ABSTRACT
Accepting the fast-paced changes and constantly learning about new technology will mean the quality professional maintains confidence in a reasonable level of understanding of what is going on around them. How technology will morph and evolve is very difficult to attempt to forecast but there are seven clear themes emerging for quality professionals to understand and learn how to best adapt to, in order to optimise quality management and business results: Digital fluency, people skills, data explosion, critical thinking, thinking machines, advanced materials and artificial intelligence (AI). The amount of data is continuing to increase exponentially, making it impossible for quality professionals to manually manage and manipulate it all. AI will assist the critical thinking processes to summarise ideas and challenges. Not only will sensors be embedded into concrete but sensitive meters with software will assess brickwork. Combining technologies in construction materials through solar paving and roads will push the boundaries of traditional quality management.
