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Despite global improvements in technology, coupled with a booming population, Australia’s construction industry is less productive today than it was three decades ago—and it’s costing the economy as much as $47 billion a year.The latest report from the Australian Constructors Association, Disrupt or Die, has shed light on the sector’s serious weaknesses, labelling a shortage of workers as a major threat.Over the 31 years since 1990—when Australia was home to almost 9 million fewer people—the industry’s productivity has dropped 1.8 per cent.&nbsp;And since the peak of the resources boom in 2014, that productivity has declined 16.5 per cent.Australian Constructors Association chief executive Jon Davies says the industry must fundamentally change to not only tackle the significant amount of work currently in the pipeline, but also address the country’s current housing crisis.“Over the past 30 years, almost every other industry has advanced yet Australia’s construction industry has gone backwards,” he says, adding the industry is “out of touch” with the new generation of workers.“Workers do not want a job in an industry where the hours are long and disputes are commonplace, Excel spreadsheets are considered the height of tech and little focus is placed on the impact we are having on the environment.”Davies says another significant hurdle to greater productivity is the antiquated procurement process and how projects are delivered and governed—essentially white-collar activities.“The biggest opportunity here lies not in the traditional blue-collar space, which people normally talk about when addressing productivity,” he says.<div id="4160B0DR6Bvhmn5jbDkBqF"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/RUhvYiiiyZnLyjjaLmPIP/8a4a6b400d278f89a89e3353efd254ae/1.jpg" alt="Australian Constructors Association chief executive Jon Davies: fundamental change is crucial." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/RUhvYiiiyZnLyjjaLmPIP/8a4a6b400d278f89a89e3353efd254ae/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Australian Constructors Association chief executive Jon Davies: fundamental change is crucial. </div></div>&nbsp;“Starting with procurement, we waste a huge amount of time and effort getting big tendering teams together to produce piles of documentation that rarely gets read. It’s just to give the illusion clients are getting value for money.“If you look at the governance phase, we employ third-party reviewers to review the work of other reviewers who then review the work of the contractor. What value are these additional levels of governance actually bringing?”&nbsp;While technology has been revolutionary in improving global productivity across many industries, technology alone will not streamline the construction sector, Davies says.“People ask me why contractors aren’t adopting more digital technologies. There are so many digital solutions we could be using, but that’s not the problem. The problem is the amount of barriers we have to their use,” he says.“A lot of these technologies rely on an open and transparent sharing of information.“But the contracts we use to procure projects drive opposite behaviours—they actually drive the behaviour of holding on to information. So we have this very adversarial situation where everyone is just thinking about protecting their own position.”<h2>Multi-faceted approach needed</h2> A combination of design technology and innovation are what’s needed for the industry to digest future pipeline problems, according to Hyecorp co-managing director Stephen Abolakian.“Using the technology to design the building as much as possible before it’s built not only provides a much better construction outcome (because quality reduces defects) but allows any improvements to occur upfront before it’s too late,” Abolakian says.“It might sound boring, but synergies and improvements can be had through collaboration between teams on site, in office, design teams, consultants and subcontractors. Utilising the technology available to do so is an ever-evolving and improving part of the business.”<div id="1OQY74jq2zVEJyMoQ5O0vc"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/gqJ9gLUjHKJTx7uV9RIjK/7e18faa8e9054786d2f78eeabf0401c1/2.jpg" alt="Hyecorp’s Stephen Abolakian: Keeping the team in-house gives greater control." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/gqJ9gLUjHKJTx7uV9RIjK/7e18faa8e9054786d2f78eeabf0401c1/2.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Hyecorp’s Stephen Abolakian: Keeping the team in-house gives greater control. </div></div>Hyecorp’s recent systems improvements include increasing their in-house design team and upskilling with new design technology systems such as Revit.&nbsp;“We’ve kept this team in house (versus the more typical outsourcing to design firms) to allow us more day-to-day (or minute-to-minute) control of the design process,” he says.“Technology is first and foremost a facilitator. It must go hand in hand with a rigorous process as well as a well-skilled and equiped team.“Technology on its own is not the answer. It should not be ‘for the sake of it’.”While automation can help streamline some processes, Abolakian says a granular approach is still required for complex structures being built in an increasingly tight regulation framework.&nbsp;“Apartment buildings are not Ikea sets with a manual and the perfect amount of screws in the box.“There are smart people out there designing new products and materials; it’s important for construction teams to be across those innovations and use best-in-class products and materials to either; get a better outcome, provide cost efficiencies, or a better quality build.”<h2>Focussing on timelines</h2> George Tadrosse, chief executive of Sydney-based developer Aland, says before turning to technology as the holy grail, the industry should consider where the greatest hurdles lie.“We simply need more skilled workers, but equally the planning system is way too slow,” he says.