An Academia / Industry Collaborative to Reinvent Construction

Construction remains trapped in a mid-20th-century time warp, as documented by the McKinsey Global Institute in its landmark 2017 report Reinventing Construction: A Route to Higher Productivity. Regrettably, for lack of knowledge, the problem has only worsened since then.

This article advocates a collaborative partnership between industry and academia to help construction break free from that stagnation. Construction must move beyond fragmented, siloed methods and embrace an integrated systems-thinking approach—the same profound mindset shift that transformed manufacturing in the decades following World War II.

And what better venue to cultivate this new paradigm than construction science programs, where the next generation of planners, designers, and builders is formed?

Our aim is to motivate educators, students, and practitioners to deepen their expertise through rigorous study and real-world application of a data-driven, profound-knowledge system that transforms the real estate development process beginning in the earliest stages of facility planning.

The System of Profound Knowledge applied to Construction

This is the 17th article in the Lean Construction 2.0 series, which outlines a comprehensive curriculum for training professionals in a systems-based approach that answers McKinsey’s call for reinvention. Article 7 in the series adapts Deming’s four-part System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK) to the real estate development process. Anyone called to help lead the essential change must understand and embrace Deming’s system described in this article.

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A new generation of rigorously trained planners, designers, and construction managers—educated in Deming’s framework—is indispensable for achieving the multifaceted transformation McKinsey describes.

A Joint Academia / Industry Collaborative

Since the core barrier—as Deming emphasized—is a “lack of knowledge,” construction science programs are the logical place to begin. We propose a four-part initiative for 2026:

1. This concise video From Silos to a System highlights the central problem (fragmentation) and its remedy (a data-driven knowledge system). It helps convey Seneca’s principle that, ”to change someone’s thinking, show them a tool”. The first step: distribute this resource to construction science department heads nationwide.
2. Building CATALYST will host webinars and customized live demonstrations of an intelligent automation (applied knowledge system) for project planning, budgeting, and cost management. These sessions reveal both immediate gains and the broader systems-thinking foundation required for reimagining construction.
3. As educators become fluent in the applied knowledge systems approach, they can engage their industry advisory boards to form an Academia–Industry Collaborative. This group would refine, pilot, and expand curricula grounded in the Lean Construction 2.0 series.
4. Once faculty and advisors embrace intelligent automation and knowledge systems principles, a phased curriculum can be launched.

Introductory phase: the reinvention vision and hands-on mastery of cost certainty.

Subsequent phases: progress toward mid- and long-term outcomes: sustained, measurable improvements in process efficiency and waste removal.

To explore further, visit www.buildingcatalyst.com.

If inspired, contact us to join the movement to free construction from its 80-year time warp and help shape the next generation of system-thinking professionals.

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