Humans at the heart of the construction industry’s digital shift
The construction industry is still among the least digitalised industries – and following a challenging period, projects have been forced to slow down. With growing pressure to deliver more with less, the need for greater efficiency and cost control has never been more urgent. For our CPO, Kitty Colbjørnsen Aarseth, the key lies in combining human experience with the right digital tools.
Kitty has been Chief Product Officer of Tribia for nearly three years, spearheading the development of Interaxo. She has always found the intersection between technology and construction fascinating, tracing her curiosity of how everything fits together back to the very beginning of her career.
“I started out working on-site during my studies. Pouring rain and heavy snow did not faze me – I wanted to understand how different building materials work together. With firsthand experience of putting the pieces together, I’m always searching for new ways to simplify the day-to-day work of both site workers and design teams,” she explains.
With work experience spanning construction sites, architecture and BIM management, Kitty knows how technology, at its best, supports the human role in construction projects rather than replacing it.
Human-in-the-loop: Empowering the human mind with machine efficiency
While technology’s role in construction projects is growing, there is one challenge in particular that has followed Kitty throughout her career: the lingering scepticism towards adopting new systems.
“In construction, digital tools make us better at what we do – they’re not taking our jobs away from us. Human experience, reflection and judgement are irreplaceable,” she emphasises.
“When we start utilising the solutions that are available to us – and learn how to use them properly – that is when we see their true impact on our processes. The sooner we accept this, the more time and costs we will save – but we will always need a human-in-the-loop.”
Human-in-the-loop is an approach to AI where we train, adjust and monitor automated systems. This combines the speed of machines with human judgement – ensuring that context, safety and ethical considerations are always maintained. This approach is also a key part of our close collaboration with customers in the development of Interaxo.
Kitty credits the intersection between human work forces and technology as the foundation for successful projects: “I encourage everyone to embrace the technology available to us today, and the opportunities we can yield from it. To reach our goals of sustainable societal development, we need to combine the efficiency of digital tools with the irreplaceable human judgement.”
How AI eases the pressure on construction projects during challenging times
Kitty firmly believes that reluctance to digitalise our working methods is more harmful the construction projects than the potential challenges associated with implementing them: “We plan, procure, manage and inspect building materials – as well as decide what kind of character we want a building to have. Large amounts of data flow through construction projects, and important information can easily get lost between different phases or stakeholders.”
“By automating time-consuming, manual tasks, with people in the loop, we get a better overview, more efficient processes and greater control.”
Kitty also acknowledges the challenging situation that the entire industry is currently facing. Rising costs and interest rates are putting pressure on construction businesses, leaving numerous projects on hold. In times of uncertainty, we naturally gravitate towards what we know – and the perceived risk of changing established systems feel greater.
“Modern construction projects are highly complex. When progress, money and quality are at stake, we tend to gravitate towards what feels safe and predictable,” she says.
“Working in product development, what matters most to us is that our customers succeed in their projects. Although many projects are currently paused, our digital tools are ready to be picked back up at any point – and implementation is simple. Adopting new software systems should never take time away from value generation – that would contradict the entire point of them.”
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Product development in collaboration with our customers and their projects
The human-in-the-loop principle applies not only to construction projects, but also to the development of Interaxo. Our product team consists of developers, designers and industry specialists alike – all collaborating closely. And by inviting our users to test new solutions or features early on – and provide consistent feedback – our product development is continuously adapted to real and current customer needs.
“Our team consists of engaged people with a genuine passion for what we do. There’s a wide variety of different backgrounds and diverse perspectives, but we all share one common goal: to build the best solutions for our customers, equipping them with the tools they need to meet the evolving demands of our industry,” Kitty says. She’s confident that diversity is a strength when working with a wide range of customers, products, and projects: “That’s what it takes to build the right products; the ability to consider situations, challenges, and needs from multiple perspectives.”
Kitty highlights time and cost savings in projects as a key focus area going forward: “We’re currently in a phase of renewal – both in our ways of working and in our products. Internally, we use AI both in product development and identifying what functionality we wish to focus on moving forward.” In other words, she’s not planning on slowing down the product development anytime soon.
“We have unique, untapped potential thanks to our duration in the industry. After all these years, we know our customers very well and have developed our products through many different phases. The need for digital support in construction will only continue to grow,” she concludes.
“We have an incredibly exciting opportunity to influence how construction projects are executed moving forward. Whether you’re starting a new project, or holding off until the market stabilises, we’re ready with the solutions that give you the power to execute.”
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