Rahul Shah is Global Director of the British Standards Institution, the UK’s national standards body, based in London.
The opinions are the author’s own.
Looking for answers on how to build smarter, greener buildings or improve water efficiency in homes and offices, those who create our buildings and construction projects have the opportunity to enter a new era of ‘learning by focusing its attention on the benefits of artificial intelligence.
The potential applications of AI for the construction industry could be transformative, from design to procurement, construction, operation and closure. Indeed, designers and contractors are they already apply AI and machine learning manage the volumes of data involved in building design, construction project planning and the day-to-day operation of sites.
Rahul Shah
Permission granted by the British Standards Institution
But this new era of efficiency could mean a new era of learning and development for workers in the construction industry as they adapt to changing responsibilities. Considering the labor challenges facing construction leaders labor shortages and the aging of workersa critical window of opportunity is emerging for businesses to embrace AI and prepare the next generation of people to work alongside this transformative technology.
Practical uses
Before evaluating why employees should become more familiar with AI, it’s worth examining why the technology is quickly becoming essential in construction in the first place.
According to the recent BSI Trust AI Poll, a global survey of more than 10,000 respondents in nine countries, 45% of people working in the built environment sector worldwide say their work currently uses AI. Of those who say not yet, 42% expect to do so by 2030 and 68% expect the industry as a whole to do so.
It is clear that there are many opportunities to use AI in the industry. For example, AI’s ability to assess and synthesize information quickly, in volume and at scale, offers the potential to proactively create more efficient buildings, both in terms of energy and use. In a pilot project in Swedenusing AI to manage energy consumption in a building has reduced it by around 20%.
Experts also believe AI could have a positive impact, for example by helping to monitor safety using sensors, cameras, predictive trend data and modeling to determine ways to make construction work zones safer and more efficient.
Plus, AI-powered tools like drones are beginning to be used to help manage large and tall construction areas. Being able to see these complicated areas from multiple vantage points could allow for greater safety by alerting workers to any hazards that cannot be seen from their line of sight. These drones may also be able to identify design weaknesses before they appear.
Just as the introduction of CAD has been transformative for the practice of building design, the use of AI tools could transform our built environment from start to finish.
Education is key
Younger generations of workers may be coming out of school with some comfort and knowledge of AI, but too few of those workers are entering the construction field. According to 2021 reportonly 16.7% of Gen Z students said they would be interested in working in construction someday, making it 21St– field of 22 respondents, well behind fashion industries such as the arts with 78% and technology with 76.5%. Given this reality, and as the industry works to recruit more effectively among the younger ranks, upskilling and upskilling existing workers is critical.
Leaders in the construction industry can certainly conduct AI training and improvement using the proven learning and development modules they use today. However, it may be worth implementing a new innovative educational strategy in addition to traditional methods: reverse mentoring. Younger workers may lack industry knowledge and experience, but their familiarity with AI tools can be essential to upskilling experienced construction workers.
In the age of AI, younger Millennial and Gen Z professionals have the potential to add value from day one by training senior leaders on AI and technology while absorbing some of the expansive knowledge of their peers. experienced leagues about their industry.
Establishing this kind of culture in AI education could create a two-way flow of organizational knowledge that not only improves operational efficiency by helping older workers use AI-enabled software and processes as part of their job functions, but which also establishes team trust and the idea of collaboration in an age-diverse workforce.
Ultimately, education plays a key role in ensuring that the construction workforce can seamlessly integrate AI tools at every stage, from initial design sketches to the final touches of a facility completed While we will always need people at the center of the construction process, AI’s potential to improve on-site safety, support sustainability and enable a people-centred approach can place it at the forefront of positive change in the built environment.
