POWER May 2020 - 38

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Technology in Construction:
Predicting and Adapting to Change
This is Part I in a series that identifies technology trends in the construction industry,
and offers expert advice on how companies can prepare for changes that lie ahead.
Weston Tanner
P
redicting how technology will
change and impact the construction
job market, even in the nearterm
of five to 10 years, can be difficult.
Moore's law, which states that transistors
per chip doubles every 2 years,
combines with social factors, particularly
the varying rate at which people absorb
and consume new technology, to
speed up or slow down adoption. These
variables can cause some technologies
to be available in half the time that was
originally expected, while causing other
technologies to be much less available
than originally anticipated.
Nevertheless,
by
examining
recent
trends and historical patterns, it is possible
for companies to develop a solid
strategy for choosing and rolling out technology.
This first in a three-part series
identifies current options, looks at specific
examples, and helps companies assess
what fits into their own strategic plan.
Understanding Construction Project
Dynamics
Before companies can understand which
technologies will provide value, they
must first understand which jobs are likely
to change in the near future and which
ones aren't.
Media and construction technology
futurists discuss " the jobsite of the future "
at great length. Most of their conversations
focus on far off futures where
robots do all the work. These visions
are informed largely by the manufacturing
industry, where the popular delivery
methods Lean and Six Sigma focus on
assembly lines, quality control, supply
chain management, and other methods
of standardization. Because of this standardization,
robotics has made great inroads
in manufacturing.
Construction
sites,
however,
have
more variables than manufacturing, reducing
the environment's predictability.
For example, no two building designs
are exactly the same; project teams are
always shifting, causing working relation38
1.
There was a large shift in the workforce between 1979 and 2009, with the percentage of
workers performing labor and craft jobs decreasing substantially while the percentage of people
filling professional and managerial positions increased. Source: Thirdway.org
www.powermag.com
POWER | May 2020
ships to be in a state of flux; and building
components are typically sourced by different
companies in different geographic
locations. Therefore, construction jobs
still involve art as well as science.
Industrial bakeries may offer a better
comparison for construction sites
than manufacturing plants do. Consider
the similarities: both are tasked with
economically producing comparable
products, while facing situations that
must be handled responsively. Just as
a baker must monitor multiple inputs
such as heat, humidity, and differences in
sourced ingredients, builders also manage
heat, humidity, and material quality-
not to mention the engineered outcomes
necessary in building systems.
The industries' markets also share clear
differences from the market for massproduced
goods. People are willing to pay
more for artisanal-quality baked goods;
likewise, they are willing to pay more for
a construction team they can trust who is
focused on providing the best construction
product to meet their needs.
Client interactions for both industries
are complex. Special touches may be
needed when serving customers at the
bakery counter, just as they are needed
to keep a project owner happy. Communications
are a big part of the construction
process, not only for routine updates but
especially when there are unexpected
surprises-and communication skills are
still uniquely human. Because of these
considerations, the jobsite of the future
may have more in common with producing
brioche than ball bearings.
Computers Handle Some Tasks Better
Than Others
In general, computers are shifting human
work toward two kinds of tasks: ones that
involve problem-solving where standard
operating procedures do not exist, and
flexible roles that need to acquire new information
about the world, make sense of
it, and communicate it to a broader team.
Why is this shift occurring? Computers
(and robots) are good at performing routine
tasks, both manual and cognitive. In
these routine tasks, a set of rules or exact
procedures can be laid out.
Applying a known fix to a broken piece
of equipment is a routine manual task.
Troubleshooting the problem can be a
non-routine task. Sizing the required piping
for a system based on size and flow
rates is a routine cognitive task. Determining
the best routing for that pipe
based on complex project considerations

http://www.Thirdway.org http://www.powermag.com

POWER May 2020

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