<div id="1Jqnnpf1zO5XYViC6xExRo"><div><div id="5yF1xFw83vUo3UAPHn5EvY"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/60WIYpzQ1PVIYojhMrxRVX/3d79f973196f4b1f395ff9ce3b3f7663/Aland_MID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/60WIYpzQ1PVIYojhMrxRVX/3d79f973196f4b1f395ff9ce3b3f7663/Aland_MID.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Aland chief executive George Tadrosse: Planning laws must be overhauled. </div></div> </div></div>“Red tape seems to double down year on year; levies, fees and taxes get higher every year and utility providers—both private and government-owned—seem to have indefinite timelines.“Developing land or properties is a long process and you need support from government all the way through. The system is broken and there doesn’t seem to be much reform to actually fix it.”With anywhere from 1000 to 1500 homes under construction at any one time, Tadrosse says Aland relies on relationships and tailor-made processes to get through the pipeline.“As much as the world has bashed us down over the past few years, we’ve grown stronger,” he says.“We have a lot of internal departments so we can control it all the way from acquisitions, to legal conveyancing, planning, design, construction, building management and property management—we’re here for the whole property journey.“That way we can control our own destiny to some degree, at least internally, and strengthen the culture to push through anything.”<h2>Future-proofing the pipeline</h2> RSM Australia national director of property and construction Adam Crowley says a lack of suitable in-house technology can trip up even booming companies.“There are a lot of big profitable businesses who look at what they have on the back end in terms of software and it’s all out of date.“Sometimes they don’t know at any particular point in time how profitable they are—until it’s too late,” he says.“What they’ve done historically has sort of worked. They pick the job up, put in a planning process, get an Excel spreadsheet that measures how they’re going and update that once a month or so to keep track, but it’s just not good enough.<div id="10itNfxyGiUkbbGHgTpyac"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/l1SJYnLvCJYnd59cL7Ojj/541ebd978a2ea538758d7b401151d0c0/4.jpg" alt="RSM Australia national director of property and construction Adam Crowley: No company is immune." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/l1SJYnLvCJYnd59cL7Ojj/541ebd978a2ea538758d7b401151d0c0/4.jpg"></picture><div>▲ RSM Australia national director of property and construction Adam Crowley: No company is immune. </div></div>“As soon as you get cost pressures, or delays like the weather or labour shortages, it all falls apart because the information they capture isn’t real time.”As the rising costs of operation signal the demise of some builders and developers, Crowley says the government could be doing more to sustain construction momentum.“We’ve just heard the government rattle on about housing affordability in the federal budget as the No.1 thing to tackle, but inevitably there’s going to be price pressures due to lack of supply to market.“These construction companies going under or facing extreme difficulties are further compounding this housing supply issue.“If the builder or the developer falls over, that whole process then extends out because you need to get replacement people to finish jobs, liquidators have to be appointed.“What else can government do to support the sector? Is there some sort of intervention to prop up some of these companies so they can at least finish what they’ve started?”Crowley says supporting the industry addressing housing affordability is crucial to unlocking supply, but it often becomes a political football.&nbsp;“The public might think construction companies don’t need bailouts because they seemingly make so much money.“However, you could be in business and turnover $100 million to produce a $3 million or $5 million loss for the year. Are they just meant to absorb that and keep on going?” <hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

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Almost six years after the deadly Grenfell tower fire in London—and nine years since the Lacrosse building fire in Melbourne—hundreds of residential buildings in NSW remain at risk from potentially combustible cladding.Project Remediate, a state government scheme to replace the unsafe materials, has been under way since March 2021 but some industry insiders say the ball is not rolling fast enough.Despite a purpose-built and state-funded taskforce unearthing almost 230 buildings deemed dangerous, just two properties have had their cladding removed and replaced with a safer alternative.Sydney’s Strata Embassy director Ben Cabello says the speed of uptake appears to be impeded by a communication problem.“The biggest issue is the two tiers of government really don’t seem to talk to each other. Councils don’t talk to the NSW government and vice versa.&nbsp;“Councils are usually all about fire safety, so if there is a risk then they’re going to apply pressure to do works within a certain timeframe, regardless of any assistance from Project Remediate,” he says.A voluntary program, Project Remediate’s ultimate goal is to assess and replace flammable cladding for eligible residential buildings and offer owners corporations a 10-year interest-free loan.According to the latest data from Project Remediate, 227 buildings in NSW were originally flagged as “high risk” after the establishment of the Combustible Cladding Register.&nbsp;Along with the two completed projects, 123 buildings have undergone comprehensive investigations—35 are undergoing preliminary design development, 50 are in the design completion phase and 19 have designs fully completed with tenders for construction work either under way or completed.&nbsp;A number of other buildings are being assessed for retrospective assistance.Cabello says the delays are causing challenges for strata plans and individual owners.“We’ve just had a client join the scheme and Project Remediate had its preferred builder do a building inspection in the first week of February—and there’s been no word since,” he says.