Can the construction industry close the productivity gap?

The construction industry has generally been regarded as a slow adopter of technology.  On the majority of the world’s construction sites, the labour intensive method by which buildings are constructed has changed very little over the last 20 to 30 years.

Contrast this with other industries such as manufacturing, IT and automotive, and a brief review of key statistics such as cost per unit, time to construct, productivity and energy efficiency will quickly reveal how poor our industry shapes up.

There are a number of factors which have conspired to hinder industrialisation in the construction industry including:

• Fragmentation. The separation of design, construction and maintenance organisations together with the sheer range in scale of companies from self-employed individuals to multi-national organisations.
• Labour intensive. In developed countries, construction workers jobs have been protected by unions providing a barrier to automation.  Conversely, in most developing nations where labour is cheap, there is less of a financial incentive to replace the human labour force with machines.
• The complex, one off nature of projects. Unlike manufacturing, IT and automotive, the end product in construction varies considerably making standardisation and industrialisation more difficult.

It’s not all doom and gloom however.  There are signs that technology is starting to positively impact the construction industry such as drones for surveying and inspections at height, Building Information Modelling (BIM) during the design stage, standardisation / modularisation, prefabrication, 3D printing and the development of new building materials.  However there is long way to if the industry is to get anywhere near the levels of efficiency improvements enjoyed by most other industries.

It is widely recognised that the construction industry is a major contributor to the GDP of a country and an important driver for economic growth.  Globally, the construction industry represents 13% of the world economy of approximately US$100 trillion.  Just imagine the additional growth potential if the construction industry could become more efficient and productive.

The next generation construction industry must strive for a step change in the way buildings are designed and constructed.  Modern methods of construction need to learn from many of the lean manufacturing methods developed in other industries such as:

• Improved integration and alignment throughout the supply chain.
• Elimination of over-production and waste.
• Reduction of excessive inventory.
• Elimination of unnecessary transportation.
• Reduction in waiting time.
• Improvements in quality.
• Introduction of robotics.

21st Century, data-driven digital technologies have the potential to transform the way buildings are designed and constructed.  Our industry must quickly adopt technology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to close the productivity gap on other industries.

With BIM at its heart, the construction industry has the potential to become fully integrated based on an end to end, digital process where Architects, Engineers, Suppliers and Constructors all work together, from a common, real time, database of information, to design buildings that are easier and quicker to fabricate.  Much of the construction could be undertaken off site in factories and on site by robots.

Please join me in promoting the use of modern manufacturing and construction techniques in our industry.  I would be pleased to receive research papers or the contact details of groups who are supporting this initiative.