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Dive brief:
- In job trailers across the country, Suffolk Construction builders may have a new voice at the table: an artificial intelligence engineer, according to a new company directive.
- The initiative, called “Jobsite of the Future”, will do just that bringing AI engineers into Suffolk construction sites around the country to help solve pain points in the construction process, the contractor announced last week.
- As part of the initiative, AI engineers will participate in project meetings and iterate solutions in three core areas: design, programming and process, according to the June 9 announcement. Suffolk CEO John Fish cited rising costs and growing labor issues as part of the impetus to create this program.
Diving knowledge:
The workplace of the future is built on Suffolk’s continued investment in data and general technology, according to the company. More than a decade ago, the company invested more than $100 million in data, technology infrastructure and innovation capabilities.
“We believe the workplace of the future and our use of artificial intelligence and data will fundamentally change this trajectory and redefine how America builds for generations to come,” Fish said in the press release.
According to Suffolk, the program so far has provided AI-assisted design review tools that spot drawing conflicts and coordination gaps before construction begins, as well as AI-powered procurement and delivery tracking systems that help teams see supply chain risks and delivery timelines, among other improvements.
Suffolk also cited a multimillion-dollar project in the Midwest, where the Jobsite of the Future initiative helped the contractor build and pilot an AI-powered application process for monthly payment requests. The system aims to help reduce delays caused by lack of documentation, approval bottlenecks and repetitive review comments.
Overall, the company’s investment in data has helped the builder create a wave of opportunities in its business. Its net data lake, or data collection, contains approximately 293 terabytes of structured construction data; the equivalent of approximately 75 billion PDF pages.
“Jobsite of the Future connects data, technology and operational expertise so our project teams can make smarter decisions, reduce risk and deliver projects with greater predictability,” said Jit Kee Chin, Suffolk’s chief technology officer, in the announcement.
Indeed, the company has established a reputation for being focused on innovation and technology. That of the company industry-famous technology accelerator, BOOSTclosed its sixth cohort of member startups in December. The company also wanted to introduce new technological solutions, both from external companies such as Arrowsight i in-house developers for steel trackingin the field
The push also coincides with other construction companies taking these development initiatives in-house. New York City-based Turner Construction, for example, has questioned the value of hiring companies to create solutions for the company, when the contractor could build the solutions by yourself.
