Imaginit.
• Rather than focusing solely on computational design, DLR Group emphasizes machine learning and AI, with a strategy centered on collecting and grooming data for future predictive design capabilities.
• For smaller firms with limited resources, Bill recommends partnering with other firms to maximize technology investments and leverage shared development costs.
• A major challenge in implementing AI in the AEC industry is the complexity of data and the rare combination of data science and AEC expertise needed to effectively utilize it.