Staying On Top Of The Latest Technologies In Construction
Construction by its very nature has always been a predominantly physical trade that requires being hands-on and on-site. As a result, the industry has been slower than other sectors to adopt new technologies that could help with today’s challenges in the field, such as skilled labor shortages, tight budgets, affordability issues, inconsistences in profitability, and costly safety risks.
At the root of the problem is a lack of understanding about the latest modern technologies that are designed to streamline job processes and make procedures more efficient. This must change if companies want to stay competitive and that starts with construction managers and executives who must become knowledgeable about technological offerings and invest in these new solutions.
Here are some new developments that can help construction managers modernize their businesses.
SOFTWARE
Today’s construction management should start with project software, an integrated cloud-based solution that helps project managers and their teams to share data between accounting, operations, field teams, human resources, the executive suite, and more. Project software also assists personnel in planning their projects, estimating costs, creating new jobs, and simplifying recruitment, employee management and teams.
In addition, construction software allows project managers, executives and owners to see the big picture when it comes to costs, job progress and potential issues. It also helps them to identify new trends and project future work.
Here is a breakdown on how construction software can help companies in the following areas:
- Project planning and scheduling: Construction management software provides tools needed to create detailed project plans, including comprehensive schedules, and helps managers allocate resources so that projects stay on track, meet deadlines, and identify potential conflicts or delays.
- Document management: Construction software enables managers and contractors to organize documents, including contracts, permits, blueprints and specifications, and to reduce the risks of miscommunications, delays and errors.
- Collaboration: Management software provides communications tools that aid in collaboration among team members, subcontractors and stakeholders. These tools include messaging systems, document sharing and comment threads, thus promoting transparency and coordination among participants.
- Resource management: Software can help track and allocate resources such as labor, equipment and materials, and enable contractors to monitor resources, assign tasks, and track resource applications, while minimizing down time and maximizing productivity.
- Change order management: Construction software makes it easier for contractors to document and track changes and how these impact project schedules and budgets. It also allows for better communications with stakeholders, which can minimize disputes, and ensure proper documentation and effective change management.
- Reporting and analytics: This feature of construction software can provide valuable understanding about project performances. It can also generate reports on project progress and budget variances that allow construction managers to make informed decisions and target those areas that need improvement.
- Integration: Construction management software allows for integration with other systems, including accounting software, management tools and scheduling platforms. Doing so streamlines data flow, improves efficiency, enhances accuracy, and minimizes errors.
VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY
This construction technology provides visualization of construction projects, including remote site inspections, and improves safety and communications among construction workers. It enables an image of a completed project to be overlaid on an empty site view or blueprint, making it easier to visualize the results. In addition, construction workers can review documents, guides and checklists, access information about equipment, and identify potential hazards.
DRONES
Although a decade in use, drones are an important technological addition to any construction company. Demand for new, more sophisticated and AI-oriented drones is increasingly growing, with additions that include real-time aerial imagery and 3D lidar scans. Plus, AI-oriented drones provide interoperability with scanning to BIM modes which allows for sharing of data within microseconds.
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
Blockchain technology was introduced a decade ago and continues to serve as a link to data blocks, like digital ledgers that include records of all transactions and completed steps of projects. Each link in the process represents a project’s individual transactions, balancing out what still needs to be done.
DIGITAL TWINS AND AS-BUILTS
Digital twins and as-builts are the latest additions to new construction technology. Both help to solve operation management issues via the use of simulation in creating building prototypes. Their use of intelligent multidimensional digital models allows for the ability to simulate, predict and make informed decisions based on real-world conditions, resulting in fewer buildings with operational issues. In addition, digital twins and as-builts can predict carbon footprints and simulate various scenarios. They also gather design and build information that helps to predict operational and maintenance costs, as well as material and labor projections.
3D LASER SCANNER
The 3D laser scanner is one of the newest technologies in the construction industry, and it is constantly being updated. Known for its ability to scan and analyze real-world objects, it is used for on-site surveying, mapping, project inspections and safety, making building planning easy and cost effective.
4D SIMULATION
4D simulation is a new technical solution that allows construction companies to save time and money, both onsite and offsite, by using specific 4D software that combines time, site, design and logistics. Basically, 4D simulations equal 3D models plus time and scheduling information to allow project teams to visually plan, design and test solutions to potential problems during the planning phase.
BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of the fastest growing technologies worldwide because of its interoperability and its ability to create one or more precise digital models of buildings. BIM involves all departments in a company working together as a collaborative process from start to finish. This allows all parties involved to visualize and analyze design decisions and target possible errors before work has begun.
3D PRINTING
3D printing in construction involves making three-dimensional buildings from digital models via technologies such as BIM.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, enables computers and machines to mimic human intelligence, and is increasingly being used in numerous industries including construction. For the building industry, this means that companies can analyze historical data to determine patterns and probabilities of risk and overruns and predict realistic timelines for projects. It can also help personnel to explore different scenarios and create alternatives, including weather, traffic and community activity, and predict potential delays, fatigue, timelines and cost overruns.
OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN CONSTRUCTION
- Prefabrication and industrialized construction: the increase in off-site fabrication in the construction industry has increased efficiency and productivity, and decreased waste and costly mistakes.
- Mobile devices: Mobile technology has improved project management via smartphones and tablets that enable all parties to work together using the same informational sources. Mobile devices also allow for real-time analytics, which allows construction managers to keep track of performances, conditions and costs, and predict possible corrections so that projects can stay on schedule and within budget.
- Robotic Total Stations: This technology, also known as RTS, is an electronic theodolite integrated with an electronic
distance measurement that can be remote controlled even from a distance. It eliminates the need for a team that uses building drawings, a tape measure, and a theodolite to measure angles, a method that can be time consuming and difficult and has a large margin of error that may result in wasted time, money and materials. RTS instead uses a tablet that is equipped with software that enables the layout to be completed by one employee, rather than several, and ensures greater efficiency and accuracy with fewer mistakes, less paperwork, and reduced labor costs.
- Sustainable building materials: Construction companies are increasingly seeking ways to lessen their carbon footprints, and sustainable building materials is not only good for the planet, but can reduce costs, improve energy efficiency, and increase property values. These materials include Cross-Laminated Timber, reclaimed wood, bamboo recycled rubber, straw bales, hempcrete and ferrock. Some of these materials are able to absorb and trap carbon dioxide and can reduce overall construction costs by five to fifteen percent. In addition, demand for sustainably made buildings is high, potentially leading to higher occupancy and rental rates.
- Cloud computing: At the heart of the technologies that are necessary in today’s construction industry is cloud computing. It allows companies to outsource data processing and storage to unlimited online storage sites so that data is available to stakeholders and construction teams in real-time and is no longer reliant on timely and inconvenient in-person meetings. Cloud computing solutions simplify data storage and access. and protect companies from data loss, damage and theft.
USING TECHNOLOGY TO STAY COMPETITIVE AND LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD
Competition is fierce in today’s construction industry, where limited budgets and resources as well as severe labor shortages make it difficult to compete, particularly for mid-sized companies. Therefore, companies who embrace and invest in the latest technologies will have the advantage of being able to streamline their business models, reduce costs and improve efficiency, while increasing profits and improving client relationships. In addition, they will stand out to potential new clients, as well as appeal to younger workers who have grown up using technology and expect it in their working environment.
Considering that the industry suffers from intense competition, a crowded field, and an aging workforce that is shrinking, construction companies must stay up to date on the latest innovations in order to stay on top.
