Lauren L Collier

• Director of Project Technology
• SSOE Group
• Malinta, OH

Tell me about yourself and what you specialize in. I began my career as an architect and quickly transitioned into technology early. For the last 18 years, I’ve worked on healthcare and industrial architectural design to BIM implementation, innovation projects, and executing corporate initiatives, so I have a deep understanding of the industry and my end users.

I love implementing Lean practices into my work, making continuous improvements, and using innovative model / data use solutions for design and construction operations. I lead a diverse group of VDC technology leaders, software DevOps, and model managers whose focus is on implementing new and innovative technologies, processes, and best practices in design and construction.

Why do you love working in the construction industry? I love the challenges of keeping up with the rapid rate of change, while working on really cool projects in a variety of industries. There’s so much potential in applying technology in new and innovative ways especially with emerging projects focused on data, interoperability, and AI. There is a lot of project efficiency and growth opportunities in these areas.

What topics and trends are you most passionate about in the industry? Digital Practice as it relates to Project execution. This is a broad statement but when you talk virtual design tool set and processes, we can explore using BIM and software development together to automate our work. We now are combining those two things with data visualization and advanced analytics.

What really excites me is watching new career paths and talent being born weekly. The AEC/Software/Visualization industries are colliding together and providing high end solutions that bring our projects to life before we build them. I get to touch that every day!

What advice would you give to the next generation preparing for the future of the industry? Get your hands dirty! Be Curious and always creative. Dive into topics that interest you. You’ll find that you not only benefit your organization, but your personal development.