Introduction 2-3

The engineering shortage 4-6

A framework for engineering automation 7-15

Industry challenges 16-19

Strategies for reaching the high value zone 20-31

Conclusion and take-aways 32-34

About VIKTOR 35-36

 Introduction
Recent reports show a worldwide decline in engineering graduates.
Moreover, 85% of companies have been struggling with filling open
positions. A problem that only gets worse, as fewer students are
graduating for engineering studies each year. To top that off, almost
20% of the current UK workforce of engineers is set to retire in 2026.

While engineers are becoming scarcer, demands in the architecture,

engineering, and construction industries continue to rise. We need to
build faster, cheaper, and more sustainable. Automation has been a
well-known solution to increase productivity and keep up with
demands, but the current situation calls for a type of automation that
goes beyond the status quo. The industry needs a way to make
engineers more scalable and freed from repetitive work, so they can
focus on solving complex challenges.

In this whitepaper, we present a framework for engineering automation

that helps you understand how you can create automation initiatives
that generate real impact within your organization.

4
 The shortage of engineers
Humanity faces enormous challenges. Global warming, the ever-growing
population and rising water levels are just a few examples. Because of
this, requirements for the things that are built and designed become
higher each year: we need to build faster, cheaper and with less impact
on the environment.

Meanwhile, we struggle with another challenge: a worldwide shortage of

engineers.

• In The Netherlands, only 8.7% of Master graduates specializes in

engineering. According to leading Dutch universities “The
shortage in engineers is a threat to a sustainable world”
(Wageningen University, 2023).

• In the United Kingdom, just 61.2% of the core engineering roles

are being filled, with 19.5% of engineers retiring by 2026 (ECITB,
2018).

• In the United States, there are not enough engineers to tackle

the surge in infrastructure projects funded by federal initiatives
(American Society of Civil Engineers, 2023)

• Australia faces an engineering skill crisis by 2040 (Professionals

Australia, 2023).

• Software provider Autodesk states that even 4 out of 5

architecture, engineering, or construction (AEC) organizations
have a hard time finding qualified professionals.

6
 This shortage has significant consequences. Not only do engineering
jobs become more stressful, but it also negatively affects innovation,
productivity, sustainability, and growth while driving up costs.

Consequences Shortage Engineers

rodu ti it

ustainabilit

rowth

nno ation

ost

tress

With many engineers retiring soon and fewer students starting

engineering degrees every year, the world is in desperate need for a
solution: engineering automation at scale!

“We need to a hie e more with less effort to work smarter, not
harder. Automation is key to this, and we need engineers… The
industry needs graduates who can take designs from concept
through to construction as effi ientl and a uratel as possible”

Peter Debney
Author of Computational Engineering | Institute of Structural Engineers

7
 A framework for engineering automation

The current approach to automation

A well-known solution that is used by many engineers to increase
productivity, is automation.

For long, engineers have been automating parts of their workflow, often
starting with spreadsheets (e.g. Excel), visual programming (e.g.
Grasshopper, Dynamo), or simple scripting (e.g. Python, Jupyter
Notebooks). The impact of these automation tools, however, is often
limited. In most cases, they are used on an individual level or by small
groups of people.

In most cases, communication and data exchange is still manual. We

work in silos where different specialists focus on their own discipline. To
get to a solution, we use our tools to improve the designs and exchange
our data and insights via spreadsheets, mails, and phone, and repeat the
process multiple times until finding a solution. This is not only
inefficient, but also prone to error.

To achieve automation that truly makes an impact on a larger scale,

engineers require a more accessible and scalable solution. They require
tools that play a central role in the process, integrate multiple software
packages and disciplines, and are user-friendly. We need to stop re-
inventing the wheel and start leveraging each other's knowledge and
skills, so all engineers can have access to tools that allow them to
become more efficient and productive.

9
 Five levels of automation
To show the impact of different automation initiatives, we created a
framework to help in this discussion: the 5 levels of automation.

1. Out of the box: You use standard, already existing tools that
help you automate part of your processes. For example, a tool to
convert a 3D model into a FEM model, or to do checks according
to a specific norm.

