- Executive summary
- An industry on the upswing
- Revolutionising construction, one process at a time
- A closer look at generative AI in construction
- A differentiator for the construction business
- Increased productivity, reduced costs
- A glimpse into the future of construction
- Learnings
Executive summary
The construction industry has traditionally been resistant to change, preferring instead to rely on tried and true methods that have been borne out over time. However, faced with growing issues related to labour and material costs, the industry has been forced to rethink its approach and look for alternative solutions, with generative AI emerging as a particularly promising option.
- A growing number of construction companies are now using AI to streamline the design process, optimise project schedules, reduce waste, and increase safety.
- Autodesk’s 2024 State of Design & Make report found that 78% of construction leaders believe that AI will enhance the industry, while 66% say AI will be “essential across the board” within the next two to three years.
- Deloitte estimates that AI and data analytics technologies could potentially reduce construction costs by 10-15%.
- “We see AI as a differentiator for our business and as something that can take hard work out of the business,” says Gregory Koteras, general manager of applications and emerging technologies at John Holland.
- “AI can do a lot. But it can’t finish [a building]. AI can’t fix a leak or install a heating system either,” argues Isabelle Dumortier, director of marketing at Belgian construction recruitment agency Impact.
As unlikely as it may sound now, we may even live to see AI construct entire buildings from start to finish without human involvement. However, it may be a while before we get there. At this point, generative AI still cannot be relied on to get the job done entirely on its own. Until that happens, we’ll just need to make sure to add some human creativity and expertise into the mix.
An industry on the upswing
The construction industry is often considered a bit of a dinosaur, stuck in the mud of its old ways. It wasn’t so long ago that if you mentioned ‘cutting-edge technology’ and ‘construction’ in the same sentence, you might have gotten some strange looks. Put plainly, the industry was comfortable pressing ahead with its tried-and-true methods, as innovation and change were met with resistance by major players.
Fast forward to today, and things look radically different: the construction industry is embracing new technologies and ideas at a remarkable clip. Just take a look at some of the impressive technologies that are becoming commonplace on modern construction sites. We’ve got drones buzzing overhead, mapping out sites and keeping an eye on the progress. We’ve got autonomous machines working alongside human workers, handling tasks like laying bricks or tying rebar. And we’ve got 3D printers assembling entire buildings – yes, you read that correctly.
Just when you thought the sector had met its quota for futuristic technologies, generative AI entered the picture. The same technology you may be using to write essays, compose music, or create photorealistic images is now making waves in construction too. “How?”, you might ask. Well, let’s find out.
“We see AI as a differentiator for our business and as something that can take the hard work out.”
Gregory Koteras, general manager at John Holland
Revolutionising construction, one process at a time
Project delays, budget overruns, and safety concerns are just some of the issues that have plagued the construction industry for years. Could AI offer a solution?
The construction industry is incredibly complex. There are so many moving parts to manage, from design and planning to execution and maintenance. Is it really any wonder that the industry has been struggling with issues like project delays, budget overruns, and safety concerns for years? The recent emergence of generative AI promises to change all that, allowing construction companies to streamline a wide range of construction tasks and enhance the productivity of their workforce.
ChatGPT, design me a building
The use of generative AI in construction begins at the design stage. In the past, architects and engineers would spend weeks – sometimes even months – sketching out designs either digitally or by hand. It was time-consuming and limited in scope. If a client wanted to broaden their options or make changes, it often meant starting from near-scratch. With generative AI, however, designers can simply enter the desired parameters into the software and receive hundreds of design options almost instantaneously. Want to see how the building looks with a different facade or make adjustments to account for new energy efficiency standards? Just press a button.
Taking guesswork out of construction
Project planning and management can often prove to be a bit of a guessing game. Sure, experienced project managers could make educated guesses about timelines and resource needs, but unexpected issues would often crop up, throwing everything off track. Well, not anymore. Project managers can now use generative AI to analyse data from thousands of past projects, predict potential problems, and identify solutions long before the issue manifests in the real world. This allows them to plan more accurately, allocate resources more efficiently, and keep things running smoothly from start to finish.
The end of paperwork
Now, let’s talk about all those tedious, time-consuming tasks that are part and parcel of any construction project. Endless paperwork, the constant compliance checks – it can be exhausting. These are necessary but mind-numbing tasks that take hours of human effort. Now, generative AI is taking these tasks off human hands as well. It can draft documents, run compliance checks, and create detailed models in a fraction of the time it would take a person. This frees up human workers to focus on the more creative, problem-solving aspects of their jobs – i.e. the stuff they actually enjoy doing.
