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“It’s time to rethink how we build, design, and deliver.” – Key takeaways from What’s NOW | Constructing Tomorrow

Paul Haggerty
Paul Haggerty
Jun 9, 2025

The way in which we construct must undergo a fundamental transformation. Traditional methods won’t solve today’s challenges; what we need is a radical reset. Rethinking outdated models is essential to deliver faster and more cost-effectively, with greater resilience, lower carbon emissions, and infrastructure built for the future. But how?

Part of Capgemini’s ‘Future of Energy Transition and Utilities’ series

Capgemini’s What’s NOW | Constructing Tomorrow event – hosted by our Applied Innovation Exchange – united leaders across energy, utilities, transport, mobility, manufacturing, and engineering to discuss just that. Together, we explored how to reimagine infrastructure delivery, embrace digital innovation, and create a resilient, future-proof foundation.

Read on for our key takeaways from the event.

The old ways are obsolete

The UK’s infrastructure sector is at a tipping point. Ageing assets, a growing population, and mounting sustainability demands persist despite record investments. Projects face an average 20-month delay and cost overruns of up to 80%. With major investments like BlackRock’s acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners and Ofwat’s £88 billion water initiative, innovation is no longer optional – it’s critical.

However, according to Capgemini partner Autodesk’s Construction Disconnected report, we’re starting from a place of fragmentation:

  • Teams – 35% of time is wasted on non-optimal activity. E.g. waiting for info on a construction site
  • Projects – £280 billion is spent on annual re-work costs created by poor project data and communication
  • Business – 95.5% of all data is wasted. The average AEC firm uses 26 TB of storage space on data but almost all of it goes unused as it passes down the chain. O&M teams reproduce all the same data again and again
  • Legacy collaboration – manual workflows lead to ineffectiveness and time wasting

We’re also up against massive challenges:

  • More expenditure – an increase of £ 1.2 trillion from 2021 to 2030, with most sectors experiencing 1.7x increase from previous cycles.
  • Limited resources – workforces are moving to other growing industries/geographies and supply chains are stretched thin.
  • Shifting targets – an increased focus on the natural environment and building resilience.
  • Regulatory requirements – the complexity and frequency of regulatory changes necessitate robust systems for monitoring and implementing compliance measures

Without adopting a digital-first mindset, progress is impossible. It’s critical to rethink how we build, design, and deliver in the face of these challenges.

Digital must be part of the construction process

Construction is trailing behind other industries in realising the benefit of digital advancements. Integrating digital delivery with physical engineering can significantly boost capital delivery productivity, enhancing project outcomes and performance across all lifecycle stages by:

  • Ensuring your workforce can adapt to this changing landscape
  • Aligning unconnected processes through a complex supply chain

Our perspective is that we need a step change in strategies to drive a fundamental shift in construction performance:

  • Digital engineering and AI maturity. The growth and capability in Digital Engineering platforms & AI solutions today vs. three years ago is game changing. The opportunity is here and now, not three years away – digital business strategies should be planned across multiple horizons.
  • The business case is compelling. Speed, productivity, lower overheads, reduction in overruns, and reduced variances all positively impact the bottom line, as well as investment and delivery plans.
  • Status quo, incremental change will fail. We need disruption and bold ambition to drive change. History suggests the same outcome five years from now, where incremental adjustments are the norm, planning horizons are too long, and too “tomorrow” biased.
  • Delivery models must evolve. There needs to be a core shift in intelligent owner/operator models, more deeply integrated with delivery vehicles and supply chains. We also see the requirement for a Digital Delivery Partner model as well as new internal digital engineering skills. Read more about our thoughts on this shift here.

Exploiting digital isn’t just limited to building – there are scores of benefits to drive from introducing digital into your operations. Gen AI can enhance your material specifications, design documentation, quality checking, business cases, and much more. It’s a win/win for CapEx, OpEx, and fundamental business performance.

