Are you facing labour shortages in construction?
Labour shortages are one of the most discussed challenges facing the construction industry in recent years. And attracting and retaining qualified staff will continue to be a challenge in the years to come. To deal with the problem of labour shortages in construction, civil engineering and installation services, many companies are looking at alternative solutions. We list three for you in this blog!
Robotisation in construction
To meet labour shortages in construction, civil engineering and installation services, construction companies are looking into new ways to work more efficiently. One proven solution is robotisation. According to an ABN Amro research report on robotisation in construction, the industry will invest some €306 million in construction robots until 2030. This means that the adoption of drones, 3D printers, brick-laying robots and self-propelled excavators will increase by 14.1% annually.
The shift towards factory construction is another well-known example of the rise of robotisation in the industry. From large housing factories, houses are built in the factory hall, transported and then assembled on site. This shift towards robotisation and factory construction not only conveniently plays into the construction workforce shortage, it is also necessary to build faster, more sustainable and cheaper. Because to meet the acute housing shortage, modernising and scaling up the construction process is a key piece in this social puzzle.
Despite the positive initiatives, many countries lag behind in terms of robotisation compared to other European countries. Switzerland, Germany and Denmark, for instance, have been opting for factory-built construction for much longer to address these challenges. Time for action, then!
Artificial intelligence at work
Another well-known – and imaginative – solution to work more efficiently with limited resources is artificial intelligence or AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a number of ways to address this challenge. For example, deploy AI to automatically schedule resources on projects during the planning process or optimise the energy consumption of HVAC systems using artificial intelligence.
AI on construction sites is still at an early stage, but the possibilities are great. For example, you can use artificial intelligence to analyse drone images and spot potential safety hazards. Or combine artificial intelligence with augmented reality to guide service engineers step by step when repairing an industrial filter installation or central heating boiler.
Digitising processes
Robotisation and the use of artificial intelligence naturally appeal a lot to the imagination. But even with smaller digitisation steps, companies can already achieve a lot to solve the problem of human shortage in construction, civil engineering and installation services. Looking at office work, we see that many processes have already been digitised and even automated. Just think of automatically reading purchase invoices and linking them to purchase orders. Or automating the signing process with digital signatures.
If we look at the administrative processes on the construction site, we see that a lot more efficiency can be achieved with the help of apps, for example. Many supervisors still make notes in a notebook during site visits and then have to retype information into the company software. It is much more convenient to record information about projects digitally immediately.
A handy tool to make this happen is Microsoft Power Apps. With Power Apps, you quickly develop business apps fully tailored to your processes without too much complex programming code. If you use an ERP solution based on Microsoft technology, you can easily integrate these apps with your ERP. This ensures that entered data is also immediately visible in the administration. A good example of this is the Mutation Maintenance App, which supports home inspectors during home inspections. Inspectors register all required activities during the inspection in the app and forward them to the inside service with a single click of a button. They can now get straight to work preparing a quotation!
More tips for working more efficiently?
Are you looking for more practical tips to work more efficiently so you, too, can do more with fewer people? Then read our white paper ‘Construction is Getting Smarter…’ in which we collect four tips to help you work more efficiently in construction, civil engineering and installation services!
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Paul Broderick | Paul has developed a keen eye for seeing specific customer requirements and recommending solutions to deliver business benefits and returns-on-investment. In the last three years Paul has focused this experience and knowledge specifically on the Construction industry, where digitisation is now the hot topic in IT, which has evolved and matured to become most relevant in today’s construction industry.