Although one of the largest sectors in the world, the construction industry has also been among the slowest ones to embrace new technological advancements, often shying away from what is traditional and established. However, the recent global events have truly shaken the industry to its core, presenting new challenges such as higher expenses, labor shortages, and new rules and regulations. In turn, the construction sector was forced to embrace technology in an effort to adapt and overcome these circumstances, giving rise to new trends and tendencies in the sector. Here are just some of the most notable ones to watch out for in 2022:
Building information modeling
Building designing and planning is a long collaborative process that includes consultation with a number of individuals like architects, engineers, builders, and clients. Using traditional methods, it can be challenging to conceptualize and apply real-time changes as everyone works on their respective tasks, resulting in duplicates, errors, and overall confusion. Innovative building information modeling (BIM) tools might help to solve this issue by offering centralized databases and allowing every individual included in the project to work on the same shared model. 5D BIM provides time and cost overlays, while 6D BIM also encompasses energy budgeting. These solutions enable simpler visualization of models, while also identifying issues during the early stages and improving the overall efficiency of projects.
The utilization of 3D printing
Also called ‘additive construction’, 3D printing is an efficient and sustainable method of building. This is a robotic approach that prints entire buildings or building components one layer at a time, using advanced materials in combination with BIM. It has high flexibility in terms of design, and offers a number of printing methods such as power bonding, extrusion, and additive welding. 3D printing might also be a more eco-friendly construction practice, as it requires less labor and produces less waste compared with traditional building methods. Being a fully programmable and automated process as well, this form of construction is now favored among startups offering printing services for small and large-scale building projects.
Construction workflow automation
Automation is among the most popular trends in many industries today and it is finally entering the construction sector as well. This comes as no surprise either, as automation can easily solve a number of issues the industry is currently facing. For instance, efficient construction equipment maintenance software is now widely used in the sector for automating workflows and ensuring seamless IoT integration. By relying on the latest technologies, such software allows for effortless data analysis, processing, and ingestion. As a result, construction companies are able to save money, minimize risks, increase safety, reduce their environmental impact, and even improve overall client and team outcomes.
Increased use of robotics
Construction is an incredibly demanding industry that includes a number of time-consuming, repetitive tasks. Construction robotics can significantly speed up and improve these processes, while also reducing losses caused by fatigue and other human errors. For instance, collaborative robots can easily automate welding, bricklaying, painting, rebar tying, and other similar tasks with great precision. Not only does this help to reduce the labor requirements for construction companies, but robotics could also improve safety for dangerous tasks and increase the productivity of projects, which might explain their growing popularity within the construction industry.
Improved safety of workers
As increasing profits and lowering labor costs remains a priority for many construction companies, worker safety is a growing problem in the industry. At the moment, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) still remains the most important safety factor, with new PPE solutions now being introduced specifically for women, and helping to protect the increasing number of female workers in the sector. However, technology is making significant changes as well, including AI-powered algorithms that predict potential hazards, AR and VR solutions for scanning sites and offering immersive training, and smart sensors to detect temperatures, vibrations, employee health, and more. This enables supervisors to remotely monitor both the safety conditions of the constructions site and the health and well-being of their workers.
A focus on sustainability
Sustainability is another important focus in modern construction, likely due to the rising global concern regarding the environment. Green building has become one of the most popular concepts for adopting more eco-friendly measures throughout the construction process, from the planning stage to decommissioning and project closure. These sustainable building practices allow companies to optimize resource and energy usage, reduce the amount of waste created during the construction process, and even enable businesses and projects to reach net-zero carbon emissions. A number of certifications can qualify a construction project to be labeled as sustainable, with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) being among the most valued and respected choices.
As the world evolves and technology advances, so does the construction industry. The trends and tendencies mentioned above are just some of the novelties the sector is currently experiencing, but they all aim to improve efficiency, speed, profitability, and overall safety, making them a likely permanent change in the field of construction.