Safety guaranteed
Safety has always been the top priority on construction sites. The biggest problem is that it relies heavily on human observation skills, which can often leave a lot to be desired. Let’s face it, we are easily distracted and we have difficulties maintaining our focus for long periods of time. We simply cannot see everything at all times. But AI can. AI-powered systems can monitor every nook and cranny of a construction site in real time, using video feeds and sensor data to spot potential hazards. They can identify when a worker isn’t wearing proper safety gear or detect early signs of structural instability, thereby helping to prevent and mitigate potential accidents.
Cut costs, not corners
Construction has traditionally been an industry with tight margins, and the rising costs of materials and labour in recent years haven’t exactly helped the matter. The most effective way to lower costs, unfortunately, was to cut corners here and there. With generative AI in their toolbox, construction companies now have a much more efficient solution, which allows them to optimise designs in a way that minimises waste and to reduce labour costs by streamlining processes. Put simply, it enables them to save money without compromising quality.
Limitations of generative AI
As exciting as some of the use cases outlined above are, we shouldn’t get carried away – the technology still faces major limitations. While AI can quickly generate designs and offer solutions to a wide range of problems, these outputs aren’t always suitable or accurate. The technology is still developing, and there’s a real possibility of errors or unexpected results. This means that experienced professionals will still need to review and validate the algorithm’s work.
There are also concerns surrounding copyright and intellectual property. When AI creates a new design, it’s usually based on existing ones. This raises some serious questions: what is the feedstock for generation? Are they from the company, or scraped from the internet without permission? Companies will need to be careful in ensuring that the algorithm works exclusively with materials either from the company, or acquired with the permission of the original designers.
A closer look at generative AI in construction
A growing of companies are now using generative AI to streamline a wide range of construction tasks, from design to scheduling.
Accelerating the design process
Obayashi Corporation, the Japanese construction company best known for the construction of Tokyo Sky Tree – which, at 634 metres, stands as the world’s tallest tower – has developed a generative AI tool called AiCorb, which can significantly accelerate the design process and take some of the burden off human designers. So, how does it work? Well, after a designer enters hand-drawn sketches and text descriptions into the software, it automatically generates multiple facade designs that meet the designated criteria. That’s not all: the software also generates 3D models for each of the proposed designs, making it easier for designers to present their vision to clients.
Boosting employee productivity
John Holland, one of the leading construction companies in Australia and New Zealand, has partnered with Microsoft to develop an in-house version of ChatGPT that enables its employees to streamline a wide variety of tasks. According to the company, the new chatbot has proven to be a huge hit among employees, reaching around 200 unique daily users and over 1,000 queries per day. Among other things, employees use it to quickly search for internal information, summarise and write emails, and draft position descriptions and executive summaries for reports. The chatbot has also proven beneficial for project managers, who use it to generate meeting recaps, compile unanswered questions, and suggest solutions for issues raised during the meeting.
Optimising construction schedules
Alice is a generative AI-powered construction scheduling software designed to help construction companies optimise their schedules and thus reduce the risk of their projects falling behind or exceeding their budgets. Companies can simply upload their existing schedules into the software, which will then analyse them to identify potential problems and suggest alternative schedules that may produce better outcomes. The software also enables companies to run simulations that allow them to evaluate the potential impact of changes in project parameters on the schedule’s timeline. According to Alice Technologies, the company behind the software, Alice can reduce project duration by up to 17%, cut labour costs by 14%, and reduce equipment costs by 12%.
“AI can do a lot. But it can’t finish [a building]. AI can’t fix a leak or install a heating system either.”
Isabelle Dumortier, director of marketing at construction recruitment agency Impact
A differentiator for the construction business
While experts agree that generative AI could have a significant impact on the future of construction, they also point out that the technology still has serious limitations.
Let’s take a closer look at what industry experts think about generative AI and its potential impact on the future of construction. “We see AI as a differentiator for our business and as something that can take the hard work out,” explains Gregory Koteras, general manager of applications and emerging technologies at John Holland. “There are a lot of manual processes we can automate to improve workforce productivity. Given there is a labour shortage in the construction sector, anything we can do to be more efficient will really help guide our business forward.”
