Construction Sector Reaches a Tipping Point for Productivity
“The construction sector is currently at a tipping point,” according to a new report from RICS and Autodesk. “Rapid urbanization and climate change require that the industry relinquish its ‘business as usual’ mindset and risk-averse operating environment.”
And while productivity in the construction sector has managed just 1% annual growth for the past 20 years, growth in demand has surpassed these productivity gains. The RICS/Autodesk report notes that the industry will need to put up 13,000 buildings per day between now and 2050 to support the expected global population of 7.7 billion in 30 years’ time. It’s expected that there will be as many as 200 million construction jobs worldwide by 2030.
“The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects construction sector job growth at 12%,” the report states. “Combine this accelerated growth with the estimate that 41% of the construction industry’s workforce will retire by 2031, and you have a massive skills shortage that will drive up costs and reduce efficiency and profitability.”
Given these realities, construction sector stakeholders are exploring industrialized construction (IC) to help offset this massive skills shortage. The report notes that IC is a system using innovative and integrated techniques that connect the design-to-make process.
IC makes this connection, the report says, by embracing these five megatrends: prefabrication and offsite construction; additive manufacturing; robotics and automation; big data, artificial intelligence (AI); and predictive analysis Internet of Things (IoT).
In assembling the report, the authors interviewed experts in both the U.S. and UK. They ranked the following as the top six benefits of IC to their organizations and industry as a whole: 1. Make construction processes safer. 2. Improve efficiency. 3. Reduce project duration. 4. Reduce construction cost and rework. 5. Increase Profitability. 6. Improve staff recruitment and retention.
Bringing the sector into this brave new world, though, will require the participation of academia, the private sector and government, the report states. “If all these stakeholders work together in a collaborative ecosystem, the adoption of IC will ensure a more productive environment and produce a skilled labor force that will sustain the future of the construction industry.”
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
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