2023 CII Annual Conference
Plan now to join us for CII’s 40th anniversary celebration at the industry’s premier event!
Keynote Addresses
- Global Energy Trends and Transition
– Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources, The University of Texas at Austin - Lessons from the Battlefield: How to empower front-line employees to take safety personally
– Patrick Nelson, CEO, Loyalty Point Leadership - Show Me the Money (Supply)
– Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO, Sage Policy Group
New CII Research
- iAWP: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
(Research Team 391, Defining Opportunities to Leverage Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics Applications for AWP) - Mental Health Is Serious Business – An Evidence-based Approach
(Research Team 401, Understanding the Mental Health Crisis in the Construction Industry) - Modularization – Are You Experienced?
(Research Team 396, Business Case Analysis Guide for Industrial Modularization) - Pandemic-driven Changes in the Construction Industry
(Research Team 400, Recognizing and Retaining Beneficial Changes from the Pandemic on the Workforce) - Pursuing Capital Efficiency
(Research Team 394, Pursuing Capital Efficiency) - Successful AWP Implementation: Essential Execution Guidance
(Research Team 390, Development of an AWP Execution Planning Guide for Projects)
Other Presentations
- CII Data Warehouse
(Data Warehouse) - Decarbonization
(Industry Panel Discussion) - Deployment
(Deployment Committee) - Planet Texas 2050
(Industry Panel Discussion) - Why Sponsorship (Not Mentorship) Is the Answer to Accelerating the Path to Leadership for Women in Construction
(NCCER and Ambition Theory)
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Keynote Address:
Global Energy Trends and Transition
Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
The worldwide energy sector is going through dramatic shifts in energy demand, end-uses, and sources. Population growth and economic growth are driving up total demand. Industrialization, urbanization, electrification, and motorization are changing how we use energy. And a policy push for domestic, low-carbon and renewable fuels is changing our sources of energy.
At the same time, we are entering an era where markets, technologies, and policies are enabling dramatic increases in U.S. production of oil, gas, wind, solar, and bioenergy that are affecting global economies, the environment, and our national security posture. In parallel, our energy and information sectors are merging to form smarter energy systems and more energy-intensive information systems.
For this talk, Dr. Webber will give an entertaining, big-picture overview of global energy trends mixed with humorous anecdotes, historical snippets, and unexpected examples that will give a surprising look into the future of energy.
(Research Team 391, Defining Opportunities to Leverage Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics Applications for AWP)
Presentation summary: Harnessing the experience and subject matter expertise of more than 200 industry professionals, RT-391 brings forward a portfolio of new opportunities for using Data Analytics, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence to supercharge AWP and improve project delivery. A product of Design Thinking, the opportunities identified in this vigorous work serve as a roadmap for organizations investing in AWP analytics and software solutions. When applied, the opportunities support the safe, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of capital projects.
Lessons from the Battlefield: How to empower front-line employees to take safety personally
Patrick Nelson, CEO, Loyalty Point Leadership
By leveraging a battle-tested Safety Leadership strategy that has resulted in a 57% reduction in the TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate) for Fortune 500 organizations, Nelson gives safety and operational leaders a playbook to make safety personal and a driver of workplace excellence. His non-traditional approach maximizes positive safety outcomes through servant leadership and forward-looking accountability. An inspired growth-oriented mindset can help propel front-line employees to make proactive shifts in their safety culture that will motivate and engage others.
A joint venture by the Construction Industry Institute and Construction Safety Research Alliance was launched to better understand mental health in the construction industry. The project aimed to distinguish valid an reliable knowledge from unsubstantiated proposition and thought models. To that end, the research team conducted a systematic review of literature from medical science, collected qualitative and quantitative data from construction workers, and documented experiences of practitioners. The team summarized key knowledge in a practical guide to mental health for the construction professional. The guide covers fundamentals of mental health, work-related stressors and how they specifically impact construction workers, standards to judge the success or failure of employee assistance initiatives, and how to have better conversations on mental health in workplace.
