![\"construction,](\"https:\/\/georgelaczko.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/construction-automation.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn the early 70s automobile manufacturers in North America toured Japanese plants like Toyota and got a rude wake up call. Automation was already well in progress in Japan. As a result, over the next few decades, the North American and European auto sectors would also be transformed, along with the rest of manufacturing as well as the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, according to McKinsey, it is estimated that productivity in the U.S. in manufacturing increased 8-fold between 1947 and 2010, and in agriculture the increase in productivity was 16-fold, twice that of manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction, you ask? According to McKinsey, productivity in construction increased marginally over the same period in America. So, while automation and robotics have begun to appear more frequently in construction since 2010, the industry is way behind agriculture and manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And a big part of the reason for construction\u2019s stagnation isn\u2019t a bricklayer with a bad hangover, but rather poor planning by the architects, engineers, managers, and owners. As renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYou can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frank Lloyd Wright<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
So, as you read our survey of automation in construction, think of robotics, AI and machine learning as a powerful set of tech \u201cerasers\u201d that can help avoid the costly mistakes typical of all too many construction projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overview of the Construction Industry right now in the United States<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Industry Snapshot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Currently nearly 7.9 million workers are employed in construction in the U.S. and almost 11 million in direct employment because of construction, with around 12% of them belonging to a union. There are a large number of small businesses, usually local contractors, along with a fair number of mid-sized companies and a select group of large construction companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need to ask why the construction industry has been relatively slow to automate although this is changing. In other words, why is it taking so much longer for automation to advance in construction compared to manufacturing, for example?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Conditions between construction sites varies a lot more than does the condition inside a factory in Korea, South Africa, or Kentucky. Soil, climate, infrastructure, and especially energy and communications impact a construction site more than they do a factory. Standardization is therefore harder to achieve.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Getting advanced equipment used in robotics as well as the technical assistance needed to use them to where the site is, can be challenging given the variety of possible on-site conditions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The supply chain \u2013 including knowing when each stage of the construction should occur \u2013 is challenging at a construction site. Sufficient materials have to be present in an area where space is at a premium and where conditions make the safe storing of those materials difficult. Making sure the right materials arrive in the right place at the right time can be an overwhelming task.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Old habits die hard, and contractors often bill for more hours than those worked using old tricks like buddy-punching (having a co-worker clock you in and out when you\u2019re not on site). Contractors want to delay facing automated time monitoring, although many in fact are now adapting or will soon have to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Some construction workers still have a rugged risk-taking attitude that is often a liability rather than an asset, causing mistakes and creating delays, as well as harmful accidents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- However, the biggest reason for delays and cost-overruns in construction is often the fault of architects, planners, owners, and designers\u2019 mid-project modifications. Think of it as a vicious cycle: the project leadership issues written directions which the project managers, including architects and engineers, misunderstand. This causes mistakes in the architectural and engineering blueprints which then have to be corrected at great cost and loss of time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Another key aspect of construction is retiring trades people. Not enough younger electricians, industrial plumbers, masons and concrete workers, metalworkers, and glaziers are being trained in colleges or apprenticeship programs and the industry is facing a looming shortage of skilled, experienced workers. Additionally, as will be clear at the end of this blog, skilled construction workers will increasingly need tech skills not previously required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automation can help with most of these problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The industry is currently run by a mix of large and small-to-mid size businesses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2022 there were over 900,000 companies in the United States in construction. That means a lot of small companies \u2013 local contractors for example \u2013 along with a number of mid-sized companies and a few large construction companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the Top 10 Construction Companies as of 2022 in the United States:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n