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Technology comes in waves. As a new technology is developed, early adopters embrace it and then it soon becomes mainstream.

No one in the construction industry today likely remembers pencils and erasers being used for large-scale projects. Some folks refer back to the good old days. But the good old days really weren’t so good. Work often was tedious even for people with professional degrees.

The automation that is advancing the engineering, design and construction industry is freeing professionals from the tedium of repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus their talents on more substantive issues.

The experts in these new areas are sought after. However, they will find that within a relatively short period, other technologies will overtake them – and their knowledge will be outdated. Forty years ago, punch cards were critical to computer technology. Related skills aren’t much in demand anymore.

As in all new technology shifts, there are always people who have a tough time embracing change. The projects that are being constructed today could never have been constructed in the past. The accuracy, detailing and execution would have been prohibitively expensive and taken forever.

The pyramids took generations. The original Panama Canal was started by France in 1881 and completed by the U.S. in 1914 – 33 years later. The third set of locks will be opening shortly, after only about seven years of construction.

The projects that mark this generation are based on design automation. That means that for us to continue on our quest for increased productivity, all parts of the industry must find a way to accept changes. Sometimes there are obstacles that are difficult to overcome.

In Portland there are dramatic new projects going up, and they require the participation of regulators. When an owner, contractor and design team assemble to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in new construction, officials issuing permits and other governmental overseers must also adapt and accept the new way of doing things.

As an example, that means that the question no longer is whether drawings submitted to the Portland Bureau of Transportation are Mylar or vellum, but rather how the bureau is going to accept electronic digital submissions.

When an entire team of major designers, contractors and vendors successfully implements a new approach to project documentation, it creates an advantage for both the business entities involved and the region. Infrastructure is produced at a lower cost with much shorter schedules. It increases our regional competitiveness.

It is this kind of innovation that the industry must pursue in order to develop the delivery mechanisms that allow for efficient reconstruction of aging infrastructure. Without advances in productivity, we will be quickly outpaced by others. Everyone should be getting on this wagon. It’s a classic case of a rising tide lifting all ships.

Christian Steinbrecher is president of Ukiah Engineering Inc., a senior consultant at Capital Project Consultants and president of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Oregon section. Contact him at [email protected].