2. Simple Automation: You automate a part of your process

creating a custom tool or script in Excel, Python, Grasshopper,
Dynamo and others. For example, a script to generate a 3D
model or drawing automatically based on some input
parameters, or a sheet to post-process the results of an
analysis.

3. Integration: You make tools that integrate and exchange data

between at least two software packages by using their API or
other methods. For example, a script that runs a calculation on a
commercial software package and automatically imports the
results into an Excel sheet where you perform other
calculations or checks.

4. Multi-disciplinary: The tools you make cross the boundaries of

your own discipline and could integrate several commercial
programs to automate a larger part of the workflow. For
example, a Python script that runs both a structural calculation
and geotechnical calculation on two different packages.

5. Hyper-automation and AI: Besides connecting different

software packages, you have advanced optimization routines

10
 or use artificial intelligence to compare hundreds of designs
and get the best solution across a large part of the design
process. For example, the previously mentioned Python script
not only runs the structural and geotechnical calculations, but
also analyses multiple designs until finding a solution that fulfils
the requirements at both sides, whilst also producing the
engineering reports and drawings.

The high-value zone

After reading about the five levels of automation, you may be
wondering: does the highest level of automation necessarily provide the
highest value for your team? To answer this question, we need to look at
two factors: usage and impact.

Value for your team is the combination of both. So, how often a tool is
used times the impact that its use generates.

Value = Usage x mpa t

To better explain this, let us leave engineering aside for a moment and
take an example from everyday life. Google search is of tremendous
value because it helps us find information quickly. However, a single
search rarely has a dramatic impact on our lives. It is the fact that we can
find information and that millions of people use it each day that defines
its real value. Therefore, Google search is a high usage – low impact tool.

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 At the other side of the spectrum, you have the low usage – high impact
tools. These are tools that are used by a few people (inside a company)
but have a tremendous impact when doing so. We could say these tools
have strategic value. They could make the difference between winning
or losing a million-dollar tender, or between getting a good solution for
a large infrastructure project on time or delaying it for years and making
costly mistakes.

To create value, it is not necessary that a tool has high usage and high
impact. After all, both examples mentioned here also provide real value.
The only requirement is that the combination of usage and impact is
enough for the tool to fall into the 'high alue zone’, which can be seen
on this graph.

1. Usage: How often are the tools used and by how many people?
This is affected by the number of people that can be helped by a
tool and how often they use it for their projects. You can have a
direct influence on this statistic by ensuring user-friendliness,
accessibility, and awareness of the tool through promotion. Do
people know it exists, do they know where to find it, and are
they able to use it?

2. Impact: What is the impact of the tool? This could be time or

material savings, better planning, CO2 reduction, flexibility to
adapt to new requirements, risk reduction, competitive edge,
and more. Generally, higher impact tools are more complex by
nature and are a level 4 or 5 type of automation.

12
 Reflecting on the previous section, we can conclude that most of the
tools that engineers are currently making, like Excel sheets or
-value
zone. This is because they are either not user-friendly friendly enough

level of automation, making little impact per use.

“ f ou don’t do an thing with automation, ou risk losing to

your competitors. New technologies democratize, standardize,
and reuse a lot of knowledge to increase efficiency, productivity,
and o erall qualit of work.”

Michael van Telgen

Sr. Design Specialist at Arcadis

13
 Examples of high-value automation tools
Next, we will share three examples of tools created by engineering and
construction companies that fall into the high value zone. Either
because of their usage, impact, or combination of the two.

The longest immersed tunnel in the world

Between Puttgarden (Germany) and Rodbyhavn (Denmark), the longest

immersed road and rail tunnel in the world is being built. The tunnel
consists of 79 elements of 217 meters each, all with differing loads and
soil conditions. This means the optimal design, required steel
reinforcement, and concrete is different per element and through the
elements.

To optimise the design of the tunnel, COWI developed a parametric

design application that connects different software packages and
handles large amounts of data. Only a small group of engineers at COWI
uses this tool, but its use has great impact. It saves significant amounts
of material (and thereby CO2 emissions), reduces the risk of using wrong
information, and provides flexibility to adapt to unforeseen
circumstances.