The biggest potential gain will be felt in productivity. “AI gives the construction industry vast opportunities to combat a legacy of productivity issues,” says Habel Mwashigadi, senior project manager at consultancy firm Turner & Townsend. “Design processes have been made faster with the generative capabilities of AI through predictive design processes that introduce more feasible variations. This allows both designers and enabled designs to be optimised and executed to avoid repetitive mistakes. Through AI-enabled analytics, the decision-making process within the construction process has also been shortened, allowing for faster and more accurate decisions to be made.”
However, despite some very impressive capabilities, the technology does have certain drawbacks. “It is difficult to completely control the results generated, and there are both positive and negative opinions about this contingency,” warns Takuma Nakabayashi, an AI researcher at Obayashi’s Technology Research Institute. “No matter how much control is gained, it is also important to understand that generative AI has different characteristics from conventional tools such as pens and CAD, which are an extension of the hand.”
Given its apparent shortcomings, generative AI is unlikely to fully replace human construction workers. At least not yet. “AI can do a lot. But it can’t finish [a building]. AI can’t fix a leak or install a heating system either,” argues Isabelle Dumortier, director of marketing at Belgian construction recruitment agency Impact. “Crafts(wo)men are here to stay, and they deserve to be recognised. Their skills are simply irreplaceable.”
Increased productivity, reduced costs
While AI adoption in construction remains slow, recent surveys suggest that it will accelerate in the years to come.
Despite the perceived benefits, the adoption of AI technology within construction is still relatively slow. Deloitte’s State of Digital Adoption in the Construction Industry 2023 report found that only 26% of construction and engineering companies now use AI and machine learning, while another 35% plan to do so in the future. However, recent surveys suggest that the interest in the technology is growing steadily.
Awareness among construction leaders about the benefits of AI is also rising. According to Autodesk’s 2024 State of Design & Make report, 78% of respondents believe that AI will enhance construction, while 66% say AI will be “essential across the board” within the next two to three years. When asked to share their views on how AI can be used in construction, 44% of leaders said it could help increase productivity, 36% said it could be used to produce more informed design options, and 34% said it could help identify product and asset performance gaps.
Several other reports offer similar views. According to Deloitte, AI and data analytics technologies could potentially reduce construction costs by 10-15%. They could also reduce budgets and timeline deviations by 10-20% and cut engineering hours by up to 30%. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the generative AI in the construction market is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. A May 2024 report by MarketResearch predicts that the market will grow from US$105 million in 2023 to US$1.9 billion in 2033.
A glimpse into the future of construction
How soon before AI can build entire structures on its own? It might be sooner than you think.
If the sector continues along its current trajectory, we might see a day when generative AI takes over the entire construction process. Consider, if you will, a future where the algorithm could plan out entire structures without humans having to get their hands dirty. They’d consider everything, from the local climate and available materials to energy efficiency and even the cultural context. Then, when it comes to actually building these designs, we could have AI-controlled robots and drones doing all the work. They’d be able to work 24/7, in all kinds of weather conditions, without ever getting tired or making human mistakes. They could 3D print components on-site, assemble prefabricated parts, and even make real-time adjustments if needed.
Let’s zoom out a little further. What does this entail for our city infrastructure as a whole? Indeed, what if AI could plan and construct entire cities for us? Literally everything would be optimised – from the layout of streets and the placement of parks to the distribution of resources such as water and electricity – for the comfort and convenience of citizens. The AI could factor in population growth, changing climate conditions, and evolving transportation needs, creating cities that are livable, adaptable, and sustainable for generations to come.
Learnings
So, what’s the big takeaway here? Is generative AI the next big thing in construction? While it may be too early to provide a definitive answer to this question, most signs point in this direction. The technology offers a wide range of benefits to construction companies, enabling them to streamline their operations and significantly improve the productivity of their workforce.
- Generative AI enables construction companies to accelerate the design process, producing hundreds or thousands of design options within minutes.
- Companies can use the technology to optimise their schedules and accelerate project timelines. For example, the Alice platform can reportedly reduce project duration by up to 17%.
- Many industry experts view generative AI as the solution to some of the challenges that plague the industry, such as growing labour shortages.
- The biggest issue with generative AI is that we still cannot fully trust that its output will always be accurate.
- The use of AI in construction also raises concerns related to copyright and intellectual property.
In the end, the future of construction likely lies in finding the right balance between AI capabilities and human expertise. By leveraging the strengths of both, we have the opportunity to create a built environment that’s not just more efficient and sustainable, but also more responsive to human needs, and more in harmony with our planet.
