Businesses in the construction industry find themselves right in the middle of a unique and interesting time: technology is disrupting their entire industry.
From big companies like Google and Apple to startups and entrepreneurs, everything related to the construction industry is getting an upgrade. Many of these changes are coming from “the cloud” or other basic forms of information processing and storage.
This article will provide key ways the construction industry is being disrupted by technology, and how other industries can learn from these changes.
1. Remote Sensors
Construction companies have a lot of sensitive equipment at their disposal: cranes, trucks, front-end loaders, backhoes – all sorts of things that should always be watched, always running at peak performance.
The problem with this equipment is that it’s expensive and dangerous to have someone climb around on the machine.
Even worse, those people aren’t working all day – they’re just watching from a remote location, waiting for a potential disaster to strike.
Technology companies have changed this by putting sensors on their equipment. These sensors tell them when something is wrong, how much fuel is in the machine, and more – letting companies know exactly what’s going on.
This has helped companies track their equipment better (we’ll get to that later), but it also allows them to cut down on unnecessary costs like paying someone to be on top of a crane all day.
2. Warehouse Management Systems
The construction industry has a lot of inventory, from big material palettes to countless products that need to be stored in warehouses.
The problem with these warehouses is that they’re not very efficient – the average company uses about 70% of their warehouse space because it’s so hard to track what is where. This leads to companies hiring warehouse staff to constantly shuffle around inventory, wasting both time and money.
Technology developed warehouse management systems for this very reason. These programs help companies keep track of every single item that is stored in their warehouses, reducing the need for people to wander around with measuring tape and tag everything themselves.
These programs also direct workers where to place certain products, making use of the warehouse space that they have. Warehouse staff will always be necessary, but this reduces some of their responsibilities and makes companies money in the process.
3. Digitized blueprints
In every construction company, every project has a set of blueprints on hand to guide workers where to go and what they need to build.
The problem is that these blueprints are usually held on ridiculously large rolls of paper, wasting time and money to ship around. Not only this, but they’re not always up-to-date with what is actually happening at the site – making them unreliable.
Technology companies have developed digitizers for blueprints so that documents can be sent electronically or scanned in, cutting down on overhead costs and making workers’ lives easier.
These programs also have a feature that automatically updates them with whatever is going on at the site – no longer will there be a disconnect between what a blueprint says, and what really needs to happen
4. Digitization of structures
Have you noticed the use of speed humps in modern cities? They’re everywhere – and only in the past 10 years.
Speed humps, speed bumps – whatever you call them – are integral to fighting speeding in residential neighborhoods.
However, they weren’t always a thing: it took technology companies to turn them into a mainstream product that could be installed pretty much anywhere.
This is because before, companies had to dig up the road, install a speed bump, then put it all back – an expensive process that was only possible in certain places.
These days, technology companies have developed prefabricated materials that can be installed on roads without causing too much disruption. These speed humps are easy for machines to lay down and make a huge difference in preventing cars from speeding.
5. Interactive building designs
It’s no secret that new technologies have changed the way people interact with their computers, so it should come as no surprise that they have also changed the way people interact with their buildings.
When computer companies started getting into 3D modeling, construction companies followed suit – letting them produce intricate models of their projects before they even started.
This allowed everyone involved to see what was going on and make changes, rather than having to constantly worry about problems that might occur once the project started.
Wrapping up
Technology has had a huge impact on the construction industry, reducing overhead costs and making projects more efficient.
Some companies are even able to develop their own technologies that make things easier for everyone involved in the building process – which is what keeps them competitive. Technology isn’t going anywhere – it’s an integral part of every industry and will only continue to evolve and transform the way we do things.