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 Vessel workability assessment tool

Boskalis is a leading global dredging and offshore contractor and

maritime services provider with a large fleet of vessels. The Metocean
Data Engineering department within Boskalis plays a central role in the
ompan ’s operations, as it helps estimate how mu h time a vessel can
operate under certain weather conditions (the workability).

Boskalis made a user-friendly app based on an existing script to enable

more people inside their organization to quickly assess and update the
workability of vessels. The tool is often used by colleagues from multiple
divisions to determine the optimal moment to work on projects, such as
building a wind turbine at sea.

15
 Crane foundation design automation

The team at VINCI Construction built an application to automate crane

foundation design calculations. The app generates all the calculation
reports and production drawings and is used by about a dozen engineers
to automatically design around 225 crane foundations designs per year,
saving (give or take) 300 days of engineering work per year!

16
 Industry challenges
To meet productivity goals, the engineering and construction industry
needs to build tools that provide real value. o, how ome we often don’t
succeed at this?

In this chapter, we will explain the three main reasons for this in order
to create awareness and be able to discuss fitting solutions in the next
chapter.

First, most engineers automate using software tools that do not scale
(i.e. Excel, Grasshopper, Dynamo). These tools are fine for simple
automation tasks (level 1). However, it is easy to reach their technical
limits when trying to automate more complex workflows. For example,
with Excel you can automate some calculations, but hit the limit when it
comes to optimizations, handling larger data sets, generating 3D
models, reports, etc.

Moreover, tools like this are not made for collaboration. It is hard – and
very prone to error – to create a script or spreadsheet together with
other colleagues. For example, there is no effective way to see who made
changes to the logic or data and keep track of them. Add to fact that
people who are no expert in using specific software are not able to
operate it due to the complexity.

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 Required skills
Secondly, automating on a high level requires a set of skills that are not
taught at universities nor on internal company training programs.
Meanwhile, it is incredibly important for engineers to be able to
automate processes, as they are carrying the domain knowledge. It is
the engineer who really knows how to design bridges, tunnels, or
buildings, not the IT department.

When it comes to required skills, there are two types of challenges most
engineers face. On one hand, you have the technical skills required to
automate workflows to a higher level, like having a good understanding
of programming, code version control, knowing how to design and make
a user-friendly interface, etc. On the other hand, you need to understand
how to plan an automation project, evaluate its value for the
organization, create a business case to secure time and budget to work
on it, gather feedback to improve, involve the end-users, and create
awareness by actively promoting the tools.

“ n 20 ears, e er engineer will know thon, and e er

engineering team will be developing their own tools. That is what
is needed to keep up with high demands, whilst also making
repetiti e work less boring.”

Alexandre Cousin
Head of Generative Design at VINCI Construction

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 Pressure on projects
The last challenge most engineers in our industry face is related to the
pressure they experience on projects. The average engineer is
overloaded with work, leaving little time to learn new skills or automate
workflows. Moreover, engineers often face pressure to prioritize billable
work, leaving only a couple of hours per week for other business.

During projects, time is often spent on performing (repetitive) tasks, like

updating models, post-processing results, and updating reports, while
this time could be better invested in automating these processes.
Instead, we need awareness and assistance from the people managing
engineering projects. They can secure time to invest at the beginning of
projects to spend on creating the right tools to automate parts.

“ t’s almost impossible to find time to de elop apps around our

day jobs. These apps would boost produ ti it , but we don’t ha e
time to make them - a terrible situation.”

Thomas Prior
Design Engineer at AtkinsRéalis

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 Strategies for reaching the high value zone
In the last chapter we discussed three reasons engineers are held back
from creating high-value automation tools. Next, we will explain the
strategy to overcoming these challenges, which consists of the following
three components:

1. People: the persons creating the automation tools and the

people who are using them.

