2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In recent years, advanced technologies such as BIM, VR, and AI have become increasingly common in construction engineering and management education, as well as in professional practice. While these technologies support project planning, visualization, management, collaboration, and decision making, concerns have emerged regarding how increasing reliance on digital systems may influence professional judgment. Construction remains a people-centered field, where situational awareness, responsibility, and judgment matter as much as technical skill. As a result, educators and industry professionals have begun questioning whether the convenience of digital technologies is shaping how construction professionals think and make decisions. To explore this issue, this study collected perspectives from both academia and industry. Students and faculty in construction engineering and management programs and related disciplines participated in surveys to examine how digital systems influence learning behavior, problem-solving approaches, and confidence in practical tasks. From an industry perspective, company leaders, project managers, and engineers were surveyed to understand how Construction 4.0 tools are perceived to affect professional behavior and decision-making among early-career practitioners. The investigation focused on reliance on automation, situational awareness, and accountability. Analysis revealed several consistent patterns. Students generally credited digital technologies with strengthening technical confidence and efficiency, while scenario-based decision tasks showed that most students favored verification-oriented actions when interacting with digital systems. However, this tendency weakened under contextual pressures such as time constraints or procedural hierarchy. Faculty and senior industry practitioners expressed concern that sustained dependence on automation may reduce situational awareness and blur responsibility when digital outputs are accepted without adequate scrutiny. Overall, the findings suggest that while digital technologies enhance efficiency and precision, their influence on professional judgment is context dependent. Construction programs and organizations must balance digital fluency with experiential and reflective learning so that technology supports professional judgment rather than replaces it.