Covid-19 and speeding up construction industry trends
Although the process may seem complex, the basis for innovation is simple: problem-solving. Along the last few decades, construction industry has been under strong pressure for change, reinvention, for no other reason than solving its known problems.
Environmental impact, lack of delivery cost and deadline predictability, manual and outdated processes, and intense use of underqualified labor are some of the challenges for this industry worldide, which is so important for the economy and for social development. Now, this scenario also needs to deal with the covid-19 pandemic demands.
Before the new coronavirus, one of the biggest challenges of construction was related to the large urbanization movement which occurred in the last decades. Some data from the World Economic Forum (WEF) on megacities show that in 1950 cities harbored 751 million people, less than one third of the world’s population.
Today, 55% of people live in urban areas, that is, around 4.2 billion ‘urbanoids’. In a future generation, that proportion tends to reach 68%, which should add another 2.5 billion people to already overpopulated cities.
Coronavirus speeding up construction trends
If urbanization already presented a challenge, we now have covid-19. Worldwide we are facing mobility restrictions and difficulties to resume our activities in large groups, including the traditional worksites and offices.
This crisis has been speeding up (or forcing people to haste) processes and transformations in construction. There is an evident demand for digitalization, but not only that. We are in a quest for antifragility, that is, a need for solutions that ensure more predictability along the chain, more certainty of delivery and meeting budgets and schedules.
Therefore, I consider valid to emphasize the need to understand innovations in construction as fundamental parts of our lives, especially in the present moment.
‘Architecture as part of the cure’
Last week, The New Yorker published the article ‘How the Coronavirus Will Reshape Architecture’, raising questions on which sort of space we will be willing to live in and work at from now on.
The text begins with the story of two Finnish architects responsible for the project of a healthcare unit for treating tuberculosis in 1933. I will highlight one sentence: ‘In the sanatorium, architecture is part of the cure’.
Bringing that to present impacts of the new coronavirus, it becomes evident that construction trends include the need to promote people’s safety in all stages of the process.
Architecture and design have fundamental roles in keeping up with the rhythm of digital transformation and construction prefabrication. And they need to bring value to this new era, with design integrated to new technologies and constructive models that can provide social, quality of life and environmental gain in corporate and community environments. A building made in prefabricated or using digital platform does not mean it cannot have an attractive, practical or human design.
Ten trends and challenges for construction
One of the pillars for transformation in construction is prefabrication, which I mentioned above. Instead of dozens of activities being performed simultaneously by many workers in a traditional worksite, prefabricated construction represents a form of industrial and controlled production of building parts. Later they are transported and assembled at the worksite.
Using prefabricated parts in construction could mean, on average, 50% to 70% reduction in the duration of a traditional build.
Prefabrication goes side by side with other important innovation trends in construction. Together, those fronts are creating a different horizon in such a traditional industry. Have a look at the ten examples below, among the many plans being transformed.
1. Prefabrication: environmental safety and improvement
Prefabrication industries can offer a much safer and more controlled industrial environment, both in workplace accident prevention and in the present challenge of reducing crowds at worksites. Social gain in quality of life at work as well as skill development, once all industry functions lead to a higher level of staff education and development.
Also, I emphasize the potential of having more specific control and, of course, the due safety and hygiene measures.
Prefabrication is one of the techniques that bring control and great reduction in residue generation. In a simple comparison, a prefabricated residential building can generate 80% less residue than it would if built in the usual fashion.
Here we can discuss the use of mixed structures, which unite the best of each material and bring even bigger performance and sustainability to the final costumer. For instance, a building may have the resistance of concrete and steel in some pieces, as well as the positive sustainable impact of certified wood in others.
It is worth to highlight how prefabrication favors circular economy, once the construction’s components can be planned for their correct future reuse, increasing lifespan, and avoiding residue generation by demolition and new resource consumption
2. Wearables
Wearables may bring great advancement to construction, either by increasing work safety, generating data in the quest for more efficiency. Smart helmets which allow monitoring worker’s health conditions and geopositioning, smart clothes and glasses that assist in several steps of the process, providing important data to pursue productivity gains and more safety to everyone.
3. 3D printing
The development of 3D concrete printers for part production, or even for the whole building, has been tested in projects worldwide. Even though it is not used in large scale we can already say that, alongside Prefabrication, 3d printing has potential to increase speed and improve construction efficiency. From housing to wind towers, many are the projects in real testing, right now, for this technology.
4. Robotization and automation
Investments in automation and robotization may bring speed and solutions for repetitive and complex tasks, such as bricklaying by mechanic arm. Evolution in processes that can be industrialized and automatized in construction is a natural way for the present dependence on underqualified labor in the sector.
5. BIM platforms
Digitization of the construction sector is a path of no return. Combining that digitization with Prefabrication has proven quite effective in integrating the whole chain from supplier to final customer, in a much more collaborative and rational way.
One strong trend in that sense are BIM (Building Information Modeling) platforms, which integrate project, production, procurement, real time budgeting, assembly and all the management in real time.
From the architectural design, going through client budget and supplier to specify and prevent interference. All connected and collaborating to provide a more efficient product. Be it BIM or other digital solutions, this digitization strides to become standard soon. Many times, it is already a reality and a differential for those who use it.
6. Sustainable and intelligent buildings and materials
One of the innovations and trends already observed in construction are sustainable and intelligent buildings. From the project, throughout execution and maintenance, construction seeks to evolve its buildings for smaller consumption of natural resources. Including here the matter of energy management, from generating clean energy to smaller consumption.
Technological resources for monitoring and operation, using Technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things) these buildings connect themselves to communities in a more efficient manner. Also important is the development of more sustainable materials, as well as a better use of those materials. The main point is environmental impact reduction in a durable fashion, allied to efficiency and cost.
7. Efficiency = social access
Continuous development of new industrial and digital techniques for construction has brought significant competitive gain to the construction sector, which allows to offer, for instance, better housing for the economically disadvantaged population, specially in developing countries. In Brazil there is a national housing deficit of around 8 million homes, and the search for more efficient solutions means more families with access to decent housing.
8. Digital tools
Many tools have contributed to several steps of the process, from logistics digital management to drones monitoring areas, processes, work development and so forth.
For example, we can talk about augmented reality instruments, used for property sale or better visualization of factory details.
Smart sensors can be used in prefabricated concrete parts to provide structure movement data from the vibrations of crowds in a football stadium, as well as assist managing railways.
9. Atracting new talents
One of the main challenges of construction industry in this transformation process is connecting all the trends in a way that it can become attractive to young workers again.
Today, with its repetitive and not specialized profile, traditional construction has lost much of the attractiveness it had 20 or 30 years ago. Innovation is necessary to attract talents that will help in this transformation.
10. More human experience
Everything that favors human experience should join the evolution of construction. I am referring to the integration between design and architecture for more efficiency in the use of buildings and cities.
This goes from the efficient design of a doorknob to the ever more explored concept of connected, sustainable smart cities. Technological revolution must not forget the human factor.
Focus on problem solving
Everything I have said in this article about trends for construction refers to my first sentence: the basis for innovation is problem-solving. Today, we have several issues to be addressed in big cities, starting from the top emergency, covid-19.
That is why I consider it so relevant to discuss these trends. If they, in a pandemic scenario they could become a basic point in their reflections and plans for the new reality.
Crises are catalytic moments and I see that becoming stronger in construction industry as well. Combining digitization in many levels, efficient use of processes and Technologies – such as prefabrication or others -, more efficient use of materials and resources and a strong sustainable and social bias seem to be central for companies and leaders at the frontline of this irreversible transformation.