Building better with sophisticated technologies and data

Major construction sites are more than building plans, hard hats, and concrete. They are, in fact, sprawling and complex ecosystems that require contractors to balance design specs with rising materials costs, labor shortages, and myriad other factors. In this competitive space, the contractors that succeed are the ones that continuously push for more efficient, sustainable, and productive processes. For Suffolk—a national contractor that builds, innovates, and invests and employs 2,800 employees throughout the U.S.—that success comes from growing a forward-focused company culture and cultivating creative approaches to solving complex problems. “The value in innovation is to help us build faster, better, cheaper, and safer—and to provide a better experience for our clients,” says Jit Kee Chin, chief technology officer at Suffolk. Technology—whether developed internally or through smart investments in construction-tech startups—is central to Suffolk’s continuing pursuit of these goals. Its AI-powered predictive software, for example, can boost jobsite safety by analyzing data from prior projects and identifying possibly hazardous trends that need attention. That software is also being used to find financial and operational exposures during the preliminary phases of projects: spotting and red-flagging potential problems early enough to give users time to course correct.  An entrepreneurial approach to recognizing and developing new technologies—bettering both the company as well as the construction industry as a whole—has earned Suffolk a place among Fast Company’s list of the Best Workplaces for Innovators for 2024. INNOVATION FROM WITHIN Suffolk, founded in 1982 by chairman and CEO John Fish, is always seeking new and innovative ways to merge technology and data. A recent example is the Project Dashboard, an in-house tool that tracks metrics—in real-time—for projects throughout the country. The dashboard offers insights into safety, scheduling, finances, and other operational data, empowering employees to manage their time and resources more effectively. “We saw that the Project Dashboard drove a lot of positive changes in our culture,” Chin says. This success led Suffolk to expand the tool into what’s now called the Owner’s Dashboard. The tool gives users unprecedented visibility into their projects—from tracking requests for information to monitoring budget status. “The dashboard came organically out of our own efforts to drive a culture of transparency and curiosity,” Chin explains. “At Suffolk, we believe that innovation must cultivate a mindset of problem-solving and continuous improvement, so we can all continue to grow.” A PLATFORM FOR NEW IDEAS Suffolk views technology as a cornerstone of a leading-edge construction company. One of its flagship initiatives, BOOST, is the industry’s first accelerator program dedicated to construction-tech startups. Each year, the BOOST program selects five to 10 companies to take part in an intensive eight-week program aimed at solving specific challenges facing the construction industry. The startups are assigned Suffolk mentors and given real-world opportunities, on current Suffolk jobsites, to field-test their technologies and find solutions that strengthen their value propositions. A recent participant, WINT, developed an innovative, AI-driven approach to detecting water leaks—before they can cause any costly damage to a building—in small amounts never before possible. Programs such as BOOST are designed to drive creative problem-solving that benefit not only the company but also the construction industry at large. And they reflect Suffolk’s commitment to disrupting an industry long overdue for innovation—changing the way buildings are planned, designed, and built—and better positioning the company (and its clients) for the future. “We drive innovation so that our business can constantly reinvent itself and remain relevant in tomorrow’s world,” Chin says.