Technology has changed the world we know in many ways. The rise of the on-demand consumer economy where you can order something from home and have it delivered in a matter of days from around the world or minutes from a local warehouse, is only matched by the on-demand availability of information and entertainment. So how is technology revolutionizing the construction?
3D printing
3D printing is one of the five ways technology is revolutionizing the world of construction as we know it. China proudly produced the world’s first 3D printed house in 2016. To be honest, it was a concrete shell of a house. It lacked plumbing, electrical connections and a roof. As 3D printing technology matures, you’ll see more 3D printed concrete structures like the playhouses being printed in the US to resemble Disney castles.
Drones
While drones get a bad rap for spying on people, they provide invaluable insights for the construction industry. Sending a drone flying along the power lines to check for damage or locating downed lines is cheaper and safer than sending human teams to climb or drive along them.
Drones are being sent up beside buildings to check for damage that previously required someone with experience best used mountain climbing. If the drone finds damage, than a human is sent up to verify or assess the severity of it. But by using drones, you don’t have to send someone scaling the side of a tower to look for damage, minimizing the risk to humans and associated labor costs. Then there is the use of drones checking aging infrastructure like pipes for leaks instead of sending people underground.
Building information modeling
3D computer aided drafting is already the norm for designing products from furniture to cars. Building information modeling software brings this technology to the construction industry.
Combining building information modeling with geographic information systems (GIS) ensures that you don’t plan on building a patio on top of a critical utility line or connection point. Some building modeling software applications also perform energy usage calculations such as determining how much the building will cost to heat and the amount of natural light each area receives.
Construction management software
Construction Management Software is a type of project management software specific to construction and renovation projects. Construction management software brings lists of the tasks for the project into one database. It identifies scheduling and resource constraints for a project while making the critical path obvious. It alerts project managers to problems such as when an electrical contractor’s delays could hurt the entire project timeline and gives them the opportunity to rearrange work to speed up the whole project or prevent people from being idle while another task is delayed.
GPS
GPS tracking of construction equipment has become routine. Insurance providers incentivize it so that equipment is found almost as soon as it is stolen, and tracking software lets you know almost immediately when the equipment is somewhere it shouldn’t be.
Technology like construction management software, drones and GPS offers project managers new ways to save on time and money while reducing the risk to the crew. Building information modeling and the design verification it permits helps prevent the horror stories of costly corrections during construction.