<div id="5rLLbehDMfJmiMaAhWnry1"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4vmzvtwbwjZ8qEroBE7PZh/1485e44a9861c6e09ca4bda17537a248/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4vmzvtwbwjZ8qEroBE7PZh/1485e44a9861c6e09ca4bda17537a248/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ The Lacrosse building fire in Melbourne in 2014. </div></div>“The owners’ corporation want to know what the findings were, and if they’re going to get an interest free loan or any government assistance.”He says that hold-ups could create problems with insurance premiums and home values.“There are units for sale in the building and we’ve also got insurance coming up, so everybody’s asking if the building has been accepted into the program or not,” Cabello says.&nbsp;“A month’s gone past without even seeing the report. It’s very slow moving.”Despite the promise of a decade-long loan, Cabello says a building with an outstanding debt loses some of its shine.“It’s not just the cost of the actual work and product, there are a lot of consultants getting paid along the way.&nbsp;“And without any certainty around whether you’re going to get a government loan at no interest or a subsidy, the cost is very much unknown.”&nbsp;So vendors and purchasers really have to negotiate some sort of discount to accommodate any special levy.“It’s a bit of a fire sale. People don’t want to pay a huge special levy so they sell, but their property’s going to be discounted anyway.”Strata Community Association (NSW) president Stephen Brell agrees it is uncharted territory for all parties.“It’s difficult to say what impact this will have on purchase prices because it’s still relatively early days,” he says.&nbsp;“Buyers need to enter into a strata scheme with their eyes wide open and ask about any existing problems with the building.&nbsp;<div id="2dqCGdk80rBkE81ZtmK1fe"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/18lWm9WAmFskyPwWsdVshw/6cf63910e858a7fc00bab4c35dc3bb9e/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/18lWm9WAmFskyPwWsdVshw/6cf63910e858a7fc00bab4c35dc3bb9e/3.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Buyers in NSW have been warned to keep their eyes wide open. </div></div>“At least if you buy into a building that’s gone through Project Remediate you have some sense of security.”Despite the slow pace, Brell says Project Remediate is getting results.“I’m actually pleasantly surprised with the numbers coming back from the Building Commissioner’s Office.&nbsp;“I know out in the marketplace the sentiment is that is is moving very slowly, and it is, but it’s not an easy fix.”An Office of the NSW Building Commissioner spokesperson says there are a number of complexities to the process.“Scoping remediation work accurately is challenging and owners’ corporations should be wary of any remediation quotes prepared without a detailed investigation of the underlying condition of the building,” the spokesperson says.&nbsp;“The building design, existing condition and site constraints can substantially alter the difficulty and cost of remediation.“Construction costs continue to rise in response to reduced availability of materials and contractors due to global factors.&nbsp;“Project Remediate has assembled leading construction, engineering and fire safety experts to design a program that addresses all of these issues.”As well as these cost blowouts, Cabello says individual buildings can also prove more costly.“We’ve had larger buildings where the cladding in question is just a decorative trim so work will be minimal, but then there are smaller buildings where whole exteriors need to be replaced,” he says.&nbsp;“It’s not really the product that’s costly, because it’s cheap as chips, it’s the access.&nbsp;“If your building is landlocked you might need a crane or to block off streets.”<div id="2SN4nNYHfxJTRJpajvJ1H"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/ZCdEhWiHz2CxoPnwtDWdi/8632988cd7acd160df3e96747958139f/4.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/ZCdEhWiHz2CxoPnwtDWdi/8632988cd7acd160df3e96747958139f/4.jpg"></picture><div>▲ No two remediation projects are the same, which means no standard costs or timelines. </div></div>Another hurdle in the process is rulings on which products are on the high risk list, based on the percentage of polyethylene used.“We’ve an interesting situation where the cladding on one building, which was installed by a very good developer, was compliant at the time it was built. But a year later that product is on the banned list,” Cabello says.&nbsp;“The developer is saying, ‘It’s not our fault, it was compliant at the time’. However the legislation says the developer is still responsible in retrospect.&nbsp;“The strata plan got legal advice and the opinion was the developer was still on the hook.“However, because they choose to fund it themselves, now they’re having to make a claim from the developer and lodge proceedings in court to recover the money.”<h2>Innovation upside</h2> The silver lining, however, has been the amount of innovation taking place in the cladding space.Engineers at RMIT have developed fire-safe cladding using recycled glass to not only produce a safer building material but also address a major waste problem. The non-combustible cladding uses 83 per cent recycled glass as well as relatively low amounts of plastic binders and fire-retardant additives.“Experiments have proven our claddings are fire-safe, water-resistant, cheap, and meet structural and environmentally sustainable requirements,” lead researcher associate Professor Dilan Robert says.He says the technology also met key compliance requirements of cladding for non-combustibility set by Standards Australia.“Claddings play a key role in preventing the spread of fire, particularly in high-rise buildings.“Building fires can happen anywhere at any time and cannot be predicted, therefore fire safety requirements should be embedded in the design of buildings.” <hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

It is two years since the launch of NSW’s Project Remediate to identify and remove combustible cladding. But with just two buildings have had cladding removed, is the scheme doing all it could?

