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As Canada ramps up infrastructure delivery amid severe labour constraints,
adopting integrated, user-friendly digital tools is no longer optional.
Navigating the adoption maturity Curve
While the business case for technology is clear, climbing
the digital maturity curve presents signi昀椀cant cultural and
operational friction.
Leon emphasized that technology adoption is fundamentally a human challenge rather than a technical one.
“Technology adoption is not a technology challenge. I
think it’s a people and a process challenge,” he stated,
noting that 95 per cent of the Canadian construction landscape is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“There is a fear of change... we are used to building things
the way we did. Nine out of ten construction leaders now
recognize technology is absolutely essential to meeting
future building and infrastructure demands.”
From a general contractor’s vantage point, Milner
warned against the trap of technology fatigue. “Ironically,
I would say [there is] too much technology,” he remarked.
“At some point, there’s just too much, and I think project
teams get a little frustrated... people join this industry
to build. This is not Silicon Valley.” To prevent burnout,
EllisDon employs a “data-昀椀rst strategy” paired with
rigorous software selection processes to ensure tech is
deployed intentionally rather than for its own sake.
Lengieza added that successful adoption hinges on
e昀昀ective change management and trust. “Trust is the barrier
to great technology adoption. When people move up that
maturity curve, they start to see signi昀椀cant bene昀椀ts... they
start to see things like reduction in change orders, savings in
time. Just having the tools is a step; using them well, getting
your people to trust them... is the journey.”
This shift is further accelerated by demographic
realities. As older workers retire, the incoming digitalnative workforce expects modern tools. “They’re
demanding tools to work with,” Leon noted. “If you really
want to attract the next-gen workforce, companies need to
be ready to have some of these tools.”
Changing the project risk profile
Beyond recovering lost hours, digitizing work昀氀ows
fundamentally alters how risk is managed across complex
capital builds. As projects grow larger and requirements
more complex, traditional spreadsheets can no longer
support project controls.
“Clients are getting more savvy, and their expectations
are getting more mature in terms of reporting,” Milner
explained. “When these projects get to four, 昀椀ve, sixbillion-dollar projects, you can’t be writing it on Excel...
the nature of the work that we’re doing will force us to
become more digitized.”
Lengieza noted that real-time data visibility directly
curbs costly rework and friction. “77 per cent of those
who have adopted project management platforms
reduce errors and miscommunication.” Furthermore,
“75 per cent of respondents agreed that change order
management improved signi昀椀cantly because they had
better documentation... when those changes do happen,
they don’t have to be a 昀椀ght or a dispute. You’re actually
reconciling them quickly to keep the job moving.”
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