2. Process: how and following what steps the automation tools are
created and upgraded

3. Technology: which software, framework, or platform is used to

create and use the automation tools

Although people, process, and technology are three separate

components, they cannot be seen as isolated from each other. Moreover,
your strategy should centre around how they come together. It's not
about just choosing the right technology, or about just educating and
upskilling employees; a successful strategy to creating high-value
automation tools consists of a holistic approach that combines people,
process, and technology.

In this chapter, we will share three types of these holistic approaches

which you can take inspiration from and apply yourself. Note that even
though applying elements of one approach is a great start, – similarly to
the three components – combining it all is the ultimate recipe for
success.

“We need more people who have command of these

te hnologies.”

Jerry Dehn
Vice President Design Delivery Transformation at Jacobs

22
 Start scaling your digital assets
In most engineering and construction companies, there are already
many automation tools in use, like Excel sheets, Python frameworks, and
Grasshopper or Dynamos scripts. Even though these are often simple
level-1-automation tools that are used by individuals or smaller groups
of people, it is undeniable that they capture valuable knowledge and are
important digital assets to your organization.

However, a large part of the value of these tools gets lost if they're only
used by a small group of people. Moreover, having automation tools
easily available could help colleagues struggling with high pressure on
projects and billability goals relieve some of the workload.

The first step in the process to getting your tools into the high-value
zone is by making them available to a broad public (increasing the usage
axis for high-value automation). But where to start?

Leverage existing tools

We advise that, together with your team, you create an overview of the
tools you already have. From this overview, select the tools with the
highest potential for being used by many people.

Next, the best way to make your knowledge and resources accessible to
others is by turning your tools into user-friendly web applications that
run your scripts or sheets in the background.

23
 “We ha e lots of engineering experien e that's lo ked awa in
people's brains. It's important to unlock that experience and
capture it for future use so we don't have to go back to the
drawing board at the start of every new project.”

Joseph Kearney
Automated Design Lead at Costain

Benefits of web apps

Now, you might wonder: what are the benefits of turning your tools into
a web application?

• User-friendly: A web application is accessible and easy to use,

even for people who are not familiar with (visual) programming
or large spreadsheets.

• Distribution: You can access web applications from any place,

without having specific software installed on your computer.

• Version control: you can be sure that everyone uses the latest
version of your code, and you avoid that there are multiple
versions in circulation.

• Protect IP: people an use our logi but don’t see the ode
behind it, so your IP is safe.

24
 Turning your tools into web applications can be challenging when using
technologies like general (Python) frameworks used by software
developers. Instead, engineers require something less complex and
more accessible to people of all skill levels.

Web apps with VIKTOR

That's why we created the VIKTOR platform, where it's made easy for all
engineers and domain experts to make user-friendly web apps which
run your own sheets or scripts in the background.

With different Helper Tools, such as converters, you can automatically

generate the code for a web app. For example, the Excel to Web App
converter can be used to turn your Excel sheets into web apps in just a
couple of steps.

You can also find other materials, such as beginner or intermediate-level

(video) tutorials that you can use to turn your spreadsheets, Python
code, or Dynamo and Grasshopper scripts into user-friendly web apps.

“We chose the VIKTOR platform for our application development

because of the focus on engineering. We speak the same
language. VIKTOR immediately understood our business needs
and the needs of our end-users – who are ultimately our
engineers.”

Mina Ya-alimadad
Deputy Lead for AI Initiative at McDermott

25
 Choose tech that scales with you
Another process to get your automations into the high-value zone is
creating or upgrading tools so they will generate more impact. Tools
that make more impact are often of a higher automation level (i.e. 4 or
5). As mentioned earlier, creating high-level automation tools requires a
higher level of automation skill, which is rarely found amongst
engineers.

This means companies must invest to educate their engineers (people)

to become future automation experts and be mindful to select
technologies that can grow with them. In some cases, organizations
even free up colleagues to solely work on automation initiatives,
removing the pressure of other day-to-day projects and billability goals.

Technology limitations
The first step to getting more value from your tools is choosing the right
technology to do so.

