News Detail

Preparing ACI for the Future

4/1/2019

Like most successful businesses, both for-profit and not-for-profit, ACI has a Strategic Plan that defines its mission and vision and lays out a roadmap for future success of the Institute. Recognizing that strategic plans are often more philosophical and inspirational in nature and can lack specifics, ACI supplemented its Strategic Plan with two important additional documents—an environmental scan that we call our Outlook 2030 report and an Operations Plan.

The Outlook 2030 report was prepared by a task group comprising members and staff and was adopted by the ACI Board in 2015. This report answers the question "What will ACI look like in 2030?" by identifying megatrends and external driving forces that will impact ACI and providing nine recommendations for maintaining a vital and healthy Institute. The Operations Plan is a staff-prepared document that takes the strategies and conditions outlined in the Strategic Plan and Outlook 2030 report and translates them into specific tactical objectives and tasks. The Operations Plan is continually updated and presently has 30 goals and over 120 subtasks. While much of our staff’s focus is on day-to-day Institute operations, we also spend considerable time preparing ACI for the future.

Although it would be wonderful to provide an update on everything staff is doing to prepare ACI for the future, the confines of this column do not allow that. Instead, I am going to focus on just a few issues and opportunities identified in the Outlook 2030 report.

One of the megatrends identified in Outlook 2030 is that the next generation of volunteers will have less time to offer than previous generations. So, we need to make sure that our committee members' time is well spent, and we must encourage staff to step in when necessary and appropriate to develop market-driven products. One example of this is The Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook (SP-17). Staff now produces this important publication so that it remains in sync with the latest version of the 318 Building Code. Volunteers are still involved and vital to the process, as they vet and review the final document, so we are confident that it can carry the ACI logo. This teaming of effort between staff and volunteers allows ACI to produce high-quality publications for the concrete industry. In a similar vein, staff is working on a digitally enhanced version of the upcoming 318 Building Code. Staff will augment the Code as produced by the committee by adding features such as user notes; links to cited references; and 3-D rotatable graphics to the digital, subscription-based version of the Code.

Another megatrend noted in Outlook 2030 is a growing movement to localization in codes and standards, a trend which is particularly strong in the Middle East. In recognition of this, staff worked with the Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization and Saudi Building Code National Committee to enter into agreements to allow those groups to adapt ACI’s Building Codes to their regional conditions. In addition, ACI now has an office in the Middle East (Dubai) staffed by a full-time Regional Director. We have also added a full-time staff member in the engineering department to support the adoption of ACI codes and standards domestically and internationally. Finally, staff has and is developing detailed international marketing plans for all regions of the world. These plans will ensure that ACI deploys its resources in a prudent and efficient manner.

The Outlook 2030 report also recognizes the need for a robust business model that is responsive to changing market needs and a growing collection of products offered by ACI. To this end, staff have worked with resellers to offer ACI customers multiuser/multisite customized access to our documents. This effort has not only resulted in a product offering better aligned with customer needs but has also boosted ACI revenue from this distribution network by over 400%.

These are just a few examples of efforts that will ensure that ACI remains relevant, financially strong, and attractive and responsive to our membership today, in 2030, and beyond. As the famous American baseball player Yogi Berra said, "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else." I am confident that, with staff working closely with ACI membership, ACI will end up exactly where we want and need to be next year and well into the future.

Always Advancing,

Ronald G. Burg, PE
ACI Executive Vice President
ACI Foundation Trustee