How can Civil Engineering thrive in a Smart City World?

HowcanCivilEngineeringthriveinaSmartCityWorld? Growingurbanisationisplacingpressuresoncitiesthelikesofwhichwehaveneverseenbefore. Thereisnootherprofessionthatisinabetterpositiontotackletheissueofhowtomanagethedemandsofagrowingpopulationthancivilengineering.Fromwaterandsanitationtoenergyandtransport,thewaythatinfrastructureisdesigned,delivered,operatedandmaintainedhasacriticalimpactoneveryone’slives. Ifwegetitrightcivilengineerscanproudlyclaimtohavemadelifebetterforpeopleacrosstheglobe.Ifwedonot,societywilllooktoothersforsolutionsasthedigitaleramakesiteasierfornewplayerstostepuptotheplatewithinnovativeanswerstotheworld’sproblems. Civilengineershavethroughouttime,alwaysinnovatedtosolvetheissuesoftheday.Bazalgette,TelfordandBrunelarerightlyfetedforbeingaheadof theirtimeinseekingtoovercomeseeminglyimpossibleobstaclestotransformpeople’slives. TheInstitutionofCivilEngineersiscelebratingits200thanniversaryin2018andcancounttheseengineeringgiantsaspastmembers.Thereisnodoubtinmymindthatthesegreatinnovatorswouldhavegraspedtheopportunitieswenowhaveatourdisposalwithbothhands.Asanindustrywemustfollowtheirleadandswap‘fasterandcheaper’for‘smarterandmoreeffective’.Wemustthinkaboutachievingbetteroutcomesforthesocietiesweserve,andwemustembracethenewtoolsthatthedigitaleraoffersus. Thereisnootherprofessionthatisinabetterpositiontotackletheissueofhowtomanagethedemandsofagrowingpopulationthancivilengineering. Thisreportgivesusagreatinsightintothechangeinmindsetthatallofus,asindividuals,businessesandprofessionalbodiesneedtoachieveinordertothriveandnotjustsurviveinthefaceofradicaldigitalchange. Therecommendationswillrequirecivilengineerstostepoutsideoftheircomfortzone,butwemustaddressthelackof‘softinfrastructure’thatexistswithinourindustryifwearetoflourishasanindustryandbecomedigitalleadersratherthanfollowers. ICEisalreadyattheforefrontofencouragingindustrytransformation.Project13,theindustry-ledinitiativetoimprovethewayhighperformanceinfrastructureisdelivered,hasalreadybeguntochallengethestatusquo. Therecommendationsinthisreportprovideuswithanopportunitytoworkwithindustrytodevelopastrategythatwillnotonlyallowustocompeteinthedigitalera,buttoleadthewayinusingtechnologytoimprovepeople’slives. NathanBaker Director,InstitutionofCivilEngineers 2 ExecutivesummaryIntroduction Purposeofthisreport OurapproachMethod Reportstructure Section1:Fightingchallengesinthedigitalcity Context:Citiescannotexistwithoutthecivilengineer. Whatdocivilengineersdo?Wheredocivilengineerswork? Change:AnapproachingsmartcityageWhatdowemeanbythesmartcity?Increaseddataavailability BetterconnectivityIncreasedprocessingpower Thetheoreticalcasefordigitaltechnologyincivilengineering Whatopportunitiescoulddigitaltechnologybringtocivilengineers? Howcancivilengineersleveragetheseopportunitiestoaddressthechallengestheyface? Section2:Wherewearetoday Therealityontheground ThreechallengestoradicalchangePerceptionofhighrisk PerceptionoflimitedvaluePoorunderstandingofrole Howdigitalinnovationcreatesvalue–today Section3:Whereweneedtogo SolvingchallengeswithsoftinfrastructuresThemissingpiece Softinfrastructure1:PotentialforcommercialisationTheneedfornewbusinessmodels Newdigitally-enabledbusinessmodelsChallengestobusinessmodelchangeBringingaboutchange Recommendationstothecivilengineeringprofession Softinfrastructure2:Governanceandprocess Theneedfornewapproachestogoverninginnovation?Whatdowemeanbyframeworks? Howcantheseframeworksreduceuncertaintywhilestillprovidingfreedomtoinnovate?Howshouldtheseframeworksbedeveloped? Recommendationstothecivilengineeringprofession Softinfrastructure3:Humancapital Whydocivilengineersneedtochangetheirknowledge,skillsandbehaviours?Whatwillthischangelooklikefordifferentcareerstages? Isthereaneedfornewrolesincivilengineering?Recommendationstothecivilengineeringprofession Howdigitalinnovationcreatesvalue–tomorrow SummaryofrecommendationsAuthors AboutusBibliography 3 ExecutiveSummary Fightingchallengesinthedigitalcity Civilengineersmakecitieswork.Theirmanyconstructionssupportsystemsfromenergytotransporttosanitation;withoutthem,urbanlivingasweknowitwouldnotexist. Newopportunitiesareonthehorizon.‘Smartcities’isonthetipofeverymayor’stongue:avisionthatdigitalcapabilitiesmaybringvaluetooururbanareas.Passionforthisparadigmmayleadtoradicaldigitalchangeinthecivilengineer’shabitat–andpossibly,withintheprofessionitself. Threedigitalcapabilitiesstandout–betterconnectivity,agreateravailabilityofdataandariseinprocessingpower.Thesecouldempowercivilengineerstobemoreefficientandmoreeffective,bettercombatingchallengesinindividualinfrastructures,acrossinfrastructuresystems,andthroughoutsocietyasawhole. Butarecivilengineersreadyforradicaldigitalchange? Wherewearetoday TheCivilengineerisnostrangertodigitalinnovation.Ourresearchhowevershowsmodestprogress:aprofessionwithisolatedinstancesofinnovation,focusingonefficientlyproducingoutputs,blinkeredtoindividualinfrastructureandtheshortterm. Civilengineerspaintdigitalinnovationasanunappealingpursuit;stakeholdersdescribeaviewofhi