LIVE from METALCON 2023 with Bluescope!

By Jonny Suchor. 

Adopting new technology helps businesses stay relevant and attract the next generation! 

During METALCON 2023, Heidi J. Ellsworth had the opportunity to speak with John Provencal, who goes by JP, from ASC Building Products, a company under the umbrella of BlueScope, whose focus is the head of digital technology and customer experience, to talk about the future of roofing and technology. 

As technology continues to advance, it’s important for companies to adopt these technologies to stay relevant in the industry, to consumers and the future workforce. And this starts with having the right culture to accept new technology.  

Having a strong culture that’s focused on adopting and learning new technology is key. “70 percent of transformation projects fail because the culture is not aligned. The people don’t know what they are supposed to do and have no idea how it connects to strategy,” JP explains, “Getting them on board, getting them behind the process, understanding how it creates better employee engagement and helps them do their job, they then become part of the solution,” 

Regardless of culture, new technology can be intimidating to some people, specifically the thought that they will be replaced by technology and lose their jobs. In reality, new technology is helping free up time so people can work on other projects and tasks. And younger generations are entering the workforce and expect companies to be using and embracing technology and have a culture that matches the technology. “The newer generation of employees are looking for technology in this industry, and they want companies to embrace it. It’s an expectation,” says JP. Businesses that evolve with modern technology will be prepared and ready to innovate in the future while attracting the next generation of workers, while those who are slow to adopt will be trying to catch up.  

“Most of the Gen Z population don’t look at construction as a technology industry,” JP explains. “It’s our responsibility to try to convince them that we are heading the right way to attract and retain those types of skill bases.” 

Watch this video to learn more about how the industry responds to new technology.