A Fully Automated Construction Business is Still Miles Away

1. A Fully Automated Construction Business is Still Miles Away

2. The construction industry was once marked as the most conservative sector and it was highly hesitant towards adopting technology. However, things got changed and technology solutions in the construction business became common. And in the past decade, we have seen how robotic automation in the construction business has transformed the business. Most among the automotive vehicles, consumer electrical appliances, and even domestic robots that we know today are outputs of automation. At the manufacturing sites, they are made and assembled by “armies” of robots with minimal human supervision. Robotic automation has indeed resulted in higher production efficiency, a safer working environment, lower costs, and superior quality. And most manufacturing sites are ruled by robots with less human intervention.

3. However, automation in the construction business is still in its infancy. Despite other manufacturing hubs being ruled by robots, we still don’t see that much impact in the construction. What can be the reason? We are going to see what restricts robotic automation in the construction business. The construction industry is still unchanged Despite how much we claim, the construction business is still in the primary stages of automation. Look at the huge architectural wonders and temples that have been fascinating us for centuries or maybe thousands of years. Pyramids and old temples still fascinate us not just with their beauty but with the technology that we used then. With just simple machines, like the ramp and the lever, we built those amazing monuments that still surprise us. However, for the next thousands of years, there wasn’t much change in the mode of construction.

4. Even today, rather than using technology solutions, the construction industry is highly labor-intensive. And mostly it employs non-automated machines, although these are much more sophisticated and efficient than those of ancient times. Construction business is highly challenging It is not wrong to say that the construction business is the most challenging. And one big reason is the safety aspects associated with the worksites. Apart from that, there are also issues related to tightening the cost and environmental regulations. A majority of the workforce at construction sites is aged and the chances of accidents are high. And that demands high priority on employee benefits, such as higher salaries, insurance premiums, and occupational safety training and equipment.

5. Robotics work well in a predictable environment Despite robotics arrived in the industry in the 1960s, the construction business was highly skeptical about it. Automation is highly beneficial in the industry as helps reduce production and labor costs. And studies prove that productivity went up about four times, reducing the investment to a much lower level. However, automation had its demerits. Automatic robots operated perfectly in well-defined and predictable indoor settings, confined to a fixed assembly line or working space to do assigned jobs. And this was different in the construction industry, which was mostly packed with surprises. In the construction sites, workers work in frequently changing environments and often at narrow spaces where technological equipment may find it difficult to pass through. And making a robot that can “do everything” and adapt to these varying conditions of operation is highly expensive.

6. How will robots benefit construction sites? Despite how hard construction companies resisted automation, robots made their way for the benefits they displayed. Automation in the construction business has got its advantages that we cannot rebuke. Robots can work 24x7 and error-free. They don’t have issues like fatigue and can perform the same task with high precision and consistency. Also, one of the most powerful but least discussed the merit of automation in the construction business is the unlocking of design possibilities. Despite having unlimited ideas, architects are unable to implement them for various reasons, such as issues related to techniques, time, and building cost. This hampers creative ideas. However, when we bring in technology solutions in the construction industry, such as automated robotics, they resolve this crisis and will help businesses foresee the outputs and problems that may occur in the future.

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