“Managing a Construction Site During Covid-19”

Since late 2018, our Oracle Industries Innovation Lab, a simulated worksite for testing and exploring cutting-edge technologies, has transformed into an actual construction worksite, full of equipment, materials, and teams working to deliver a planned expansion of the facility. In most recent months, as owners and contractors worked to come to grips with the impact of the growing COVID-19 health crisis, the construction landscape has shifted dramatically for many construction projects around the world, including our own.

Since then, as an owner of the Innovation Lab project, we have explored new processes and practices intended to safeguard the health of workers and the general public, while also keeping the project moving forward with as little disruption as possible. In confronting that challenge, we recognized that we already had a unique advantage in the Innovation Lab itself.  The facility, based outside Chicago, hosts several technologies whose unique capabilities could be brought to bear on the new set of problems the pandemic presented.

Burcin Kaplanoglu, PhD. | Vice President, Oracle Industry Innovation Labs

Dr. Burcin Kaplanoglu is a recognized industry technologist, innovator, thought leader, and keynote speaker. He is leading innovation for the Oracle Global Business Units (Industries) and is the Co-Founder of Oracle Industries Innovation Lab. Oracle Business Units provide best of breed industry solutions including Construction and Engineering, Utilities, Communications, Food and Beverage, Banking and Insurance Services, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Hospitality, Retail, Public Sector. He was recognized as one of the “BuiltWorlds 2020 Mavericks” in the Technologists category and one of the 7 “AEC Innovators” by @BD+C magazine. He received Oracle Construction and Engineering “Let’s build” award in 2020. He was named one of Engineering News Record (ENR)’s "Top 20 Under 40" in 2016. He is also an adjunct professor at Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering.

Kaplanoglu was previously vice president, director of operations at Lendlease’s Telecommunication’s infrastructure business unit, where he was responsible for innovation, strategy, and operations.