The construction industry is undergoing a period of radical change. For both mature and growing economies, the construction industry provides important links with other sectors to boost economic growth. In the future, the industry is expected to help solve current climate challenges, shape a city’s outlook, and address energy-related issues. Another challenge that technology is set to change is the issue of safety. I often talk about how dangerous construction work can be on my website LeverInjuryLaw.com and it looks like future trends might lessen some of these dangers. To answer the question of what construction is going to look like in the future, it is important to look at the various technologies that already exist in the industry.
Four Future Changing Trends
1. Building Information Modeling
The adoption of Building Information Modeling (BMI) is on the rise. It provides a collaborative way for contractors, architects, surveyors, and engineers to work together and lessen unnecessary costs. It also enables the building owners to make sound decisions before, during and after construction. To ensure that this is not only a theory, the UK construction industry became an early adopter of BMI in April 2016, and the trend is likely to affect all public sector construction projects.
2. Using Robots For Efficiency
Robots are being used to plug the construction technology gaps by providing skills, driving down costs, and accelerating the speed of projects. A recent report by Bank of America stated that the total global market for robots and artificial intelligence is set to reach 99 billion dollars by 2020 and, construction is going to be a major sector influenced by this technology.
Today, the use of manual operation on construction sites is being overtaken by the use of fast machines, like robots. They are being used for their cost-saving characteristics as well as for health and safety considerations. One example of this is the Australian-designed robot by the name Hadrian. Hadrian reportedly brings a 15,000-bricked house to completion in two days. Using a robot like Hadrian is touted as a game-changer because of its efficiency at a lower cost and high-quality level than manual bricklaying methods.
3. The Big Data Concept
The big data concept refers to the huge quantities of information that have been stored in the past and continue to be stored up-to-date. The data has the possibility of being sustainably used in the future to boost efficiency in both the construction and other sectors. The source of big data can be computers, machines, sensors, or any other data-generating devices.
In construction, specifically, the data is built on already existing plans and records of any building that was ever built. The constant addition of input from diverse sources such as cranes, earth movers, and material supply chains adds to the bulk of the big data. The idea of harnessing big data was built on gaining more insights on the sector while making better rational decisions in construction management. This will help in accessing more data and properly analyzing it to draw conclusions that are tailor-made for practical building and construction.
The construction industry deals with large volumes of (heterogeneous) data that is expected to increase exponentially with the ever-updated technologies like sensors. The recent emergence of big data has helped construction sites with plenty of information to transform the construction process.
4. Internet Of Things
This technology will be used in to monitor and measure the performance of assets over a given period of a life cycle. Internet of things will allow construction machinery, equipment, materials and also structures to communicate to a central platform. This will enhance capturing of critical data to help improve performance parameters. It is a concept expected to favor the world of smart city and towns. It is believed that the internet of things allows construction companies to learn from the data while adapting future designs that saves on costs. Furthermore, it will allow for predictive repairs and maintenance on construction sites which will help to avoid potential threats in the future.
From most of these advances, we can deduce that the future of construction is going to be characterized by more advanced construction technologies and greater site efficiency. These advancements in technology will significantly minimize construction injuries and lead to more spectacular civil engineering structures. It will further help in conserving energy and in solving some climate challenges.
Author Bio:
David B. Lever, founded the law firm, David B. Lever & Associates, PLLC in 2014 and is the firm’s top legal strategist. He has fought for the rights of accident victims and consumers for over 24 years. His area of practice is Personal Injury-Plaintiff, that includes construction accidents.