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Artificial intelligence, wearables, digital twins and drones. None of these technologies are considered the top transformational tool by Australia’s construction industry. In this article, Procore Technologies reveals where are developers placing their tech bets…
Artificial intelligence is automating tasks such as drilling and painting to increase productivity and alleviate labour pressures.
Wearable technology is monitoring health indicators of construction workers to reduce fatigue and enhance safety. Digital twins are mapping space on a vast scale. Drones are surveying sites to ensure schedules stay on track.
Each of these technologies has transformational capabilities—but none of them were nominated as the top technology by Australian and New Zealand construction leaders surveyed for Procore Technologies’ latest industry benchmark report, How We Build Now 2023.
Procore surveyed construction leaders around the Asia Pacific region, finding that nearly half of all business decision-makers expect to increase their spending on construction technologies over the next year.
But their first priority for investment is not next generation building information modeling, robotics or extended reality. More than half (51 per cent) say construction management platforms will be the greatest accelerator of change over the next three years—and that’s where they plan to invest.
Procore’s survey uncovered some fascinating insights about how the industry is using technology. Valuable data collected by drones and digital twins is meaningless unless it translates into better decision-making on real world projects, which is why developers are investing in day-to-day technologies that do just that.
How We Build Now captures industry sentiment at a moment in time—and that time is filled with uncertainty, as 50 per cent of respondents grapple with spiraling costs, 40 per cent find skills shortages a challenge and 35 per cent worry about winning competitive bids at sustainable margins.
But a growing movement towards “digital by default” is sweeping through Australia’s construction industry, as developers and builders look for construction-specific solutions that enhance productivity and profitability today, while securing the long-term sustainability of their businesses.
Construction management platforms unlock data and analytical insights when people need it – on site – while also giving them tools to predict and manage the next wave of supply chain, regulatory, weather, staffing and cash flow challenges that will undoubtedly head our way.
When it comes to productivity, construction is not simply falling behind. It is behind. The Australian Constructors Association says industry productivity today is lower than it was in 1990, and puts the cost to the national economy at $47 billion a year. Cost overruns, program delays and legal disputes are just three consequences being felt on development sites around Australia.
Following the largest fall in national productivity on record in June 2023, federal Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers noted that boosting productivity was not about “trying to make people work longer for less” but about “investing in their skills and their capacity to adopt and adapt technology”.
Consult Australia recently launched a “digital by default” campaign to connect the dots. As CEO Jonathan Cartledge observes: “Billions of dollars of infrastructure projects around Australia are still being delivered with paper plans and PDFs.”
Respondents to How We Build Now estimated that 14 per vcent of their total project spend could be saved simply through more efficient management of data. Why is this? Construction management systems streamline communication, collaboration and documentation, while empowering teams to build better and faster.
Here are only three of the ways Procore can support developers to make better on-site decision-making.
Estimating: Accurate estimations underpin the profitability of every project, but budgets and costings are still often formulated from paper drawings and manual measurements. The accuracy of the information is, therefore, dependent on the skills of the estimator. But when Building Information Modelling is fed into a construction management platform, guess work and gut feel gives way to precision decisions, reducing the risk of estimation errors that can lead to cost overruns.
Visibility: A centralised platform gives teams a shared view of the schedule and project progress, eliminating the need for the traditional paper plan plastered to the site office wall. With a single source of truth, teams can proactively identify and address potential risks before they become costly delays.
Financial management: Around a third of construction companies still take information from their accounting system, along with data captured in emails and electronic documents, and manually load it into spreadsheets. When a spreadsheet is the bedrock of reporting, analysis and forward planning it takes just one careless keystroke for decisions to be made on dangerously inaccurate information, exposing a company to risk. Construction management platforms, on the other hand, eliminate copying, pasting, and human error.
While many construction leaders recognise they must transform their businesses, they are overwhelmed by the smorgasbord of options and don’t know where to start. However, more and more they are recognising that they cannot begin to capitalise on AI without an integrated data foundation. It is this integrated data foundation that provides not just information, but also construction intelligence. We are now seeing leaders directly confronting economic challenges through the right smart solutions that can help us to change how we build now.
For more insights into how developers are using technology today, Download How We Build Now.
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with Procore to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