AI can transform your construction and operations

At What’s NOW | Constructing Tomorrow, some of Capgemini’s most innovative AI partners showcased their digital construction solutions. Including:

  • Autodesk’s Autodesk Docs – a Common Data Environment that enables everyone to access the same repository of information. Supporting all types of file formats, including PDFs, data, drawings, and info models, it provides fundamental collaboration capabilities, connecting people, processes, and data to improve performance.
  • BlackShark.ai’s AI-driven geospatial platform that converts sensor and pixel inputs into scalable, intelligence-ready data for GIS and 3D environments. Within construction, this software can rapidly create large scale 3D terrains to be used for:
    • Logistics planning and simulation
    • Presentations
    • Proposal submission
    • Virtual design
  • Siemens’ Xcelerator platform that connects multiple buildings of any size, and of any connectivity under one unified platform approach. Giving the building owner full transparency of the construction progress; the engineering consultant management of design reviews with multiple disciplines/stakeholders; the builder and contractor management of information during production with a frictionless handover; and the facilities manager a complete handover that meets operational requirements.

Change is a journey; change is a mindset

In a wrap-up panel discussion, led by Paul Haggerty, Vice President, UK Market Head for Energy Transition and Utilities at Capgemini, we explored the cultural shift needed to drive construction forward in the digital age.

Key insights included:

  • Legacy mentality vs. digital mindset –Addressing the key challenge of moving from an analogue to a digital approach requires a fundamental shift in thinking, led by leadership. For example, starting afresh by digitising only the essentials rather than absolutely everything.
  • Balancing digital and analogue –Integrating digital advancements with existing analogue systems is challenging, particularly in large utilities. A harmonious blend is needed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Driving change through people –Bringing people along on the digital journey is crucial. Blockchain can play a role in ensuring payment confidence within the supply chain, but collective buy-in is essential for successful change.
  • Addressing AI/human workforce concerns – AI can significantly enhance job performance when properly integrated. Leaders need to guide their teams through the transformation and show them their place in the digital workforce to alleviate anxiety about AI replacing human jobs.
  • Involving procurement teams – Including procurement teams in the digital transformation – not just focusing on those connected to digital or the asset – is vital to avoid safety and risk issues. Resistance to change due to safety concerns with new processes can create significant obstacles.

Get in touch

Across industries, construction stands at a pivotal moment. The challenges of outdated methods, fragmented data, and increasing demands necessitate a radical shift towards operational change and digital integration. The journey towards a digitally driven sector is not without its hurdles, but the opportunity is immense. By leveraging advanced digital tools and fostering a culture of operational excellence in delivery methods coupled with disruptive innovation, we can transform the way we build and operate. It’s time to move beyond incremental changes and adopt bold, disruptive strategies that will drive significant improvements in performance and sustainability.

The insights shared at What’s NOW | Constructing Tomorrow event underscore the urgency of embracing digital innovation to enhance productivity, reduce costs, and build resilient infrastructure for the future. We must act now.

If you’re ready to explore how digital solutions can revolutionise your construction projects, our team of digital experts is here to help. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can support your journey towards a smarter, more efficient future.

The Future of Energy Transition & Utilities.

Capgemini’s ‘Future of’ series explores the challenges facing global energy and utilities businesses today and the opportunities these challenges create. Discover how, with vision and ingenuity, you can accelerate the pace of digital adoption across the value chain, delivering both quick wins and long-term dividends in the future. For your business, your consumers, and the environment.

Explore the rest of our ‘Future of’ series here.

Meet our expert

Paul Haggerty

Paul Haggerty

Vice President Head of UK ET&U Sector | Capgemini UK
Paul is Head of our Energy Transition & Utilities (ET&U) sector for Capgemini in the UK and leads the sector across all business service lines including Consulting, Applications, Infrastructure, BPO and Engineering Services. Paul was originally a mechanical engineer in the Oil and Gas industry and has over 20 years of consulting experience, leading major transformation programmes in the utility sector. Paul specialises in delivering combined consulting and technology capabilities, supporting clients to maximise the potential of next-generation digital solutions. He has line responsibility for Capgemini’s Applied Innovation Exchange capability for Energy and Utilities and has worked at an account and delivery level in a number of major clients. He has been with Capgemini for over 23 years, prior to joining Capgemini, Paul worked for Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and FMC Technologies. Paul holds an MSc in Manufacturing, Management and Technology through the Open University.