People-First Innovation: Developing Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Training Programs to Empower Field Team Members

Chase Roles, Operating Group Director Virtual Design and Construction, Mortenson Construction

How Mortenson Solar’s VDC team scales technology innovation nationwide using a network of VDC Champions and people-first training approach?

One of the biggest challenges to building and scaling training programs for construction technology implementation is knowledge retention. The problem is not knowledge itself but integration of that knowledge. This is because one of the greatest distances to retain information is the distance from your head to your heart. This challenge of retention is even more true in the world of construction technology training. It is paramount that any training program is relatable to the audience, and the audience sees how it integrates into their daily work. This is true for superintendents, project engineers, construction coordinators and any other team member we are training. It needs to not only be relatable, but it needs to mean something to them. They have to care about it, and it has to have intrinsic value.

Given this challenge, how does our Mortenson Solar VDC team approach this when implementing new technology across our national reach of projects?

We leverage what psychologists have known for decades about how the brain works to receive information. The hippocampus is the learning center of the brain, and it is proven that if you focus on caring for the team member and know their “why,” you will have much more sustained learning long-term. This is laid out well in Simon Sinek’s best-selling book “Start with Why.” Simon explains that humans are naturally and biologically wired to respond to care and knowing why they are to do something. It drives behavior change and drives learning.

“Whether you are just starting on your technology training journey or are somewhere in the middle of the process, trust your “why” and trust your team members in caring about each other and each training.”

In order to help implement this approach, within the Solar VDC team we have identified three types of team members that we cater our training programs to. The first type and most important group is our hands-on group. This includes superintendents, foremen and craft team members. It is critical their training is high-touch and related to their immediate field needs. The second type is our technical group. This includes field engineers and project engineers. For this group we go more into the detail and deeper into the technical process of each software. Our third group is our report focused group. This includes project managers and above. It is imperative that trainings for this group are honed in on relatable graphs and report outs that support strategic decision making.

With the audience understood and identified, what actions and training events have helped to streamline development of team members?

Knowing these three team member groups, we created an ecosystem of technology training programs that cater to each role. These programs include high-level trainings such as our VDC Year in Reviews to much more in depth and detailed on-site trainings that we call our VDC Field Bootcamps. The VDC Bootcamps are successful due to our talented Solar VDC subject matter experts. VDC team members are in-person with our field team members holding high-touch training sessions. These sessions are comprehensive and walk team members through how to best leverage technology for their role. A major focus of these bootcamps is implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as well as other VDC workflows including 3D virtual underground coordination and 4D schedule integration. As a result of this high-touch training we have seen an exponential increase in ArcGIS users in Solar.

In addition to our VDC team members providing training to the field, we leverage a network of VDC Champions to help cement each training into standardized process flows and project culture. A VDC Champion is any team member in addition to our Solar VDC Subject-Matter Experts (SMEs) who has raised their hand saying they see the value in VDC and want to support our team’s goals. For Solar we have identified champions on each of our project sites, and the list continues to grow. These champions include construction coordinators, project engineers and other team members who partner with VDC. It’s through this network of champions that Solar has developed a grassroots, ground up approach to implement VDC innovation on a national scale.

Wondering what your next step is in increasing tech knowledge for your team?

First, identify the strengths of your VDC or technology team and ensure your team is strategically placed to work with site teams in the field in-person. Within Solar VDC we have adopted a teaming strategy and regional approach. We have strategically placed team members across eight different states in order to achieve a regional strategy. It is also critical that these team members are working in their area of strength. When a team member is working in their area of strength, they are more likely to love their work and also make a higher impact. It also increases team member retention and overall morale of the team.

Whether you are just starting on your technology training journey or are somewhere in the middle of the process, trust your “why” and trust your team members in caring about each other and each training. This combination of trust and care will help drive knowledge sharing and ultimately knowledge retention for your group as you look to scale up technology innovation. In this age of information overflow, retention is what separates teams from being ineffective to being high performing. Let’s continue to strive together to raise all boats as we train our team members in the ever-changing world of construction technology.