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Robot apprentices strapping on tool belts might seem a futuristic fairytale but the reality is momentum is building for AI and wearable technology in the construction industry.Boston Dynamics, a leading US engineering and robotic design company, has this year released a series of videos unveiling the latest improved capabilities of its humanoid robot, Atlas.&nbsp;A handy helper made from lightweight 3D-printed parts, Atlas can manoeuvre around obstacles, correct its own balance, climb stairs, grip items and effortlessly lift heavy objects.Autonomous robots throwing their weight around construction sites is one way AI can assist the industry, while wearable tech is also helping take the load off busy builders.&nbsp;Companies including the Australasian-based Exxovantage are providing solutions including exoskeletons, worn by construction workers to provide superhuman strength, increase safety and improve productivity.According to SafeWork Australia, the construction industry’s on-the-job fatality rate was 2.1 per 100,000 workers in 2021, the fourth-most-affected industry in the country.&nbsp;And for the 2020 to 2021 financial year, despite Covid-related lockdowns, construction accounted for 16,088 (or 12 per cent) of all serious injury worker’s compensation claims.&nbsp;A world where robots clock on and take the place of workers on site may still be several lifetimes away, however, the technology already exists to make a day on the tools a lot easier.<h2>Construction reaping what others sowed</h2> Research into autonomous robots and exoskeletons began in the military, mining and medical fields, but the business of building is also benefitting.Professor Ian Manchester, director of the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, says there are many traits being developed in today’s robotics that lend themselves to the construction sector.&nbsp;<div id="POC2rvG9cRyErBacaESFi"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3imLqvPBpJjwem2mZ8hsgv/d08bf0ddb04b93f7a8c6003f1536f4d4/7.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3imLqvPBpJjwem2mZ8hsgv/d08bf0ddb04b93f7a8c6003f1536f4d4/7.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Professor Ian Manchester with Cassie. </div></div>“If you look at the history of robotics, the kinds of problems being solved in the earliest days were ones with a very regular and repeating sequence of actions, like production line management or car manufacturing where you’re making thousands of identical objects and it is exactly the same process every time,” he says.“For decades these machines were kept separate from people; kept in cages and if humans came near they were programmed to shut down for safety reasons.&nbsp;“That’s all changing because today there’s a lot of research happening in areas where you have robots or automated machines interacting quite closely with people.”Prof Manchester says Australian-based research is making significant headway in field robotics, where robots operate in primarily outdoor, or less structured scenarios.&nbsp;His team is working on marine robotics, mining automation and on autonomous technology that can even fight bushfires. As a result, today’s tech is learning to coexist with people.“Where a machine or a robot needs to operate quite close with somebody, then safety becomes a more significant factor. We need to ask the question, ‘How does a robot and a human collaborate? How can they actually work together towards a common goal?’,” he says.Whether it’s military, mining or construction robotics, Prof Manchester said there is crossover.“Technologies are converging. Construction isn’t an easy area to automate, but we’re moving in that direction,” he says.&nbsp;“A robot operating in a complex environment needs to have some kind of situational awareness.&nbsp;“It needs to know where it is and where other objects are, and this would be vital on a building site.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-e1_QhJ1EhQ" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-e1_QhJ1EhQ"></iframe> “Imagine a site where 10 people are working together—it’d be very important that the robot had some perception of where people are around it so it was able to operate safely alongside them and even collaborate.”Prof Manchester says workplace robotics are inevitable for industries seeking better safety and efficiency.“We’re a long way from having robots take our jobs—that’s not going to happen in any of our lifetimes,” he says.&nbsp;“However, to some extent, almost every area of the economy is embracing robotics and similar technology or at least sees the potential.”<h2>Workers suit up for the future</h2> Exoskeletons—frameworks fitted with assisted or motorised “muscles” to multiply the wearer’s strength and extend their productivity—can make objects feel much lighter, assist workers’ posture and help them avoid strain or more serious injuries by literally doing all the heavy lifting.Exxovantage supplies exoskeletons and workplace wearables along with data analytics and AI fit-for-purpose solutions.&nbsp;Exxovantage global chief executive Arnaud Daurat says that although the uptake of wearables for construction workers is in its infancy, the technology is a no-brainer for building-related businesses.“The mindsets and stigmas around getting help, especially in construction, are still quite raw,” he says.