14 | JULY 2018
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
CONSTRUCTION FALLING
BEHIND IN THE TECH RACE
Andy Robinson, CEO, Colmore Tang Group
The debate around technol-
ogy in construction needs to
move forward more quickly to
improve production times and
quality. Other industries are much
better at seeing the potential in
technology and grasping oppor-
tunities to boost productivity and
commercial gain. We’re falling
behind and it’s having a negative
impact on the sector, growing the
divide between the traditional,
ageing workforce and the young,
technologically-advanced work-
force that is choosing other indus-
tries over ours.
That’s not to say that construc-
tion isn’t looking at tech, however
it’s all a bit disparate. We have
BRE working hard on research
and innovation, even focussing on
emerging technologies, however
we hear very little in terms of
how its evidence-based research
is resulting in practical solu-
tions.
The industry is ripe for disrup-
tion, in the way that transporta-
tion and finance have been, and
it’s about how we identify the
tech that’s already out there and
apply it to our industry.
In a fantastic blog by Peter
Diamandis [https://www.linkedin.
com/pulse/revolutionizing-con-
struction-real-estate-peter-diaman-
dis], he explains the four trends
that are revolutionising what’s
possible in architectural design
and construction. Materials will
be key to disrupting construc-
tion. Historically, we’ve always
been limited by the constraints
put on us by building materials;
now we’re able to look at cleaner,
smarter options that are lighter,
self-healing, aware, and provide
the opportunity to deliver 3D
printed buildings. We’re able to
look at using artificial intelligence
(AI) to create adaptive models,
virtual reality (VR) to visualise
clashes, as well as see a future
with robot builders.
Last year, Mace released its
Industry 4.0 report on how
construction can make itself fu-
ture-ready. The report highlighted
some staggering stats, for exam-
ple over the last decade output
per worker has remained flat in
construction, whereas the service
sector has improved by just over
30% and output in manufactur-
ing has rocketed by more than
50%. Its analysis also showed that
there will be a need to reskill
over 600,000 construction work-
ers over the next two decades to
new roles created by technology.
Education has always been at
the forefront of advancements
in technology, from university
research to facilities to educate
the next generation. A prime ex-
ample of how education is using
the best tech to bring youngsters
into the sector is Dudley Col-
lege of Technology. It recently
unveiled its Advance II building,
which provides skills devel-
opment in Advanced Building
Technologies; from apprentice-
ships to degree-level courses, it
has the appeal and equipment
to attract a new generation to
construction.
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=TTukyz5N518
Construction needs to look for
outside help. We need to call on
the thriving ecosystem of tech
start-ups to come forward with
fresh new ideas. The sector needs
to invest in tech, to provide op-
portunities to trial new systems
and products, and identify what’s
already out there and help drive it
forward to make a real change.