Technology is ever-changing, and it’s evolving at a pace today that hasn’t been seen before.
The number of tech adopters is picking up speed, too. Take the use of ChatGPT as an example.
“Can you believe over 100 million people downloaded and started using that within two months,” says Martin Willoughby, CEO of Command Alkon. “My point is, not only is technology advancing, [but] the rate of adoption is advancing.”
The opportunities to utilize tech in aggregates, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete are aplenty, too. Command Alkon highlighted many of these at Elevate, a conference focused on technology and trends for the heavy materials building industry that took place in late October in Austin, Texas.
Command Alkon attracted more than 500 people to Elevate and its co-located TRAININGdays event, hosting 50 unique breakout sessions to guide materials producers into the next generation of their operations.
The producers who attended Elevate and TRAININGdays are undoubtedly ones who are at least exploring the idea of embracing change.
“I repeat this quote all the time that ‘change is inevitable, but growth is optional,” says Willoughby, who addressed those attending Command Alkon’s events through a keynote address. “Change can be our catalyst for growth. By embracing change, each of us can position ourselves to lead in our markets in a rapidly evolving industry.”
What’s changing
With change taking place seemingly everywhere in 2024, Willoughby is convinced technology will impact the heavy materials industry profoundly.
Willoughby expects four areas to impact producers the most: AI, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital avatars.
1. AI. Specifically, Willoughby points to business intelligence as an area where AI can help producers make gains.
“We know that the ability to gather lots of data on customers and to help serve them better, predict trends, predict behaviors, know what they need before they even need it [is valuable],” he says.
2. AR and VR. These technologies have been available for a while, Willoughby says, but they haven’t been widely adopted.
He believes that’s about to change, though.
“I think the new Apple Vision Pro and other technologies are going to really speed that up,” Willoughby says. “I think it’s going to have a big impact for us, for training and safety.
“I’ve seen in this industry the wisdom and the experience – the decades of knowledge that’s going to be retiring out – [and] we’ve got to capture that information,” he adds. “We’ve got to make a trained next generation workforce in this industry, and I think AR and VR is going to be a powerful way to do that.”
