7:00 am Registration & Networking Breakfast
8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Transforming Construction With Artificial Intelligence
8:10 am Exploring the Power of AI to Transform Your Analytics Initiatives Companywide
Synopsis
- Developing a comprehensive roadmap for AI Integration: what are the sequential steps to transition from manual processes to AI-enhanced workflows?
- Revealing the potential applications of generative AI tools in construction like Chat-GPT for generating and translating code to automate workflows
- Exploring how to leverage AI and machine learning algorithms to optimize construction schedules and adapt to unforeseen challenges
8:50 am Case Study: Harnessing Predictive Analytics for Improved Project Estimating & Scheduling
Synopsis
- Explaining the process of collecting and preparing the most relevant data and addressing the common challenges faced during implementation
- Sharing how predictive analytics resulted in accurate cost estimation and scheduling accuracy
- Discussing challenges and lessons learned from our predictive analytics approach to better prepare your organization
DATA INTEGRATION
Improving the Quality of Data Collection & Integration
10:40 am Mastering Data Cleaning to Consistently Generate High-Quality Data & Improve the Efficacy of Analysis
Synopsis
Identifying inconsistencies, errors, and missing data: what type of data needs to be cleaned?
- Correcting and restructuring ‘dirty’ data to improve the validity of your data sets
- Adopting automation tools and processes to reduce repeated efforts for scrubbing data
11:20 am Monitoring the Quality of Data Collection in the Field to Enhance Accuracy
Synopsis
- Recognizing the bad data: what does “dirty data” look like?
- Writing and implementing policy/procedure to prevent future creation of bad data
- Providing field teams with the tools and techniques required to collect data effectively
- Creating dashboards for display of clean data with a slicer/filter to catch outliers before they become issues
DATA GOVERNANCE & MAINTENANCE
Achieving Secure & High-Quality Digital Infrastructure
10:40 am Case Study: Building a Robust Data Governance Strategy to Streamline Data Operations
Synopsis
- Implementing data governance practices: why is it important and how do you get everyone on board?
- Gaining insight into the day-to-day operations of data governance: determining the optimal frequency of tasks and the roles played by each department
- Reflecting on the challenges and obstacles encountered during a data governance journey and lessons learned to overcome them
11:20 am Building a Data Catalog to Gain a Holistic View of Your Data & Improve the Efficiency of Insights Generation
Synopsis
- Analyzing the costs and functionalities associated with creating and maintaining a data catalog: how valuable will this be for my firm?
- Exploring the process of creating a data catalog to streamline the retrieval process and locate data easily
- Understanding the access control and security protocols to empower users to be self-reliant, and use data catalogs independently
REPORTING & PROJECT APPLICATION
Transforming Project Efficiency With Data
10:40 am Case Study: Leveraging Data Insights to Control Costs, Schedules & Risks
Synopsis
- Tracking and visualizing project progress in real-time: what data do we need to look at to improve project management, and track budgets and potential delays
- Understanding how to effectively utilize and translate data to evaluate how to allocate resources efficiently, manage budgets, and meet project deadlines
- Identifying and addressing leading indicators early to transition from a reactive to a proactive, data-driven project management approach
11:20 am Building Effective Dashboards for Job Oversight in the Field to Ensure Compliance to Safety & Quality Protocols
Synopsis
- Tracking data from onsite field technologies, apps, and IoT sensors to minimize frequent site visits
- Utilizing data to identify areas of potential noncompliance and assess trade performance
- Building a dashboard from various sources, including safety records, quality assessments, and compliance reports, to ensure adherence to contract guidelines and responsiveness to incidents
12:30 pm
Lunch Break
1:30 pm Case Study: Standardizing the Data Collection Process to Facilitate Efficient Analysis & Reporting
Synopsis
- Identifying the most useful data sets and sources that provide accurate and relevant information for your organization’s needs
- Establishing standardized data entry formats to ensure the data collected is easily extractable
- Specifying the optimal amount of data required for collection to ensure efficiency
- Evaluating how to collect and analyze qualitative data such as safety, job progress, and client feedback
2:10 pm Extracting Raw Data From Various Sources Into a Central Hub to Drive Informed Decision Making
Synopsis
- Evaluating why raw data extraction is so important to set the foundation for effective data management
- Exploring best practices for extracting raw data from various systems and external sources
- Determining whether to replicate raw data structures from the source or manipulate it during extraction to ensure accuracy and completeness
Improving the Efficiency of Extraction & Integration
2:50 pm Using APIs for the Integration of Disparate Construction Software & Data Sources to Optimize Workflows
Synopsis
- Exploring how APIs provide real-time access to critical construction data from different software, enabling better decision making and project monitoring
- Evaluating the pros and cons of using APIs for data retrieval in comparison to other methods
- Determining the type of API that best aligns with your requirements, technical capabilities, and systems
3:30 pm
Afternoon Refreshments
4:00 pm Enhancing Efficiency of the ETL Process to Improve its ROI & Reduce Execution Time
Synopsis
- Discovering the specific ROI for employing a robust ETL process: how does it save costs, improve project efficiencies, and drive decision making?