&nbsp;“It’s a macho environment with a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude. Many workers know the job is hard but consider it’s all just part of the work.&nbsp;“But now we’re saying you don’t have to feel pain while doing your job.<div id="3U14F8DSNfYzJvAPagerLx"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6nXf6qez2npDY5S3srOVxE/085c6de3029647d0df8c68114fa13fc6/8.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6nXf6qez2npDY5S3srOVxE/085c6de3029647d0df8c68114fa13fc6/8.jpg"></picture><div>▲ A worker wearing an exoskeleton designed for the construction industry. </div></div>“Today’s younger section of the workforce is more aware of work-life balance, wants to travel the world, eat salad and do yoga so they aren’t willing to go through the same things their older peers have.&nbsp;“The feedback we’re getting from organisations is that the desire is there; they’re more inclined to adopt new technologies to see them through to a safe retirement.”Daurat says wearable technology will become part of the industry’s safety gear.“I believe when you enter a site and you see a sign asking for your helmet, glasses and boots that exoskeletons will be there as part of your PPE gear,” he says.&nbsp;“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.&nbsp;“I think the construction industry has a good two to three years to go before really starting to mass adopt the technology and in seven to 10 years the majority of these workforces will be suited.”Aides are available now as passive and active devices. While lightweight passive exoskeletons (some of which are less than 800g) don’t need an energy supply, heavier active suits have sensors and motors to provide more support.&nbsp;Partial passive exoskeletons can retail in Australia for about $3000 while powered suits can sell in excess of $8000, however retail prices are declining each year.&nbsp;The alternative is hiring wearable technology much like any other building tool.&nbsp;Exxovantage estimates the support of a back exoskeleton reduces the load on the lower back by 30 per cent with a 15kg assistance for eight hours.&nbsp;The mid-height exoskeleton reduces muscle activity in the biceps and deltoids with the arm at mid-height by 33 per cent and 16 per cent respectively with a 7kg assistance for eight hours.<div id="3rurN6kYxlDiSDPGg5SzfS"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4m1sUPK8PD5lguaHmp2Edn/6b41f132c036e1b2205df459e0d16a59/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4m1sUPK8PD5lguaHmp2Edn/6b41f132c036e1b2205df459e0d16a59/3.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Exxovantage estimates the support of a back exoskeleton reduces the load on the lower back by 30 per cent with a 15kg assistance for eight hours.&nbsp; </div></div>Productivity and safety are key but Daurat says there are three more keywords industry leaders should focus on—engagement, attraction and retention.“The only way to achieve that is through technology. You cannot achieve that through mentoring alone, we’ve been doing that for decades already,” he says.&nbsp;“You want a worker to feel empowered and supported. If a worker has the choice of going to two companies and one says, ‘We have the technology to support you while you’re with us’ and the other company has nothing, who will the worker go to?”&nbsp;<h2>Investing in tomorrow</h2> Construction companies and builders taking up technology aren’t only investing in their people but are also ripe for financial rewards, according to Salvest managing director Anthony Ferraro.The non-bank lender, which provides financial solutions for developers, has begun paying attention to businesses who think outside the box.“One of the biggest things we’ve considered when raising capital during the past 12 months has been a company’s environmental, social, and governance, or ESG,” he says.&nbsp;“We always ask, ‘Are they the right builder to deliver a certain development?’ but also, ‘What are their ESG compliance criteria?’.”Ferraro says that despite construction costs skyrocketing in recent years, savvy companies need to spend money to make money.&nbsp;While productivity and staff retention is great for business, so is reducing expenditure such as insurances.“By taking on these new technologies like exoskeletons you reduce your overall costs, of course, but you also showcase to your insurer what preventative measures have been put in place, even if they’re not necessarily outlined under the building code or implemented by the union,” Ferraro says.&nbsp;“You’re proving that you’re doing this as an overarching prevention for your workers, because you value their safety and are very conscious of health and wellbeing.“At the end of the day, if you don’t evolve, you dissolve and to date that’s what’s largely happened in the construction industry.&nbsp;“Being more open-minded as to how tech can assist you design and construct more developments in a more efficient manner assists overall productivity, protects workers, and ultimately the insurer will reward you by giving you lower premiums.” <hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a><div id="1JP9GWVU6VGuJg5J8bgSMn"><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div><div> </div></div>

Robot apprentices strapping on tool belts might seem a futuristic fairytale but the reality is momentum is building for AI and wearable technology in the building industry…

