The potential applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in construction are vast, and for early adopters, these technologies are already helping to make jobsites safer, more efficient and more productive. Requests for information, open issues and change orders are standard in the construction industry. Machine learning is like a smart assistant that can scrutinize this mountain of data, learn from it and then alert project managers about the critical items that need their attention. This type of AI is also being used to track the real-time interactions of workers, machinery and objects on the jobsite and alert supervisors of potential safety issues, construction errors and productivity issues. What are some of the top benefits of using AI and machine learning in the construction industry?
Artificial intelligence (AI) provides a wide range of current society applications, including predicting, classifying, and solving both social and scientific problems. As one of the oldest and most traditional engineering disciplines, civil engineering covers various aspects of the built environment, from design and construction to maintenance. Civil engineering offers ample practical scope for applications of AI. In turn, AI can improve human life quality and originate novel approaches to solving engineering problems. AI methods and techniques, including neural networks, evolutionary computation, fuzzy logic systems, and deep learning, have rapidly evolved over the past few years.
In spite of recovering major ground after the Great Recession, the construction industry is still facing troubling skilled labor shortages, with a lack of qualified candidates stepping up to take over the positions once held by industry veterans nearing retirement age. The construction industry lost 2.3 million jobs between 2006-2011, and today there are a million fewer residential construction jobs than before 2006, according to Tradesmen International. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows nearly 200,000 unfilled construction industry jobs nationwide. This gap between available positions and skilled workers ready to fill them puts added pressure on developers, contractors and owners. Even in the face of a worker shortage, construction is booming.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is already leading some forecasters to predict a startling vision of construction in a generation's time – where roles traditionally carried out by human beings are instead performed by robots. In the first of our special features Denise Chevin examines which areas of the industry will be most affected.
Internet of Things (IoT) sensors predominantly provide visibility to an operating stack – enabling access to real-time and accurate operational data. Laying analysis on top of that data produces dashboards and other visual representations but artificial intelligence (AI) extends this further by harnessing the data streams to train models and identify patterns. Observations can then be made by a computer much like a human analyst could but at tremendous speed and scale. AI makes it possible to anticipate and predict events in a robust and scalable way. This can create huge business advantages.