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Obsolescent. The dictionary defines this as 鈥渘o longer useful鈥� and suggests synonyms such as extinct, outworn, pass茅 and superseded.

In the construction industry, things become obsolescent. The industry is all about developing new projects and finding new ways to deliver them. It鈥檚 always looking for faster, higher-quality or better ways to meet the customer鈥檚 expectations. From the pyramids being constructed based on drawings on papyrus paper to crude printing presses, typewriters and computers, things have technologically come a long way. Many tasks that were mundane are now automated building blocks upon which other techniques are based.

Some tasks have disappeared entirely. Looking at pictures of engineers鈥� and architects鈥� offices of 50 years ago, each architect or engineer had numerous drafters who turned their ideas into drawings that could then be passed out to the field for construction. Today it鈥檚 unlikely you鈥檒l see a significant staff of drafters in any office. The technological breakthroughs of the digital age have rendered that skill set vastly reduced.

Waiting for the daily mail delivery is also a quaint idea. For today our mail is delivered to us directly to our desks almost instantaneously. The closest equivalent of this 100 years ago was the mail service, which was carried out anywhere from five to six times on a daily basis. That meant you could write a note and someone else in town might see it within a couple of hours.

However, the tools that we have developed allow us to be more productive and spend our time focusing on broad concepts and not being worn down by the minutiae of small tasks. It makes the work that much more interesting.

But some things will never change. Those are the tasks that revolve around interaction with others. Interaction with others does not lend itself to simple algorithms or computer programs. While there are social media devices that allow us to expand our span of contacts, interaction with others cannot be replaced by automation. The unpredictability of the human response suggests that it鈥檚 important to have face time with those who are in roles of making critical decisions about what we do. It鈥檚 no longer important to meet someone for the sole purpose of exchanging information. That can be done more efficiently in other ways.

What is important is to understand what others are thinking and what the unspoken and unwritten objectives might be. For it is those subtleties that will determine whether our efforts are a success or failure. The written message is fairly one dimensional. A message that includes a picture or other attachment conveys a bit more information. But actually meeting someone and discussing the ideas and strategies allows a back and forth that cannot be replaced.

Even Steve Jobs recognized this in his development of Apple. At one point in the design of his corporate offices he suggested reducing the number of restrooms to force interactions between his developers.

A copy of the construction contract for Portland鈥檚 Union Station was uncovered recently. This contract is over 150 years old. It defined the relationships between the various parties that were engaged with the UP Railroad in building the station. The contract and its terms look very familiar.

Technology must be embraced, for it increases the velocity of information within the project team. But there will always be someone who designs the project, someone else who builds it, and someone else who might use it. The essentials of success within this team are about the relationships between these groups. Using today鈥檚 advances, we can convey the technical details with a great deal more precision and speed. But technology cannot provide full insight into the human element.

Christian Steinbrecher is president of Ukiah Engineering. He is the author of ASCE Oregon鈥檚 report card on Oregon鈥檚 infrastructure and a past recipient of ASCE Oregon鈥檚 Engineer of the Year award. Contact him at 503-297-4827 or [email protected].