Bechtel is taking a major step to reshape how it delivers some of the world’s largest construction projects, turning to artificial intelligence and advanced digital tools to modernize its century-old engineering, procurement and construction model.
The Reston, Virginia-based builder selected John Platt as its senior vice president of EPC transformation, a new role that will change how the contractor delivers its engineering, procurement and construction services, the company announced on Monday.
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Platt, who joined Bechtel in 2000, will helm the initiative as Bechtel aims to overhaul the delivery process via advanced digital technologies, AI, automation and robotics. The step builds on the company’s multiyear initiative to expand quality and execution capacity as it looks to build large projects around the world.
“Our customers’ ambitions continue to grow, and advances in technology are creating new opportunities for our industry to improve productivity and speed, increasing our capacity to deliver more projects and meet the world’s biggest challenges,” said Craig Albert, Bechtel’s president and chief operating officer, in the news release.
The contractor has integrated digitization, robotics and automation into its delivery methods on jobsites and a portfolio of proven use cases, per the news release. The company also believes that AI has matured to the point where it can further fuel Bechtel’s work.
Bechtel’s move comes amid a red-hot data center market that can provide opportunities for builders who can erect the infrastructure necessary for these structures as well as for those who want to use AI to transform their businesses.
The contractor, for its part, is doing both: The company in October signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Commerce to support Japan’s $550 billion investment in U.S. power, data center and manufacturing infrastructure. The company also partnered with chipmaking giant Nvidia to speed up data center construction via Nvidia’s Omniverse blueprint.
Bechtel also targets massive infrastructure megaprojects domestically. For example, the firm won $4.77 billion of work as part of the Rio Grande liquefied natural gas build in Texas. Bechtel’s contract is part of the overall $6.7 billion Train 4 project and its related infrastructure, which will produce 6 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas.
Executives said the new role is intended to knit those large, complex efforts together with emerging technology so projects can be delivered faster and with fewer risks.
“By integrating AI and robotics more deeply into our execution model, we’re evolving our processes — building on more than a century of experience while embracing modern approaches that unlock greater value and productivity for our customers,” Platt said in the news release.
The creation of a dedicated EPC transformation post signals how rapidly large contractors are moving beyond pilot programs into enterprise-wide adoption of AI. Industry analysts note that firms delivering energy, transportation and data center megaprojects face mounting pressure to shorten schedules while coping with labor shortages and volatile supply chains. Digital project delivery — from generative design to automated quantity tracking — is increasingly viewed as essential rather than experimental.
Bechtel’s partnership with Nvidia and its involvement in global data center expansion position the company at the intersection of two growth trends: the need for physical infrastructure to support AI and the use of AI to build that infrastructure more efficiently. Competitors across the sector are launching similar initiatives, but Bechtel’s scale gives it an unusually large testing ground for robotics, predictive analytics and automated procurement.
The appointment of Platt, a long-tenured executive familiar with the firm’s traditional processes, suggests Bechtel intends to blend innovation with established project controls rather than replace them outright. Observers expect the transformation effort to focus first on high-repeat activities such as modular fabrication, construction sequencing and supplier coordination before expanding to fully autonomous jobsite operations.
Originally reported by Matthew Thibault, Reporter in Construction Dive.
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