How mixed reality can help the construction industry address labor shortages
Across the world construction industry outlooks for 2025 all identify the critical shortage of skilled labor as being a major challenge for the industry.? Geopolitical and economic uncertainties, and demand for rapid development particularly in digital infrastructure combined with labor shortages are reason for a predicted rise of up to 7% in global construction costs this year.?
Accelerating growth in data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities, health, energy infrastructure and transportation are driving demand worldwide for skilled labor.? A 2024 survey by the US Associated General Contractors (AGC) found that?90% of contractors struggled to fill both skilled and unskilled positions and it’s estimated that nearly half a million additional workers are needed in 2025.? Projects, particularly in highly technical fields like aerospace, are increasingly being delayed or even canceled due to the shortage of experienced workers.
To meet this challenge the construction industry needs to ramp up its adoption of digital technologies.? BIM is widely accepted as a valuable tool for improving collaboration, streamlining decision-making and identifying issues before they arise, thereby reducing delays and costs.? Yet the AEC industry may not understand the full range of benefits that immersive technologies (VR/AR/MR) can provide, or how easy and cost-effective they can be to use alongside existing systems.
This article focusses particularly on how mixed reality technology (MR) can help construction leaders address current and future workforce issues.? It also dispels any misapprehension there may be around adopting this technology relating to its ease of use by both skilled and unskilled workers.
MR plays a valuable role in attracting personnel into the construction industry with the opportunity to use appealing technology even in non-technical roles. ?Many people are familiar with VR/AR headsets through gaming, but they may not consider construction as a career which could align with these interests.? By providing opportunities to use familiar headset technology in a construction setting helps attract new and young workers into the industry.? BIM Holoview, which enables 3D visualization of BIM models on the Meta Quest or the HoloLens, has been developed to be easy to use by unskilled and non-technical personnel as well as VDC or Digital Delivery experts.
The ability to visualize a project as a whole in 3D enables construction foremen to quickly get new staff and contractors up to speed on their work whether that be fabricated metal components, installation of electrical conduits, piping, HVAC ducts etc.? With BIM Holoview, elements that have been created in Autodesk Revit? or Navisworks? can be viewed on-site exactly as they are to be constructed.? The clear, text based and visual training provided in MR reduces confusion, improves task accuracy and maximizes the productivity of available labor.
Offering more opportunities for career growth and diversification. ?To combat high turnover, MR is one way to help workers build new skills and attract talent from outside the sector. ?Training workers on a variety of tasks and developing diverse skill sets will ensure the construction industry remains agile and resilient.
Investment in MR can provide incredibly favorable returns.? Not only is it a valuable tool for stakeholder engagement, verification of design elements and constructability, clash detection, construction sequencing and building maintenance it can be used to attract, on-board, upskill and retain workers across the construction industry.
It takes less than one hour for a foreman and worker to become skilled in use of BIM Holoview on either the Meta Quest or HoloLens.? The different headsets offer different price points, which is particularly helpful for firms looking at multiple devices.? The BIM Holoview application is cost-effective, and extends the value of existing investments in Autodesk BIM technology, by enabling both skilled and unskilled workers to use the best immersive technologies available.
The convergence of traditional construction skills and new digital competencies is essential to meet the current and future demands of the construction industry.? Labor shortages and increased costs can be mitigated by construction leaders embracing innovative technologies such as MR.? These opportunities will be key to driving sector growth and delivering more sustainable built environments for all.
References: The 3 factors driving global construction costs increase of 2-7% in 2025 - Construction Briefing
#BIM #Contech #XR #MixedReality #Revit #Navisworks #DigitalDelivery #Training
Chief of Artificial Intelligence
1 周Thanks Peter, I am not fully convinced about MR especially looking at what I personally experienced. I am wondering about spatial computing: What is your perspective on that?