Construction Management Revolution: The Power of Innovative Tech
Tech revolutionizing construction management for faster, cost-efficient projects worldwide.
Mitrankur Majumdar of Infosys discusses how overdue tech adoption in construction transforms project management, enhancing collaboration, data utilization, and coordination amidst a global building boom.
The Challenges of Convergent Expertise
Overdue technology investments by the construction industry will help smooth project management amid a worldwide building boom.
A building boom is underway worldwide, with spending on infrastructure development and decarbonization projected to reach $130 trillion by 2027. Among the many challenges ahead will be project management. Modern construction projects represent one of today’s most extraordinary convergences of subject matter experts. Large-scale projects often draw in expert contractors from various fields, from structural designers to electrical installers, sanitation to HVAC.
But the result is an interdependence of siloed expertise, which, when combined with tight deadlines, means that even minor lapses in coordination can result in exponential delays and cost increases. A KPMG study showed that only one in three construction projects finished within 10% of the budget. Poor coordination was one of the reasons. What can be done to make the construction process smoother?
One imperative is investing more in technology. Research showed that the industry’s investment in research and development and software was 46% lower than in other industries.
Emblematic of the need for this investment is the industry’s long-term slowdown in productivity. A KPMG study by the Organization for Cooperation and Development looked at productivity rates in the construction industry across 29 countries from 1996-2019. Productivity declined in 40% of the countries. In all but four other countries, the annual productivity gains were less than two percentage points. And the combined population of those four countries with high productivity is just 12 million.
Construction’s technology deficit is striking, given how technology has transformed how economies function, and some technology has undoubtedly become part of the construction industry’s DNA, such as prefab materials. However, new and innovative technology has often had trouble finding a home in the construction industry due to the wide range of skills and responsibilities across each project and integration challenges.
Technology Integration: A Changing Landscape
That’s beginning to change, though, and will benefit project managers, who typically oversee or manage multiple aspects of construction projects – safety, budgeting, inventory, subcontractors, etc., while striving to keep everyone fully current on a project with multiple moving parts.
A key piece of technology is managing the massive data generated with construction projects. This includes everything from routine emails (though with many people included on each one) to inventory, compliance, insurance, labor, and many other subjects. The ability to collect data and share is critical.
Now, platforms enable this sharing, giving project managers a 360-degree view of project information and fostering collaboration and communication across the distributed workforce.
Also fundamental is having a connected ecosystem that integrates individual platforms. Applications that use robotics process automation, orchestration platforms, and microservices can be the foundation for smart dashboards that provide costs and schedule information in something close to real-time.
See More: 8 Strategies To Help Employees Adapt to New Technology
The Power of Connected Ecosystems and AI
An enterprise data platform that supplements the connected ecosystem can illuminate trends from previous projects and facilitate the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to inform decision-making.
Adopting artificial intelligence is essential to driving seamless project coordination in the future. An executive at a construction technology firm recently wrote about AI’s potential: “With artificial intelligence and computer vision, leading builders are transforming 360-degree video into near real-time measurements of construction processes. This near real-time reality capture of the construction site acts like sensors in a factory, feeding IT with data that empowers project teams to increase productivity.”
Indeed, AI will be key. James Barrett, chief innovation officer for Turner Construction, America’s largest contractor, told Construction Dive that “artificial intelligence will transform our industry in the next 10 years more than any other technology in the past 100 years. It will be huge because it has a broad application in many cases. It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when.”
Several other technologies will contribute, or are already contributing, to construction projects running smoother.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) represents a break with the longstanding practice of using several different architectural plans when designing a building. Under BIM, there is a single uniform computer model. This contributes to efficiency and cost savings while reducing mistakes.
Workflow tools now exist that automate various tasks that traditionally need to be handled manually. Information can be shared with those who need it, ensuring that there’s information control and visibility into the project.
Mobile apps are also helping to simplify construction management. One industry official asks, “How did we carry out our daily construction management duties without mobile technologies like smartphones or tablets? It was not impossible, but it was different and more difficult.” Apps can help with daily reports, timesheet management, health and safety training, accessing drawings, and many other dimensions of construction projects.
See More: Is the Construction Industry Ready to Deploy Robots?
Efficiency through Cloud Computing
Cloud computing can also benefit project managers by providing secure and remote access to data and affordable storage of massive files. The cloud also provides real-time access to information, with anyone granted access to this information from budget documents to drawings updates – able to make changes everyone else can see. That translates to quicker turnaround times and less need for human-driven coordination. Similarly, the cloud simplifies approvals and signatures, reducing the need for printing, scanning, and other construction practices that now seem antiquated.
There’s nothing easy about project management in the construction industry, and even the most talented managers can run into trouble. But with the technology tools highlighted here, the friction points that have often bedeviled project managers should be minimized, if not eliminated. This progress should help ensure projects finish faster and at a lower cost, which should please everyone working in and around the construction industry.
Have you embraced the tech wave in construction for streamlined projects? How can innovation boost efficiency, collaboration, and cost-effectiveness? Let us know on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
Image Source: Shutterstock
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