Ahead of Procore's June 25 webinar, Kris Lengieza, Vice President, Global Technology Evangelist, sat down with CCPPP to preview how Procore’s platform enables informed decision-making, risk mitigation, and operational resilience to navigate volatility in Canadian construction.
Q: How is current market unpredictability changing decision-making on large-scale infrastructure projects currently under construction in Canada? What asset classes are particularly impacted?
A: Current market volatility, driven by fluctuating tariffs, escalating material costs and persistent labor shortages, is forcing a significant reassessment of decision-making processes for large-scale infrastructure projects.
This unpredictable environment is also fundamentally shaping the planning and management strategies for projects in their nascent design or pre-procurement stages. Industry experts emphasize that leveraging new and evolving technologies is becoming crucial to de-risk construction practices in this challenging climate.
For large-scale infrastructure projects already under construction, this unpredictability is leading to a re-evaluation of budgets and timelines. There is a heightened emphasis on identifying cost-saving measures and exploring alternative materials or construction methods without compromising quality or safety.
Efforts are also intensifying to secure materials well in advance, diversifying supplier bases and anticipating potential bottlenecks. However, this can also tie up capital and increase storage costs.
All of this is straining contractor-client relationships.
While the impact of this market unpredictability is broad, certain asset classes are feeling the pressure more acutely such as transit, transportation, energy, and water/wastewater facilities. These assets are often complex and have long durations, making them more susceptible to sustained periods of cost escalation and labor uncertainty.
Initiatives related to decarbonization and the boom in digital infrastructure are also requiring significant amounts of specialized materials and skilled labor, putting pressure on their availability and cost.
Q: In what ways do you predict these market conditions will shape planning and management strategies for projects that are still in the design phase or pre-procurement?
There is a greater need for more sophisticated risk identification and allocation strategies in the early stages of project development.
There is also a greater emphasis on front-end planning and design with more detailed feasibility studies, scenario planning and robust pre-construction engineering to better anticipate challenges and build in contingencies. This includes more thorough analysis of material sourcing options and labor availability.
Increased use of data analytics and market intelligence is also informing cost estimation, scheduling and risk management to better track material price trends and labor market dynamics.
Q: How can the sector best leverage new and evolving technology to de-risk construction practices?
The construction sector is increasingly turning to new and evolving technologies to mitigate risks and improve project outcomes.
By embracing these technological advancements, the Canadian infrastructure sector can enhance productivity, improve cost certainty, reduce project timelines and ultimately de-risk construction practices in an increasingly unpredictable world.
This proactive adoption of technology, combined with evolving planning and management strategies, will be critical to successfully delivering the next generation of Canada's essential infrastructure. For example:
