Ecosystem pathways for

connected construction
A part of the Deloitte Insights report titled
“Accelerating smart manufacturing: The value of an ecosystem approach”
Contents
Connected construction is important to unlock
3
higher efficiencies

Many E&C companies are investing in digital, but not

4
making much progress

The ecosystem approach: Amplifying collective

5
network strength

Construction ecosystems can provide access to

6
unique vendors and capabilities

Pathways to an ecosystem approach 8

Start your journey 13

Authors and acknowledgements 15

 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Connected Use cases for connected construction

construction is
Quality sensing
and control

important to unlock Augmented workforce

higher efficiencies
Controls &
Command efficiency
Center (CCC)
Digital technologies
Most engineering and construction (E&C)
firms have been slow in embracing digital Procurement and
technologies. While a number of firms inventory management
are using digital as a tool to create new Remote
business opportunities and improve inspection
and unmanned
margins, many are missing out on
operations
innovative approaches to drive down costs
and improve project execution. Energy
CONNECTED management
CONSTRUCTION
To capture the full value of advanced digital Asset tracking
technologies, firms should take a holistic and performance
approach toward integrating their internal management

and external value chains. Deloitte and

MAPI’s 2020 Smart Manufacturing
Ecosystem Study has identified a path Safety Intelligence
forward that can accelerate progress. Digital twin and BIM+

Dynamic scheduling
3
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Many E&C A majority of E&C executives surveyed indicated their companies invested in 10+ smart use cases during the past two
years … but only a fraction were able to operationalize them.

companies are Top five use cases

Share of E&C companies
surveyed able to
Share of E&C surveyed

investing in digital, operationalize it

who invested

but not making Procurement and inventory

management
33% 93%

much progress Customer collaboration for

23% 90%
design and ideation
E&C companies surveyed are increasing
their digital investments, allocating 39% of Quality sensing
33% 87%
their overall operational budgets to digital (remote inspection)
initiatives, including an average of more
than 10 smart construction use cases. Dynamic 23% 80%
scheduling
However, few participants have these
use cases operational at one or more
Digital twin and building
location. How were certain E&C companies 24% 77%
information modeling
surveyed able to achieve faster progress
and better returns on their investments?
Among those able to operationalize, the majority indicated value from external alliances as the top contributor.
In the study, while 73% of E&C companies
surveyed indicated value from their Partnerships and alliances
with external vendors
73%
external alliance partners, they may not be
fully leveraging the power of the network to
which they are connecting. This is where an In-house development efforts 27%
ecosystem approach can help to move the
needle and dial up results. 4
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

The ecosystem Foundations to becoming a viable, digital organization

approach: Real estate

Oil and gas
Chemicals

Amplifying collective
Manufacturing
Metals and mining

network strength
Academia Tier suppliers

Startup accelerators
OMER ECOSYSTEM
CUST
General
contractors Modular and prefab
Technical partners
The ecosystem approach for engineering consultants

M
and construction brings several independent

STRUCTION ECOSYSTE
IT and software vendors,

SUPP
Warehouses/
such as CAD storage

LY CHAIN ECOSYSTE
stakeholders onto a common platform. This
OT vendors Light and heavy building
enables higher collaboration, reduced project Other E&C companies
material suppliers

risks, more efficient portfolio management,

CON
Engineering and design

M
Logistics partner
and improved outcomes for all stakeholders. Startup accelerators
Industry
consortia TALEN Distributors
T E CO S Y S T E M
An ecosystem approach can not only enable
4IR vendors (cloud, robotics, AI, IoT, 4IR vendors (cloud, robotics,
true interoperability throughout the supply analytics, and cyber) Employment e Technology
Government
G AI, IoT, analytics, cyber)
service program
co
councils
chain, but also respond to disruptions better. providers
rs
T
Technical training
Four primary types of ecosystems support hip
Apprenticeship
programs
connected construction initiatives: job site,
Gig economy associations
supply chain, customer, and talent.
Ecosystem capabilities:*