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Australia’s built environment heavily depends on concrete, the world’s second-most consumed material.&nbsp;But it’s weighing on the environment and the federal government has cement companies squarely in its sights for emissions targets as some of the country’s top 215 polluters.&nbsp;Groups including Boral, Adbri and Cement Australia made the list, with $1 billion set aside to support the decarbonisation of steel, cement and aluminium industries—while cement makers are also able to buy carbon offsets. The challenge will be that it adds to costs downstream in an already challenged construction industry.&nbsp;But behind the scenes concrete is forging a new future as key industry players work to make it more environmentally friendly, and increasingly developers are picking up the products.&nbsp;At the heart of the concrete conundrum is cement, the main ingredient binding sand and gravel to give it its undeniable strength. As the world’s No.1 building material, a whopping 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced a year.&nbsp;<h2>Overhaul coming</h2> But the green glitch is that cement is responsible for about 7 per cent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to McKinsey research—a significant slab of the 40 per cent of emissions attributed to the built environment each year.As a result, the way cement and concrete are produced—and used—must be overhauled if the world’s collective construction sectors are to meet the net zero by 2050 goals set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change.Companies are now working with carbon neutral concrete, which is produced using processes that dramatically minimise (or even eliminate) the amount of CO2 released during its fabrication.Michael Kemp, chief executive of Earth Friendly Concrete, says that from the moment the federal Labor government started talking about a carbon tax around 2007, his team got to work.“We set out to make concrete without cement. We thought, ‘Let’s remove the problem altogether’. Although the tax didn’t get up, we started playing in the lab and quickly realised there were a number of applications where concrete without cement—we call it geopolymer concrete—was actually better than ordinary concrete.”<div id="VTOXhAoPfe8zslFShVFkn"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3LCfotNn9ysqtAhsOXXPEG/4e5cd646dab6aa0fe75db860ade5e474/Concrete_Mid_3_April_20.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3LCfotNn9ysqtAhsOXXPEG/4e5cd646dab6aa0fe75db860ade5e474/Concrete_Mid_3_April_20.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Concrete is the world’s top building material and makers are innovating to lower its carbon footprint. </div></div><h2>Cement-free solution</h2> Earth Friendly Concrete, an initiative of Australian construction materials company Wagners, has so far produced a number of high-profile projects using the cement-free solution, including the turning node and apron for the runway at Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba and Pinkenba Wharf in Brisbane as well as getting a nod from the Australian Museum recognising their product as one of Australia’s top climate solution technologies.“We save 220kg of CO2 for every cubic metre as an average, which out of all the low carbon concrete that’s happening in the world, it’s the biggest gap by a good margin and that’s because we’ve taken the cement completely out,” Kemp says.Dr Ali Nezhad, head of sustainability and innovation at Boral says today’s concrete producers have a responsibility to create change in a sector with such a hefty burden.“While concrete by itself is not a carbon-intensive material compared to many other materials such as steel, the large quantity of concrete used globally results in a high carbon footprint for our industry,” he says.“Lower carbon or carbon neutral concrete looks at the entire life cycle of the product, where emissions reductions can be achieved cumulatively throughout the material’s full life cycle, not just through a single change. This includes via component or source materials selection, manufacturing, transportation, and construction processes; and post-construction maintenance, repair, and disposal or reuse.”<div id="1buuKP2ZzIHJ0c6hWzlLON"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5MSVvsGPaIAimWqnP8wM0l/f42d2408c77e476d831a732ac8743a01/Concrete_Mid_2_April_20.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5MSVvsGPaIAimWqnP8wM0l/f42d2408c77e476d831a732ac8743a01/Concrete_Mid_2_April_20.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Concrete is a mainstay of the construction industry, prized for its strength and durability. </div></div><h2>Gaining momentum</h2> Dr Nezhad says Boral has been ambitious when it comes to its emissions reduction targets.&nbsp;“Demand for our lower carbon concrete is gaining momentum and it’s our ambition to make that standard at our batching plants. Our customers and the market has changed, they’re looking for more sustainable solutions and we can see that through the growing demand for our Envisia lower carbon concrete products,” he says.So far the path to carbon-neutral concrete is being paved with alternative lower carbon footprint materials used in the production process such as fly ash or slag to replace a portion of or all the cement used in the concrete mix. As new methods take shape, price does come into play, but Kemp says the competitiveness of cement-free concrete will continue to strengthen.