- Introducing ETL best practices: how can a wellstructured ETL process enhance data quality?
- Determining the steps required to transform and modify data to ensure it is relevant and meaningful
- Benchmarking ETL tools, including coding solutions, and third-party tools, to understand which approach best fits your organization’s needs
4:40 pm Case Study: Bridging the Gap Between BIM & Data Analytics to Streamline Project Management
Synopsis
- Discovering the impact of integrating BIM and data to provide project teams with a single source of truth for streamlined decision making and issue resolution
- Establishing a standardized collection, integration, and analysis process for the BIM/VDC, field, and analytics teams to improve the analysis of project insights
- Implementing integrations with custom connectors to extract project data for customized use
1:30 pm Improving Data Security to Stay Compliant While Safeguarding Your Business
Synopsis
- Exploring practical solutions and best practices for safeguarding sensitive data in the age of new language models, analytics/reporting tools, and cloud-based applications
- Applying robust security measures, such as encryption, access controls, and firewalls to prevent unauthorized access or external breaches
- Providing ongoing employee training and awareness to educate your teams on security best practices, and ensure they are protected against hacking and other security breaches
2:10 pm Case Study: Migrating to Cloud-based Solutions to Enhance Security, Scalability & Efficiency
Synopsis
- Learning how to effectively mitigate common challenges encountered during the migration process to minimize disruptions and seamlessly transition
- Balancing the trade-offs between customization and centralization when using cloud platforms
- Identifying the best cloud service that aligns with your current digital infrastructure
Investing in Smarter Infrastructure
2:50 pm Case Study: Investing in the Digital Infrastructure to Unlock Your Organization’s Potential for Innovation & Project Transformation
Synopsis
- Evaluating your current technology landscape to strategically determine where IT infrastructure is required
- Investing in the necessary hardware and cloud resources to hold the volume and complexity of your organization’s data
- Selecting a solution that is scalable and can grow with your organization’s needs
3:30 pm
Afternoon Refreshments
4:00 pm Exploring the Data Storage Landscape: Data Warehouses vs Data Lakes vs Data Sources: Which Is Right for You?
Synopsis
- Differentiating between data warehouses and data lakes to determine the best option: what are your firm’s data types, processing needs, budget, and analytics goals?
- Exploring the advantages of data warehouses, data lakes, or real-time data: is it worth using these simultaneously to maximize the benefits for your organization?
- Considering backup and disaster recovery plans to minimize the risk of lost data
4:40 pm Audience Discussion: Conducting Internal Audits to Ensure Consistent Compliance
Synopsis
- Evaluating the significance of audits for safeguarding data security and ensuring data integrity
- Recognizing the challenges of auditing data when it has not been a regular practice and how it can reveal critical insights
- Benchmarking best practices from companies who conduct audits regularly to prevent reinventing the wheel
1:30 pm Using Project Data to Inform Corporate Financing & Cash Flow to Drive Growth & Profitability
Synopsis
- Reaffirming the critical connection between project reporting and overall company health: how can consistent reporting methods across projects allow for precise projections for revenue, cash flow, and overall financial performance?
- Establishing a central data repository: how to integrate project data with financial data into a centralized system for accurate and efficient analysis?
- Streamlining data flow to allow seamless information exchange between project management and financial systems
- Building contingency plans and identifying the major factors and variables that can impact cash flow to stay on budget
2:10 pm Audience Discussion: Enhancing External Dashboarding & Data Sharing Across Projects to Improve Communication to Your Client & Exceed Their Expectations
Synopsis
- Sharing easily digestible insights with your client in real-time to reduce the need for back-and-forth while improving transparency and trust with your client
- Moving away from traditional methods of printing reports and sharing PDFs towards embracing cloudbased solutions
- Developing pre-designed, customizable report templates that include KPIs and metrics depending on their specific requirements
Optimizing Your Analytics ROI
2:50 pm Evaluating the Most Meaningful Metrics & KPIs to Drive Informed Decision Making
Synopsis
- Identifying and prioritizing the most valuable metrics at different phases of construction from estimation/ design to substantial completion
- Building connections between operational metrics and company KPIs used for tracking company performance and for overall organizational health
- Evaluating the value and effect of measures to determine their continued use by the company
3:30 pm
Afternoon Refreshments
4:00 pm Panel Discussion: Prioritizing the Most Profitable Analytics Initiatives for Business Growth
Synopsis
- Discussing the analytics strategies that generate the highest return on investment: what are the low hanging fruits?
- Aligning your analytics strategies with your organization’s broader business objectives to ensure that investments contribute directly to business growth and success
- Learning the different methods and tools for quantifying and measuring the ROI for various analytics initiatives, including financial, operational, and strategic metrics