Connected customer Intelligent supply Synchronized planning

Digital development/
Talent access Smart production
innovation

*Ecosystem capabilities are constantly developing and may not be limited to the ones mentioned above.
Source: Deloitte analysis
5
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Construction An E&C company can gain faster access to new ecosystems and their participants by leveraging conveners.

ecosystems Alliance capabilities: Follow the conveners

Unlocks productivity-related use cases

provide access to like procurement and inventory
management to reduce costs. The

unique vendors
ecosystem also includes companies from
the technology domain.

and capabilities Unlocks prefab and modular use cases

with new material applications developed
by startups in collaboration with national
R&D labs.
Ecosystems are generally driven by a
convener, who initially brings all
participants together to develop
A construction company with only 3
capabilities and service offerings. existing connections

Potential access path to the alliances via the

E&C firms, instead of reaching out directly ecosystem convener or sponsor
to vendors, can approach such conveners of
the ecosystems and gain access to specific
technologies or enable certain use cases
more quickly and efficiently. For instance, Industry consortia Start-up accelerators
health and safety insights can be at the
fingertips of workers, who are likely to take Operations vendors and Companies from other
industry groups National R&D labs
quicker action in case of emergency. contractors

Prefab and modular

IT software vendors suppliers

Automation, robotics, or Connected technology Material

drones vendors providers suppliers
6
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Value drawn from the ecosystem
can increase exponentially as
connections grow
Companies actively seeking ecosystem participation reported having connections with a higher number of
participants when compared with those not thinking about it.
Top partners contributing the most value to
surveyed E&C company’s digital initiatives

#1
Digital technologies enable many siloed
Industry 4.0 technology providers
networks to converge and form a large

#2
single network or ecosystem. This converged
IT software vendors
ecosystem is designed to be more secure and

#3
agile and can deliver value at a larger scale.
Operations vendors

#4
Ecosystems can thrive when they foster the
Physical automation and robotics vendors
interconnections of people, processes and
equipment, and their virtual counterparts.
The study shows firms investing and #5
participating in ecosystems are likely to see
Same number of connections
higher strategic benefits. 2x connections
3x connections

Industry consortia Start-up accelerators

Companies from other

Operations vendors National R&D labs
contractors industry groups

Prefab and modular

IT software vendors suppliers

Automation, robotics, or Connected technology Material

drones vendors providers suppliers
7
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Pathways to an A framework to consider

ecosystem approach Create an enterprise road map with milestones

The ecosystem approach can work,
but it’s not easy. It requires a deliberate
method and typically involves an executive
commitment and the creation of a road
map with important milestones.
Strengthen the enterprise architecture
The road map defines the core capabilities for the next
Consider a framework that combines
three years and provides milestones for advancing
connected construction use cases, technology,
maturity. Form executive leadership team that represents
and people together
operations and business with board-level remit
YOU WANT TO
YOU ARE BE HERE
HERE

Then, to support the road map, E&C

companies often reach out to their
ecosystem to build an enabling platform Build an enabling
with an enterprise architecture. Firms platform
Strong ecosystem
need to identify the use cases and Consider what the base
undertake a cost-benefit analysis. level of platform is needed
across various projects
Companies can then accelerate their
and job sites
initiatives while determining which specific
advanced capabilities to cultivate in-house.
Upgrade in-house
capabilities
Create internal center of
excellence (CoE) to enable
smart construction
use cases and develop
Maximize a strategic sourcing approach related talent
The sourcing approach helps identify and codify
a core set of vendors and contractors and move
faster toward road map milestones 8
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Create an enterprise road map Create an enterprise road map with milestones

with milestones Determine vision

and goals
Identify key progress
Key questions that should be kept in mind
areas and critical use
while developing the road map: cases and technologies

What is your vision for the next three

years for digital?

What use cases or business

opportunities are you most interested Prioritize and optimize
in solving for or enabling? the specific use cases,
accomodate for change

How can you accommodate for

varying levels of maturity across your
footprint?