“We’ve produced about 70,000 cubic metres, and on most of those projects we’re selling concrete at a premium of about 30 per cent.Considering that across Australia 70,000 cubic metres would probably be poured before ‘smoko’, we’ve got a lot of opportunity to scale up, greatly accelerate research and to build the business,” he says, adding that the higher cost can already be offset by using less concrete given the proven strength of the newer product.Another avenue to carbon neutral concrete, also being trialed globally, is known as carbon capture and storage (or CCS) where the CO2 is captured at the point of emission, then transported and permanently stored in underground geological formations.“We think it’s admirable but it’s going to need a lot of capital, a lot of investment and a long time to make things happen. I applaud the efforts going into it, but our approach has been, ‘Let’s not make the mess and then have to clean it up’. And the cost of putting carbon capture and storage on to the bill is going to make cement more expensive. Not making the cement in the first place will end up being the cheapest way to do it,” Kemp says.<div id="4iP4En2hN3wMdh5L8XIyLN"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/47purM8AltbFJ4CJqpKAae/2cdd8c75067e7f82820c790520b64c0c/Concrete_Mid_April_20.jpg" alt="A small plant grows from a crack in concrete." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/47purM8AltbFJ4CJqpKAae/2cdd8c75067e7f82820c790520b64c0c/Concrete_Mid_April_20.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Green shoots are appearing in the concrete industry as more eco-friendly solutions come to market. </div></div><h2>Exciting advances</h2> An alternative to cement-free concrete is treating traditional concrete in a manner that effectively “neutralises” it. Nezhad says there are exciting advances being made in the field of recarbonation, a process where concrete actually absorbs carbon through its lifecycle.&nbsp;“It’s a slow process that occurs in concrete where calcium hydroxide within the cement reacts with carbon dioxide and forms calcium carbonate.“The concrete stores the carbon dioxide permanently.“The process of recarbonation has been acknowledged and confirmed by the Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and it’s important that it’s recognised here in Australia given its potential impact on net emissions,” he says. <hr> To access more exclusive content and events join our growing TUD Plus membership.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans">Click here to learn more.</a>&nbsp; <a href="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></a><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture><div> </div></div>

Australia's built environment is heavily reliant on concrete, but the cement industry faces an uphill battle to decarbonise as the nation tackles its biggest polluters...

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Despite drone delivery technology soaring in recent years, most Australians still have a while to wait before dinner—or anything else on demand—is dropped at their doorstep.&nbsp;Although trials in some parts of the country are revolutionising the delivery and logistics space, red tape is keeping the tech grounded in our more built-up areas.Experts in the field believe our homes and businesses could be tailored to accommodate drones, similar to the integration of electric car charging stations, but adoption won’t be overnight.Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), which is responsible for the safety regulation of aircraft including drones, estimates the number of domestic recreational drones at up to 2 million, meaning about 1 in 10 Australians have a drone.&nbsp;However, from January 2021, fines of up to $11,100 can be issued to anyone flying unregistered drones for commercial use.Brendan Gillen, director of Kapcher, a data acquisition company using 3D modelling and AI, says the drone paper trail required by CASA is arduous.“The laws we are held to by CASA have created a bottleneck in the industry,” he says.&nbsp;“Because CASA is a government body, it can’t really get enough cash behind it to bring it up to speed.&nbsp;<div id="4GAHvcT2DhvbYV9IWVM0ot"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ee1ZY7hA0qvD3KJ2yioPz/ba2f1574ee03a5d05792872ab3cc41fd/3.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ee1ZY7hA0qvD3KJ2yioPz/ba2f1574ee03a5d05792872ab3cc41fd/3.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Australian authorities are not keeping up with how fast the technology is evolving, the industry says. </div></div>“They’re trying to manage drones with laws created for manned and hybrid aircraft which means, basically, if you follow the letter of the law you can’t really fly drones anywhere.“There just isn’t enough funding in the drone space for how fast the technology’s going.&nbsp;“Within CBD locations you can’t fly a drone, it’s just an absolute no-go because it’s unsafe, according to CASA.”Gillen says that although Australia’s drone industry is progressing at a measured pace, other countries are “happy to push the boundaries”.Zipline, a US drone delivery company, is setting a high benchmark in Rwanda, Africa, where it has completed more than 540,000 commercial deliveries and served more than 3400 health centres by providing blood and other medical supplies to about 45 million people.&nbsp;&nbsp;“I think there are pros and cons to being very highly regulated as we are in Australia,” Gillen says.