Salla Palos
Sellen Construction Company
Salla Palos is the Emerging Technology and Innovation Director in one of the largest general contractors in the Pacific North West area of United States. She is recognized as an industry game changer, and one of the most innovative and forward-thinking people in the construction sector. She is a rapid development driver with expertise in international R&D, technology innovation, and strategic planning advancing change management of global $10 trillion construction industry with the means of open innovation. Salla is a frequent public speaker in national and international industry forums evangelizing innovation strategies in digital construction, and their impact on people, business, and technology. Salla earned her Master of Science in Architecture degree from Tampere University of Technology in Finland.
Seattle is the fastest-growing city in the USA. It continues to lead the country with about 60 major projects under construction in the downtown area of Seattle, totaling over 60% more tower cranes than any other U.S. city. The value of global construction industry is estimated to double and grow to approximately $20 trillion by 2030. Recognizing and responding to megatrends enable construction companies proactively support the plans of real-estate investors. Seattle's geographic constraints and scarcity of available land has refocused real-estate developers on the business cases in the existing market. Digital data capture and expansive use of BIM platforms assist in retrofitting and modernizing old buildings. The rapid growth of real-estate market, sustainability objectives, generational changes in the workforce, and construction regulations are changing the industry business models. As a result, the construction industry is an unexpected innovator that is powered by new digital construction tools and new technologies such as extended reality.
In response to Seattle's commitment to carbon neutrality and the increasing demand on limited resources, Seattle has one of the most progressive energy codes in the nation. Reconciling ambitious commercial real-estate developers' visions, stringent energy codes, complex architectural programs and tenant needs requires early and iterative collaboration between contractors, designers and owners. To facilitate this higher-level collaboration and coordination, construction companies are leading this effort by employing new types of data capture technologies. Data is mined from open data platforms, point cloud scanning, drone imaging and 360-degree construction documentation and consumed in extended reality.
The high volume of work exceeds the locally available workforce. As a result, construction companies have become new technology incubators to find solutions that increase the efficiency of project delivery. We have seen the modernization of the construction industry through adopting scalable digital platforms for real-time collaborative project delivery, and improving communications with various emerging technologies. These joint efforts to bridge traditional professional silos supports outcomes that are more predictable and helps all stakeholders to be successful. This collaboration with other industries and passion about adopting next-generation technologies has forged strategic partnerships in one of the busiest construction markets in the world. Being able to respond to the demands, growing virtual design and construction capabilities, and standards has become the new imperative. Sharing data via digital platforms like BIM, leveraging automation and robotics, and experiencing projects in Extended Reality are helping solve industry-wide issues with communications, productivity, quality and safety.
The construction industry is one of the world's largest industrial employer. It is likely to continue as a major source of revenue and have a significant role in determining the quality of life throughout the Seattle region. Focusing a firm's developing technologies strategy on leveraging big data and enhanced communications helps ensure worker safety and increase productivity, while maintaining a high quality of craftsmanship. Digital construction continues to be one of the enablers for Seattle's Smart City growth, creating a basis for the digital era real-estate business. In the future, social, business model, and technology innovations make sure the construction industry remains vital for sustainable and successful long-term performance, prolonging careers and supporting generations' knowledge transfer.