What do you need to do right now Identify key metrics

Identify the essential to measure
(capabilities) that will lead to bigger
ecosystem conveners progress; track and
things in coming years? share results

How can you identify initiatives that

positively affect margins and returns Test and track the progress
on investments (ROI)? against key milestones

9
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

An executive team can drive The executive team should represent different business areas…

the digital strategy road map CFO or COO

Risk, cybersecurity
• Set up an executive team to drive the Procurement manager
ecosystem approach, which should
include people from key business areas
and operations.
Environment, health, safety CIO or CTO
• Focus on unlocking the benefits of
ecosystem—that is, easier and faster
access to capabilities to help mitigate the
inevitable disruption. Project manager
Director of engineering and design
• Allow for flexibility to help cater to
CEO
division- or location-specific nuances.
...and allow multiple avenues to influence the road map
For instance, the cloud provider or
data platform can be decided at the Leverage strategic sourcing organization to Establish digital innovation committee that
facilitate identifying new partners identifies potential new vendors or contractors
corporate level, but the committee can
allow for flexibility at the geography or
division level for different equipment—
depending on the need.

Listen to the internal team Connect with existing Listen to the primary stakeholder
for development, data analytics, technology and equipment of the use case or initiative to identify
and UX/UI design vendors to identify possible potential partners
partners within eocosystems 10
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Build the platform and the Connected construction platform

enterprise architecture to
support the road map 1. IDENTIFY BUSINESS ISSUES

Insights into real-time

Reduce equipment Manual document
Building a digital platform in line with asset and project
breakdowns workflows
an enterprise architecture for smart intelligence
construction can be critical to support Reduce
Minimize Improve design
strategic goals. Enhance worker safety construction
rework processes
costs

The strategies should include necessary

core capabilities, but also reflect the use 2. DETERMINE USE CASES TO SOLVE THE BUSINESS ISSUES

cases and the corresponding technologies Quality sensing Augmented workforce Procurement and
that drive them. and control efficiency inventory management

Energy Controls & Command Remote inspection and

The approach here is driven by a management Center (CCC) unmanned operations
layered method to use cases, wherein
Dynamic Safety Asset tracking and Digital twin
the underlying technology platform
scheduling intelligence performance management and BIM+
remains consistent, thereby helping E&C
companies expand beyond current or
3. BUILD CONNECTED CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY STACK
include new use cases in future.

Level 4 Applications (e.g. ERP and PLM)

Level 3 Data science and analytics (e.g., WMS, RPA, and IA)
Level 2 IIoT data and ops pipeline (e.g., AR/VR and SCADA)
Level 1 IIoT edge and connectivity (e.g., PLC and edge gateways)
Level 0 Site and field (e.g., AGV and robotics)

11
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Adopt and maximize a Ecosystems strategic sourcing methodology

strategic approach for

ecosystem participants
and network colla
cing ment A na
ly z a ge bo
E&C companies should consider r s an ra
ou ses ec M t i
t s g as a
applying the philosophy of strategic

on
in

ra uc

pa
co ond

bi
ct
sourcing for their ecosystem approach,

li t
C
nt

ie s
but frontload the approach with strong

ne e de d
relationship development. Other
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
aspects to consider:

te,
• Collaborate and form relationships

tia
with partners that share your values

De

go
An

ne
te

al
and passion.

rm
START HERE in

yz
c

t,
su
e ra

e
or pp e
re a ds ly Int
ee ma
• Focus on forming bidirectional s se s
s b u s in e s s n rket

relationships where you are bringing

your challenge or opportunity to
them, but they also bring things to
Other sourcing considerations
you—making sure there’s a give-take
dynamic.
• Agree how value will be measured
from these relationships.
Surveyed E&C companies’ top preferences Surveyed E&C companies’ top preferences
to measure value from partners: to identify partners:
• Productivity or efficiency related metrics: 63% • Regional players or entities with networks that enhance the
strength of the regional ecosystem: 37%
• Direct revenue-related metrics: 57%
• Player or entity with global presence and experience: 37%
• Number of additional capabilities they
bring: 50% • Any player or entity with the required expertise of value,
irrespective of their location: 23%