“While it does mean we follow the procedures, it also hinders the ability to try new things and innovate really quickly.&nbsp;“My opinion is you should fail fast. If it doesn't work, then we know and we don’t invest more money and more time than we need to.”<div id="1oh1dWb2HGoBUqW7MFZU1c"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3vX2i3tZO1fFEUuQiIRiFo/d921ad0bad05dfa6721295c872082d21/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3vX2i3tZO1fFEUuQiIRiFo/d921ad0bad05dfa6721295c872082d21/1.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Wing general manager Simon Rossi. “In time we’ll be able to deliver to apartment buildings.” </div></div>Given the restrictions around operating drones in cities, businesses such as on-demand drone delivery service Wing are piloting programs in spacious suburbia.&nbsp;Wing’s latest partnerships are with retail brands such as Coles and Doordash, along with developer Mirvac, to get groceries and takeaway meals to people’s doors.Recently, Mirvac’s Orion Springfield Central shopping centre in Queensland’s Ipswich started using Wing’s delivery drones to provide food and essentials to surrounding communities.&nbsp;Wing general manager Simon Rossi, said the operation was unique for Australia.“We’re really focused on suburban areas right now, places where there are more houses and a little more space,” he says.“We think in time we’ll be able to deliver to apartment buildings and the like but, at this stage, we’re really focused on single family homes that are probably more suitable.”The drone industry has the potential to increase Australia’s GDP by $14.5 billion by 2040, according to Deloitte Access Economics. Drones and other emerging aviation technologies are projected to create up to 10,000 jobs over the next 20 years.Analysis from Accenture revealed an uptick in drone usage could eventually reduce traffic congestion by 2 billion vehicle kilometres, of which 1.2 billion will be from main arterial roads.<div id="7q0yh5Ds0xF0NLB7ZUra5D"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1SY0cFUu8Xx63o7lWEiMME/ad9188187d97fa33cdce39f240da85c5/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1SY0cFUu8Xx63o7lWEiMME/ad9188187d97fa33cdce39f240da85c5/2.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Doordash and Wing are trialling home drone deliveries in limited locations. </div></div>This reduction could result in 320 fewer serious accidents a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 238,000 tonnes—equivalent to the carbon storage of more than seven million trees.Rossi says the luxury of space in suburbia means safety can be more accurately guaranteed.&nbsp;Secure shopping centre rooftops or upper-level carparks are housing drone “nests” and the aircraft remain 6m to 7m from the public during delivery.“Once we’ve collected the order from the shop or restaurant, we take it up to the drone which will then take off vertically to a height of about 7m where it hovers,” he says.&nbsp;“It lowers a tether and the item in a specially designed box is attached to the tether, which then retracts up and locks itself into the drone.&nbsp;“The drone will ascend to about 70m and travel at around 110km/h to the customer.“As it gets to the customer, the drone will lower itself, slowly lower the parcel by the tether to the ground and release the parcel.&nbsp;“Then the tether retracts into the aircraft and it flies back to its drone base or ‘nest’.”<div id="3pFvdgxXlPH543psaZjLEB"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/21y7OWKmiXo6BvziGQIaEx/a96eda5eae2797f0983c6791a4d34a26/4.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/21y7OWKmiXo6BvziGQIaEx/a96eda5eae2797f0983c6791a4d34a26/4.jpg"></picture><div>▲ Paying attention: Mirvac chief digital officer William Payne. </div></div>He says that any address with an open area in a front or backyard, or even a driveway, could accommodate a drone delivery.“As long as there’s a space of about the size of a picnic blanket then the drone will fly to that location,” Rossi says.Mirvac chief digital officer William Payne says the reality of drone technology is being carefully considered by the developer.“The future-proofing of Mirvac’s buildings and ongoing maintenance is critical, so we are always looking at ways we can improve processes and create efficiencies without compromising on quality,” he says.“Technology in all its forms plays a major role here. There are numerous applications for autonomous and semi-autonomous drone and robotic platforms, many of which focus on safety and quality control,” adding that Mirvac employs drones for inspecting and tracking the progress of its masterplanned community developments for maintenance, quality assurance and customer updates.&nbsp;“While the use of drones won’t immediately change the design of buildings, the technology will be used more and more to augment current development models.&nbsp;“Looking further into the future for example, it is possible we will see buildings and precincts designed with both drone delivery and personal transportation in mind.” <hr> You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals.<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"> Click here to learn more.</a><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

Red tape may be tangling drone deliveries right now, but the industry has been warned it must cater for the coming aerial revolution or be left behind…