The construction industry is one of the oldest industries in human society. People have been building things for millennia. But the construction sector has a reputation for being a little bit stubborn when it comes to adopting new technologies, albeit being a stable industry over the long arc of history.
Unlike other industries that have seen massive productivity gains over the years due to technological innovation, construction, which include steel building construction, remains the same throughout the decades that passed. But now, this is beginning to change.
As waves of technologies emerge, the construction industry is fast catching up, gradually enhancing the productivity of construction workers globally. BuiltTech, one of these emergent technologies, promises to usher in a new era of efficiency in the construction industry.
What is BuildTech?
BuildTech refers to innovations that aim to enhance the work capacity of construction companies. They consist of different technologies with various applications, allowing construction workers and construction companies to complete projects quickly and efficiently. So, let’s take a look at these types of technology that are making construction works faster.
Example Applications of BuildTech
There has been a sizable increase in the number of tech start-up companies that are eyeing to the construction sector, seeing opportunities that some of their peers have failed to notice. Due to the lack of innovation in the construction industry, many vulnerabilities in existing companies are begging to be exploited. Promising innovation is helping improve how companies design and follow through on the projects they are completing, including steel buildings.
More importantly, these tech solutions are helping reduce the prevalence of many of the weaknesses and problems plaguing the construction industry for decades. Some of the following technologies are making heaps of difference around the world:
Drone Applications
Drones on construction sites are popular nowadays. One of the most popular applications of these drones has been its use in bricklaying, which help improve construction speed in urban environments. Some companies fly drones to take pictures of construction sites, allowing contractors to take photos from angles that are often too difficult for humans to reach. Hence, these gadgets help cover any construction project all at once.
3D Printing Designs
3D printers have come a long way in the last two decades. It was not long ago that people would laugh at producing something from a 3D printer for a construction project. Today, observers note that the applications for 3D printers in architecture or construction industries are still in the developmental stages. Yet, there have been promising results so far. 3D printers have been producing components for specialty devices and machines for a few years now.
The most significant factor holding these back from seeing more widespread application in the construction industry for on-site item production is the cost of a large-scale 3D printer. These devices have been reducing in price for years now. Still, it should become more affordable to the mainstream relatively soon.
Laser Precision Cutting Machines
Not many companies can construct buildings with things they can find at any local Home Depot. When a construction workforce needs to have a particular type of item produced for them, they can always make their own if they have the equipment or contract out for it. When they contract out to have things created, this can take both time and money. Sometimes it can take a very long time for them to receive the equipment. Laser Precision cutting machines can speed up the production of specialty items for construction projects.
Laser Precision cutting machines can be used on the job site. With these cutting machines, a company in need of a specialty item for a project will be able to cut it themselves with as much accuracy as a professional laser cutter would be able to do. These devices are revolutionizing the management of construction projects. These high-tech cutting machines promise to reduce further the costs of her requisitioning custom materials for construction sites.
Virtual And Augmented Reality
While they may sound like they are the same, there is a difference between virtual and augmented reality. Virtual reality places you in an entirely virtual world wholly disconnected from the physical world around you. Meanwhile, augmented reality uses your devices to help show you a layer of digital items on top of the real world around you. Although virtual reality and augmented reality have earned mainstream status among video game aficionados, they gradually become popular in the construction firms.
Virtual reality used for the production of building plan presentations is on the rise. While the best architects would create full-scale model constructions of the plans that they were managing using physical materials, this was both time-consuming and laborious. Not to mention that doing so can be wasteful of physical documents.
Today architects are now able to produce their building plans fully realized in three-dimensional environments that can be explored using virtual reality. These types of presentations take much less time and are much less resource-intensive to produce. This has helped reduce the cost of producing building plan presentations and enhanced the speed of building it.
Architects can use augmented reality on the site of a construction project. AR allows a crew to walk around with their smart device and point their camera at specific places or spots they are looking for. On their AR digital menu, they can choose or select items to lay on top of the scenery. This allows them to modulate their designs on the fly while also making sure they look right when done. These augmented reality construction applications can help reduce errors or mistakes made over the course of a project. Of course, it should come easy to see how this could reduce the overall cost of completing construction on something.
Benefits of BuildTech
There are many benefits companies can derive from implementing advanced technological applications in their construction projects.
While construction may seem like a straightforward thing to do, there is more to it than meets the eye. Hence, the development of innovative solutions to address the construction industry’s problems is more than welcome. Construction companies that are slow or reluctant to adapt to the changing market conditions will be left behind and crushed by a hypercompetitive landscape. Companies that learn how to use them effectively earlier and knows how to adapt will have the edge over those who are slow to adopt these technological breakthroughs. There are multiple reasons why this is so.
Below we have arranged a few of the most critical benefits companies can expect to receive upon implementing these types of technological applications and devices. While there are more than what we have listed, this should serve as a useful guide for you to start.
Easier Decision-Making Process
Construction managers play a stressful, demanding job. They are not only responsible for all of the materials on the job site and constrained by the timeline of the project. They will also need to meet all of their employees’ needs and demands, as well.
Finding the right technological solutions for these types of management dilemmas reduce the total overhead on the cost of administrative staff. By allowing administrative staff to centralize their management functions more efficiently, they will be able better to understand the needs of the project at hand. This will not only serve to reduce the waste of material on the job site but also reduce the waste of unneeded working hours. Making it easier for the management and administrative teams to make decisions on the job site will also help to speed up the completion rate of different projects.
More Efficient Workflow
Construction sites are well known for the enormous amount of waste that is produced by its various departments. Since so many different moving parts need to work in harmony on a full-scale project, workflow often takes a back seat to the overall project itself.
Adopting technological solutions to let the workforce communicate with each other more effectively can bring workflow efficiency to the job site. As workflow is improved, workers are equipped to contribute and add more value to the company at a fraction of the time they spend working. This should lead to an increase in the overall valuations of any construction company with access to these types of technologies.
Lower Overhead Costs
When it comes to running its construction business, people are not always aware of the enormous overhead costs they need to deal with. Many of these overhead costs are not required, but difficult to eliminate without proper oversight of the entire company.
Building technology will allow people to have instant access to every single moving component of a construction firm. This will enable them to quickly identify and eliminate any waste, whether it is material or human resources waste. As you can imagine, this will lead to an enhancement of the company’s overall profitability.
More Effective Control of the Workforce
One of the most challenging aspects of being a manager on a construction team is ensuring that you have full control over the workforce. Since people work in different places, it isn’t easy to have everything centralized for management.
Technology and the applications of this technology show the world that there is a different way, and it is possible to have a more effective and centralized management team on construction sites.
An effective centralized control mechanism allows the administrative staff to enhance the workforce’s overall capacity, even without adding additional workforce. A more efficient workforce is a more productive workforce, and that is the end of the story.
Better Resource Management
Resource waste massively drains the finances of construction corporations. Whether it is the result of overpriced materials or merely the ineffective use of the materials, any mistakes can seriously hamper the bottom line of any construction company.
Technological applications that improve resource management will lead to improved quarterly earning goals.
Future Tech Trends in the Construction Business
As the world continues to march towards a more connected and technological future, so will the construction industry follow in its footsteps.
As new and better technologies emerge, we can expect more improvements in how construction projects are handled and managed. It is an exciting future we are all going to march in, especially for us, members of the construction industry.
Article first appeared on ArchDaily.com
