This year promises to be a watershed moment for the building sector and the technology that supports it.
Thanks to $550 billion in funds allotted to infrastructure projects as part of President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, data gathering and measurement have a lot of promise this year. Over the next five years, the law allocates $100 million to building technologies.
Data helps us better understand the success of a project. Construction teams have a wealth of job-site knowledge that may be converted into process benchmarks to improve overall performance, confirm personnel’s abilities, and plan future projects.
Superintendents can extrapolate efficiencies from one activity, such as rebar installation, into shortened project schedules, resulting in fewer overtime and a healthier work-life balance, as well as increased efficiency and safety.
Despite recent advancements in construction technology, general contractors are still reticent to adopt new technologies, with some unable to gain organisational buy-in. 35.9% of employees are apprehensive about trying new technologies, according to JB Knowledge’s 2021 Annual Construction Technology Report (registration required).
General contractors want to see tried-and-true technology backed by peers in their field that improves not just one person’s job, but the entire crew’s.
The importance of timing in obtaining the full value of data cannot be overstated. The sooner teams deploy technology, the sooner they
Benchmarking can now commence.
Here are a few pointers for general contractors who want to speed up the adoption of new technology in this field.
The last thing general contractors need after introducing a solution is a lengthy training session, especially one that delays them from their work. Such lengthy training sessions should not be required for solutions built to scale quickly. In fact, the sooner they’re put in place, the sooner they may be optimised into project plans.
Without a lengthy training period, data and analytics systems may begin assessing and certifying job site data right away. Data collected on the jobsite (especially by experienced crew members) is used to upskill other crew members, which is important considering that 41% of the existing construction workforce is expected to retire by 2020.