As the demand for projects in the heavy industrial sector continues to rise, time-to-market expectations are compressed, skilled craft labor evaporates, and environmental regulations become more stringent with more sustainability guidelines, it is important for our industry leaders to be able to 1) understand and 2) take advantage of, the best of our industry’s implementation tools. Foremost among these is the concept of modularization. While far from being new or complicated, the modularization strategy is still not well understood, properly planned, or effectively executed. RT-396, built on the well-laid-out fundamentals of RT-283, identifies the barriers to why so many of our industry leaders are not utilizing modularization techniques and how to assess the benefits of modularization for your project, including a two-part tool to help them accomplish this. The first part of this tool determines whether a project should modularize and identify the optimal extent of modularization. In addition, with the recent emphasis on ESG – Environmental (Waste, Water, GHG Emission), Socio-Economic Parameters (Community Impact), and Governance (stakeholder and Shareholder engagement), the second part of this tool helps companies understand ESGs, their impact on projects, and how modularization can help mitigate these potential ESG project drivers. Used together with the research findings, the combination defines a successful modularization strategy and assessment process AND, if implemented early and followed specifically, provides a path to the best execution strategy for the project, including a direct relation between modularization and ESG factors.
Despite global challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction industry was able to leverage innovation to foster opportunities across a broad spectrum. RT-400, incorporating 40 experts interviews and 245 survey responses, provides insights into what changes were positive and should be kept by the construction industry going forward: 1) by investigating what changed, 2) evaluating changes as having positive or negative impact, and 3) recommending the most impactful changes to retain. Lessons learned are converted into recommendations as a form of industry guide. With this guide, industry leaders can adopt while continuously improving industry strategies, based on our research, to improve companies innovation, economic efficiency, and sustainability when faced with unforeseen global challenges.
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RT-394 has investigated ways to improve capital effectiveness and efficiency through better alignment between business and project teams. Based on the knowledge collected through case study interviews, team members have identified activities during the portfolio management phase and transition to front end planning phase that benefit from this alignment, as well as practices that have been successfully implemented to achieve this purpose. Research outcomes include a framework and tool for integrating the business and project teams during portfolio planning and project initiation.
Keynote Address:
Show Me the Money (Supply)
Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO, Sage Policy Group
Soft landing? Something harder? Withering inflation? This presentation will supply an in-depth analysis of the major factors shaping economic outcomes, including central bank policymaking, worker attitudes, business confidence, and geopolitics. It will then turn toward a forecast for the year to come, highlighting the major risks that economic stakeholders will likely encounter.
RT-390 provides actionable steps for more effective and efficient AWP implementation. Research results provide guidance surrounding AWP leading practices: by project phase, through process and implementation steps, roles, and organization considerations, and using current tools and technology. In addition, an AWP timeline is presented to support integration with existing business processes. Outcomes provide guidance to industry members to support owners’ ambition to implement and mature AWP as the largest lever for productivity improvement.
For years, construction companies across the country have implemented mentorship programs in an effort to make the industry a more welcoming place for women and to help them advance in their careers. Recent research by the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) and Ambition Theory has found that most women at all levels of construction report having somebody at work who serves as a mentor. But women still aren’t advancing to leadership roles at the same rate as men.
This presentation will explore several questions:
- Why doesn’t mentorship work to advance women into leadership when it does work for men?
- Most importantly, what is the alternative for women?
- What does work to get more women promoted?
Andrea Janzen and Tim Taylor will answer these questions and explore:
- Key findings from Janzen’s books, Building Better: A Women In Construction Benchmark Study and In Her Own Words: Improving Project Outcomes
- Why mentorship alone doesn’t work to advance women into leadership roles
- Why sponsorship is a powerful alternative to mentorship
- How individuals and organizations can take action today to start driving real change in the construction industry
NCCER and Ambition Theory established their partnership to provide practical insights and tools to companies that are genuinely committed to making the construction industry a place where everyone can thrive.