Digital Integration Leads to a Sellout MCAA Technology Conference

While much of the country faced record cold weather last week, approximately 250 MCAA members made their way to Tampa, Florida for the MCAA’s annual Technology Conference.  The three day conference has evolved into an event where contractors are able to learn about the latest techniques, products, and software and connect with peers in similar roles across the country. One of these roles is an emerging position that many contractors have started developing in their companies over the last few years. As MCAA President-Elect Brian Helm from Mechanical, Inc. put it, “Every year, this conference grows bigger and gets better, but the comforting thing to me is seeing an emergence of a new group of construction technologists and how they are developing their own network in our association.”

Construction Technologists (or ConTech for short) are individuals responsible for researching, testing and implementation of new software, tools and hardware for their companies. While the construction industry has been lagging behind in R&D spending, some MCAA members are beginning to invest in both budget allocation on R&D and the personnel to roll it out. While this role varies widely across the membership, the emergence of  ConTechs has helped contractors research and implement processes that bring productivity gains to the their companies.

Over three days and 20 sessions, construction technologists, operations managers, BIM specialists and service contractors were able to catch up on the tools and techniques driving the industry forward. Next year’s conference is expected to be even bigger. Plan to join us in San Diego, California, January 29-31, 2020.