On the short term, sticking to Excel sheets for your automations might
feel like a safe and solid option. It is easy to start with and it works fine
for you after all, right? In the long run, however, you will continue to
improve your skill, have higher goals, and may notice that the technical
limitations of Excel can really hold you back in achieving automation
levels higher than 2. This forces you to change the way you automate
your workflows, and you realize that all the time spent creating tools
and learning more advanced Excel functionalities would have been
better invested in a technology that supports level 4 or 5 automation.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have programming languages

which are tremendously scalable and have virtually endless automation
possibilities. Python, for example, is a popular programming language in
the engineering industry because it is more friendly than other
languages. Additionally, there are many learning resources and free
open-source libraries available, for example, for structural and
geotechnical engineering, GIS, geometry manipulation, data processing,
artificial intelligence, and more. The drawback, however, is that
programming can also be perceived as having a steep learning curve,
making it less attractive for people starting with automation.

The ideal technology for automation has a low entry barrier, helps you
improve skills, and allows you to create advanced level 4 or 5 tools
without having to become a software developer.

26
 Levels 1 to 5 with VIKTOR
1. Out of the box
At VIKTOR, we have tools that enable engineers to create their first
applications using no-code. This is an easy way to create apps by clicking
and adding the different elements you want.

2. Simple automation
For more advanced apps, you can use low code. Low code means using a
programming language, in our case Python, to create the user-interface
and define the logic of your apps. However, the level of Python and the
amount of code required for making these apps is low in comparison to
frameworks used by professional software developers.

“The VIKTOR platform is very accessible to engineers. There is no

need to know any HTML, CS, JavaScript. Only Python. All
complexity that typically goes together with developing web
applications is removed. The user interface is very intuitive and
eas to use, whi h helps a lot with the adoption.”

Marina Villanueva
Global Technology Leader at Jacobs

27
 3. Integration

The next step is linking your external software programs to your app. We
provide all kinds of integrations that enable you to connect different
software packages so you can automate a larger portion of your
workflow.

4. Multidisciplinary

Additionally, you can integrate not only your own workflow but the
workflows of multiple other disciplines in your app. You can connect
several software packages to automate various processes within the
same app, improving multidisciplinary collaboration.

5. Hyperautomation and AI

f ou’re looking for the er er best results, we an fa ilitate this for

you as well. You can easily deploy and train your models on the VIKTOR
infrastructure to get advanced optimizations and compare numerous
results for the best solution. We have extensive knowledge about the
matter of training AI in the world of engineering and are happy to help
you get started!

28
 Upskilling with VIKTOR
In addition to the platform, VIKTOR also offers extensive learning
resources, training programs and support to help you ramp-up your skill
and be able to progress from level 1 to level 5 automation.

For example, we created an in-product learn page for the platform

where you can find videos, tutorials, and articles about how to automate
your workflows, create apps, integrate multiple software packages, and
more.

29
 3. Distribute & collaborate
In the first example approach, we discussed how turning your tools into
user-friendly web apps positively affects usage. However, there's
another part to increasing usage we have not discussed yet, which is
distribution at scale. We're talking about the process of creating
awareness of and engagement with the app (technology) amongst
potential users (people).

Centralize and distribute

To start, you should have a central location where people can share the
tools they make, and users can easily find the tools they need. It is
simple: if you cannot find a tool, you will not use it.

For example, on the VIKTOR platform, we provide organizations with a

private cloud environment where people in your team can publish and
share apps. It is also possible to make a private copy of the app for a
specific group of users, for example, for confidential projects. Contrarily,
you can also make apps public if you want everyone in the world to be
able to use them!

30
 Involve the end user
Involving users from an early stage on in the tool development has
proven to be one of the most effective ways to create high-value
applications. Creating a continuous feedback loop helps the creator of
the tool to understand how they can provide value and create a friendly
user-experience. Feedback can be provided directly, for example, by
suggesting improvements but also indirectly by requesting support or
reporting issues. Both types of feedback are incredibly valuable.

By making small, incremental improvements to the tools and constantly

acquiring feedback, the project gets organically steered in the right
direction. You also avoid the risk of investing lots of time on planning
and developing features that are not valued by the user.

