Commitment To The Future

6 years ago

By Melissa Smith and Lorraine Grubbs

Leading companies anticipate trends long before they happen. Frank Granara is determined to keep GIC on the cutting edge by not ignoring the signs of change. In this, our 11th “Culture of Commitment” article, we talked to several GIC leaders and asked what they are doing to help Frank stay ahead in the insulation game. In fact, GIC is so committed to the future that we are going to be writing about it in four parts. This, part one, is about the GIC 2025 initiative.

VP Rick McMullen: GIC 2025 Initiative

What do the taxi, music, and real estate industries all have in common? They are examples of industries that experienced major disruptions in the way they do business. (Think Uber, ITunes, HAR.com) Those that paid attention to the shift in how they do business are surviving; those that didn’t are gone.

I was part of a Leadership Class with other VPs at GIC. In one session, Frank gave us a document illustrating his “Painted Picture”. This was his vision of what he wanted GIC to look like in the future. Frank saw a disruption coming for the construction and material supply industries caused by newly emerging technology. GIC needed to be prepared to make some changes. So GIC 2025 was created. Frank assigned me the role of defining it and keeping it on track. In his “Painted Picture”, Frank saw 3 major disruptors coming to the construction world.

1) Global Digital Transformation (GDT) and 4D Cad: Major players in our industry are looking at GDT initiatives and are investing in construction technology. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is at the forefront. It’s an intelligent 4D model-based process that gives architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals the insight and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings and infrastructure. If you watch programs like HGTV’s Fixer Upper you will see the way home improvements are projected. That’s 4D in action. CAD and 4D produce specific dimensions and more accurate projection of space required for installation. This technology reduces waste on new construction sites.

To get a better understanding of how this technology will impact our world, click the link> https://www.autodesk.com/solutions/bim/construction-management-software

2) The government has mandated that 5G technology be available by 2020. 5G is predicted to be 300 times faster than 4G. What that means is that you’ll be able to access information on your phone that much quicker. We envision instant video will replace texting and telephone conversations, revolutionizing communication. For example, a jobsite telephone call to order material could be replaced with a zero lag video chat. This will provide an opportunity for customers to show job site conditions to GIC’s inside sales team and get visual help identifying products.

3) Image recognition is a deep learning technology that allows a user to identify an object (brand, model, function, etc.) based on images alone. Image recognition bypasses bar codes and RFID tags.

I’ve been working on GIC 2025 for several years along with others at GIC so we can prepare to take full advantage of these exciting advances in technology.

Please watch Rick McMullen’s video below and follow the link to the Commitment to Culture Articles that you can share with your friends and family.