12
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Start your journey Leverage ecosystems and build in-house fluency

Determine what capabilities Leveraged from Leveraged from

vendors vendors
should be cultivated in-house
Data science Digital design and Connected assets
and algorithms modeling and equipment
While external partners can provide
faster access to smart use cases and LEVERAGE
ECOSYSTEMS Automation,
technologies, upgrading select in-house Blockchain
drones, robotics capabilities
talent and capabilities can likely help
engineering and construction firms to
TALENT PIPELINE
scale those benefits. Accessing talent pool and skills through a combination of internal and external channels.
Only select capabilities are developed in-house

Determine which capabilities differentiate

your business and support your long-term
vision. Consider sensing and responding
Data science Digital design and Connected assets
to them through the ecosystem. modeling and equipment
and algorithms
Identify who are the best vendors to Develop capabilities Develop 3D modeling Better leverage
to efficiently leverage to enable multiple technologies to track
provide the support.
data from connected disciplines to assets and equipment
BUILD processes and assets integrate their designs performance
Be deliberate about which capabilities IN-HOUSE and use it to develop within a single 3D
FLUENCY meaningful insight. model, enabling error
make more sense to continue to source detection,
Explore and develop
through the ecosystem’s partnerships. new opportunities improved design
accuracy, and estimates

13
 Connected construction Ecosystems defined Power of ecosystems Pathways Start your journey

Start your connected The ecosystem-led digital innovation ecosystem

construction ecosystem

Define scope: Don’t build capabilities you

don’t need. If you understand the nature
of the business issue, the scope of the
solution becomes easier to understand.

Act with speed: Speed is one of the key

benefits of tapping into an ecosystem.
Define scope Act with speed

Scale fast: It’s easy to do a proof of

concept in an unscalable way. The
ecosystem is ready to scale your test case.
It brings scalable capabilities that are
ready to respond.

Systemize the process: Create

repeatable steps so that as you continue
to activate new business use cases, you
can tap into the ecosystem more readily.

Systemize the
process Scale fast

14
Authors and contacts About the study
Deloitte and MAPI jointly launched the study in June
2020 to identify the ways in which smart manufacturing
Authors Industry contact
and connected construction ecosystems can potentially
Paul Wellener Ben Dollar Michelle Meisels accelerate digital initiatives. The study included an online
US Industrial Products & Construction leader Principal Principal
survey of more than 1,000 executives at manufacturing
Deloitte Consulting LLP Deloitte Consulting LLP Deloitte Consulting LLP
+1 216 830 6609 +1 617 437 3264 +1 213 688 3293 and E&C companies across three key regions globally:
pwellener@deloitte.com bdollar@deloitte.com mmeisels@deloitte.com North America, Europe, and Asia. It also included
executive interviews with more than 30 leaders from
manufacturing companies and ecosystem participants.
Stephen Laaper Heather Ashton Deloitte Research Center for
Principal Senior manager Energy and Industrials contact
Deloitte Consulting LLP Deloitte Research Center for Energy
Kate Hardin See the full report for more insights from
+1 312 513 7900 & Industrials
Executive director
slaaper@deloitte.com Deloitte Services LP the survey and explore other reports on
Deloitte Research Center for Energy and Industrials
+1 978 380 4982
hashtonmanolian@deloitte.com
Deloitte Services LP smart factory
+1 617 437 3332
khardin@deloitte.com

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the team that helped us tremendously in developing
this series of reports, including Ankit Mittal, Kruttika Dwivedi, Sahitya
Bhushan, and Siddhant Mehra of Deloitte Support Services India Pvt. Ltd.; Aijaz
Hussain, Steve Shepley, Sami Alami, Steve Scott, and Samarth Shah, who
provided feedback for the playbooks; and Kim Buchanan, Whitney Laine Garcia,
Jessi Rayhill, Rachele Spina, and Marguerite Courtemanche, who drove the
creation of these assets to bring the story to life.
15
15
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