Dive Brief:

• Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced a new Tech Alliance Tuesday, geared toward helping members use tech innovations to improve their businesses.
• The alliance is a consortium of 13 tech companies, and the main goal of the partnership is connecting these firms with the average ABC member contractor, which is typically a small or medium-sized business. 
• Specifically, ABC said the alliance would introduce the smaller contractors to tech tools that can aid their companies in a variety of ways, from bidding and billing, BIM to project management and safety.

Dive Insight:

The first firms involved in the Tech Alliance are:

• Autodesk
• BuildOps
• Flashtract
• myComply
• Penta
• Procore
• ProEst
• Real Time Risk Solutions
• Riskcast
• Safesite
• StructionSite
• SubHQ
• Tenna

More companies will be added to the consortium every year, according to Matt Abeles, ABC’s vice president of construction technology and innovation.

The specific tech companies were chosen, Abeles said, because ABC saw immediate value they could bring to the organization's 69 members. Creating the alliance was what Abeles called "the first formal step" in directly connecting technology to ABC members.

“The need for technological solutions — both big and small — in the construction industry is clear, especially given changing work conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Abeles said in the official announcement. 

Though COVID-19 was a driving factor, Abeles said the timing of the new alliance was also based on tech being a growing part of the construction industry. 

"As technology becomes more of a crowded space, this is a way for us to provide examples to our members about what technology solutions can streamline processes, increase productivity and save costs," the ABC official said.

Starting next month, ABC has scheduled webinars to introduce the partner companies to its members that might be unfamiliar. The tech companies will also provide educational services, Abeles said, and, if appropriate, give ABC members access to beta testing new solutions.

Education is key for the tech as well, and ties into the reason ABC is gearing the alliance to small-to-midsize contractors. Where large contractors have a position for tech leadership and decision-making, at a smaller construction company, that role tends to be rolled into other jobs. Providing hands-on experience seeks to make up the difference, Abeles said.

In addition to the alliance, the ABC also formed a Construction Technology and Innovation Committee, which will guide future partnerships between tech companies, ABC and the alliance.