I’ve detailed somewhat how the idea of having a Construction Dorks came together in a previous blog post but, now that it has become a thing, I thought I should detail out a how it started and how we got to where we are and what the event will look like. I hope that reading this and seeing the additional info that will be coming as we approach the date (December 11) will inspire you to want to take part (register at constructiondorks.com).

The Dorks had a humble beginning. I still attribute DJ Phipps as the originator of the moniker. It seemed to fit those of us in the newly minted Construction Technologist role in the industry and many of us have latched onto it. Embracing our slightly “off” personalities, having fun with the title, building a tight community that promotes and helps each other as we navigate this new and exciting path. I might argue at times that we would probably more identify as Nerds if we were to consult the Venn diagram. I would venture to say most of us are fairly intelligent and only slightly socially inept while also passionately obsessed, but I digress.

The concept of a gathering of the Dorks began when we would all run into each other at various trade shows and industry events and talk. We would talk about how it would be nice to break away from all of the sessions and exhibits and have an event where we all just talked and shared ideas of how to work within this new role and how to help each other bring success to our organizations as we go through this digital transformation.

That is how the idea of getting the Dorks together started to gain traction and gather momentum. I began working different connections to see what was possible. One thing I kept coming back to with the Dorks was passion for the industry first, technology second. This is a theme that kept coming up in conversations. With that in mind, the idea of the Dork-a-thon transformed from focusing on how we might share some conversations around using tech to improve our workflows to how can we use our collective brainpower and passion to drive the industry forward beyond just a digital transformation.

Also, during that time I’ve had the opportunity to experience Design Thinking events as well as reading on different types of ideation and inspiring innovation. I also have been talking with a few other people with a similar bent on doing more than just implementing technology, wanting to implement true, pivotal change. With that in mind, I wanted to publish a blog that spoke in depth to the purpose and structure of the Dork-a-thon that we’ve been envisioning, and I have been pushing to make a reality.

That’s when I started to toy around with the idea of having roundtable discussions facilitated by someone from the industry. Those sessions are DfMA, Analog Workflows in Digital World, Contract Documents vs Shop Drawings, drawing from the CPC CDX Challenges, or for those interested to offer their own. The early returns have DfMA as the most sought after topic, then Analog Workflows, then a few compelling “Others”. I plan on keeping offers for facilitators open until the end of October. At that time, 6–8 sessions will be chosen based on interest and the number of registrations we receive.

We will contact the facilitators of those sessions and start sharing content for them to help them prepare for their groups once we close the facilitator submissions. The idea is to apply some accelerated design thinking and lean methodologies in roundtable groups of 6–8 participants through the morning part of the day. Each group focusing primarily on the “Anchors and Rockets” of their topic. What we are looking for are the things that we feel are going well (Rockets) in our industry so we can find ways to strengthen and promote them as well as identify the challenges (Anchors) keeping us from progressing forward.

At the end of the morning session, we will look to have a working lunch where each group presents their findings on Anchors and Rockets, allowing the rest of us the provide input on what the group has found. The goal after these presentations is for our inaugural event to provide to the industry some real, actionable insights going into 2020 to continue to drive positive changes.

Now, we’re all tech geeks and much of the interest in this event is some time for nerds to talk with nerds. I’m hoping to have networking type breaks between, but also allow for two hours at the end of the day for those able and interested in sticking through the afternoon for us to have some short sessions centering on the struggles and successes we’ve had in implementing technology. An important note on these sessions, while they may be lead or include individuals from the technology side, there will be no selling or promoting of particular solutions. We’re not looking for anyone to sell their programs or platforms, but help others learn how they can get better adoption of technologies and new workflows.

I have been approached from many different sectors of our industry and told there is a great deal of interest in what we will do here. I can’t say we are going to change the world, but we have a great opportunity to press forward true transformation in our beloved industry and the organizations we passionately serve. My goal is that this will be the first of many such events. Perhaps we can have mini Dorks meetups throughout the year coupled with other conferences where those gathered can keep moving the ball forward and then we can gather once more at the end of the year and report on how far we’ve come and work to bring another set of Anchors and Rockets for the industry.

To close this, I’d like to make a call out for the Dorks to share this event with their Dork friends. We have a fair amount of interest from within the ‘C’ of AECO as well as from tech, but really want all stakeholders represented. If you think there are like-minded individuals that would bring value in these discussions, please share this post and the website with them. In the coming days, I will be updating the website so that it contains more information on the day of the event and provide more detail as it becomes more formalized.