Data is a strategic asset—an extremely valuable one at that. While many organizations in the construction and capital projects industries will agree with this statement, relatively few have fully embraced data as a trusted internal tool. Put differently, relatively few organizations are sufficiently data-centric. The benefits of becoming more data-centric are many—from greater speed and accuracy in reporting, to more informed decision-making and universal access to data when and how it’s needed.

Having ready access to useful data is transformative in several key ways:

• Accuracy. Effectively leveraging data as a strategic asset ensures estimates, observations and decisions that are more accurate than would otherwise be possible. Accuracy is never bad—it increases the efficiency of just about any business process.
• Confidence. A by-product of accuracy, becoming data-centric makes decisions more reliable. Great ideas can be actionable with less hesitation, bad ideas can be avoided as a matter of course.
• Speed. There’s no longer any need to wait for a colleague to send that important spreadsheet for your monthly report. The latency between asking a question and having the information on hand to answer it appropriately is eliminated. Data lets you move fast.
• Self-service. All members of an organization can access the precise data they need for the precise business questions they are interested in answering.
• On-demand. Whenever the need arises, a centralized database can be queried and the relevant data can be accessed, in whatever time zone and for whatever purpose.

Embracing a more data-informed approach

For those interested in integrating data-centric practices into their current business processes, it’s crucial to first understand the desired outcome. Is the organization crying out for machine learning and predictive analyses or will standard dashboarding get the job done? The answers to these questions will guide the company throughout.

Next, take the temperature of the organization. It’s important to identify precisely where the demand for better usage of data is coming from. Is it being driven from the bottom? Are day-to-day decision-makers seeking a more data-focused workflow? Or has the executive team recognized a weakness that needs to be addressed?

If demand is coming from below, the hard work of generating buy in is already done. In these cases, strike while the iron is hot and embark on a more ambitious and large-scale plan than would have occurred otherwise.

On the other hand, if the move towards data centrism is coming from the top, the organization should roll out a pilot project with a clear, measurable objective. When the project meets its objectives and the value becomes apparent, wider organizational buy in will follow and a more ambitious transformation can be embarked upon.

In addition to the above, working to centralize all data is always advisable. Effectively leveraging the strategic value of data is predicated on easy (and timely) access to relevant data.

Moving the pieces into place

To fully realize the strategic value of data, an organization must have two very different kinds of infrastructure in place. The first is internal decision infrastructure. It is always a best practice to empower key team members with the organizational remit and authority to execute a transformational project. Authority, in this case, can be as simple as a direct line to the C-suite. Projects work better when organizational goals are aligned with those of the individuals tasked with executing the project.

Once an internal decision infrastructure is in place, organization-wide data must be centralized into a standardized database or data lake. In this way, a formal data infrastructure is developed. Centralization is the fundamental technical requirement necessary for effective data usage. Ideally, an organization should have as few spreadsheets as possible and everything should come from a single, queryable master source.

It is also helpful to have an idea as to whether data solutions will be hosted on premises or on a cloud system. This helps to focus the project on only what is explicitly necessary.

To prepare teams for a data-driven mindset:

• Communicate early and often. Moving to data centrism is big exercise and managing organizational change is vital. The first step is communication—through emails, webinars, in person meetings—to ensuring everyone is aware of the changes being made at every step of the way.
• Internal reflection. Look inwards and identify those times when access to high quality data could have avoided an issue or made an activity much less painful. Personalizing the problem and solution in this way helps ensure that the vision doesn’t fade as the project moves to completion.
• Demo the solutions as they go live. As soon as a new feature of piece of functionality goes live, let the entire team know by demonstrating the new functionality. A little success goes a long way in maintaining enthusiasm.

Avoiding common pitfalls in the data journey

It’s absolutely essential to make platform decisions early on. The first decisions should be when and how the data will be delivered. The rest of the process will depend critically on these choices. Vague requirements or last-minute changes will cause huge delays (and a huge financial expense).

Another important point to remember is that transformations languish when they don’t have an owner and when that owner doesn’t have sufficient authority for the task at hand. Make it someone’s official responsibility to get the transformation done. Empower this person to make decisions and push changes through.

Lastly, an oft-overlooked aspect of a move to more data usage is the role of the in-house IT team. IT will need to provision infrastructure, manage and maintain databases, and ensure that access is secure and reliable—and all of this must happen before the first dashboard goes live.

Looking ahead

As 2020 draws ever closer, consider the role data currently plays in an organization. Is it where it needs to be? While overhauling an antiquated business model to one that harnessing data is no small task, the payoffs are substantial. Data can unlock tremendous value in portfolio planning, design, construction and asset management. The opportunity is there. Those who embrace it will reap the rewards.