Additionally, by making users part of the process, they are more inclined
to feel ownership of the tool. This later results in more willingness to
part from old methods, adopt the new tools you are creating, and even
help you promote them.

In VIKTOR apps, we encourage people to provide feedback by

automati all in luding a ‘help’ fun tion in the apps ou make. Using the
help function, people can suggest improvements or request support.
These messages are sent directly to the creators of the app and are
stored in a central location, so you review them when needed.

“Our goal is to provide our colleagues with easy-to-use Python

applications. The VIKTOR platform enables our engineers to
develop Python applications and distribute them amongst
colleagues securely. These colleagues don't need to have any
programming experien e to use the appli ations.”

Mark van den Brink

Digital Transformation Lead at WSP

31
 Actively promote
The last thing you should take into consideration is the importance of
actively promoting tools within and outside of your organization.

You can start by talking directly to colleagues to make them aware of

the existence of your tool. You can also host information sessions for
larger groups of people or create an information video and share this
with your colleagues via mail or other channels. Most companies have
internal communication channels or communication departments that
can help with spreading the message.

If you want to boost usage of your tools outside of your organization, it

helps sharing them on social media (i.e. LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Reddit) or
embedding them in your website's landing page or blog.

If you have made a VIKTOR app that you want to promote, we are happy
to help by adding it to the Apps Gallery, where you can find all kinds of
inspirational automation projects from the community!

32
 Conclusion and take-aways
Throughout this whitepaper, we have presented a framework for high-
value engineering automation to help you understand how you can
create automation initiatives that generate real value within your
organization.

Next, we will summarize the most important take-aways:

1. We face an engineering shortage. The pressure on engineers to

become more efficient and productive is rising by the day.

2. To keep up with demands, we must create automation tools

that provide real value. The correct combination of impact and
usage results in your tool reaching the high-value zone.

a. To measure the impact of an automation initiative, you

can use the 5 levels of automation framework. Rule of
thumb is that once your automation becomes more
complex, it generates higher impact.

b. Usage is affected by the number of people that can and

are using the tool. You can influence this by ensuring
user-friendliness, accessibility, and awareness.

3. However, most automation initiati es don’t rea h the high-

value zone because engineers 1) use tools that don’t s ale, 2)
don’t ha e the required skills to build the right tools, and 3)
experience pressure on projects.

4. The strategy to overcoming these challenges and reaching the

high-value zone is a holistic approach, consisting of a
combination of three components: people, process, and
technology. Some example strategies you can apply include:

a. Leveraging existing tools by choosing a technology that

makes them more accessible and user-friendly to other
people, for example by turning them into web-based
applications.

b. Choosing tech that scales. The ideal technology has a

low barrier to entry and allows you to improve your
skills, so you can create level 4 or 5 automations in the
future without being a software developer.

c. Creating awareness and engagement with the tool

amongst (potential) users, for example by involving
end-users in the creation or actively promoting it.

34
 We hope this whitepaper has given you the insights needed to start your
high-value automation journey. We wrote this document because it is
our mission to empower every engineer and domain expert to create
applications to automate their workflow. If you are ready to take the
next step, we wholeheartedly like to invite you to try our platform
yourself and discover how it can help you reach your goals!

“The VIKTOR platform and their entire service encourages users

to engage with the development process and gain further ideas
to improve the engineering process, cultivating an aspirational
innovation culture that maps easil onto KBR’s alues. This is no
longer a vendor-consumer relationship but a true partnership
where mutual benefits come by increasing engagement with all
V KTOR's apabilities.”

John Buckley
IT Manager at KBR

35
 About VIKTOR
VIKTOR is an application development platform that empowers
engineers and domain experts to rapidly create and deploy web apps.
Engineers use VIKTOR to automate workflows and simplify complex
tasks, giving them more time and flexibility to analyse different
scenarios, reduce risks, and generate better results. But VIKTOR is more
than just a tool to build and share apps. We are a community of like-
minded individuals who are passionate about engineering and dedicated
to advancing in the field!

Automate the boring.

Engineer the awesome!

Ready to level up your automation initiatives? Contact us!

Peter Madlener

CEO and Co-Founder

[email protected]

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