02 Oct Precision Construction
Over the past few years I’ve been on a steep learning curve regarding the construction industry, having started out knowing nothing. Four years ago, Helge Jacobsen, VP at United Rentals—the world’s largest construction machine rental company—invited me to be a part of an all-day strategy session. I was the only non-United Rentals person there. In the first hour I kept hearing people say, 19-foot scissor this and 19-foot scissor that. But as I couldn’t imagine a 19-foot pair of scissors, I finally raised my hand and asked, “Why would anyone want to rent a 19-inch scissor?” They all laughed and told me they were talking about a 19-foot scissor lift. Later that year, the United Rentals folks sent me a present—an actual 19-inch scissor (pictured above).
As a student of the construction industry, I’ve learned it’s one of the few industries where productivity has not been improving. According to an analysis by McKinsey, no industry has done worse. Since 1995, the manufacturing industry has nearly doubled productivity, while construction has remained flat.
So what can be done about this?
For starters, we’ve seen the increases in productivity resulting from the power of connecting people on the Internet. So, in construction we need to start with connecting the construction machines. Once the machines are connected we can start to collect the data. Of course, many already know that data is the “new oil,” or, as I saw on a t-shirt last week, the “new bacon.” But, construction machine companies, construction rental companies, and the companies that build bridges or offshore oil drilling rigs will need to find a way to share their crude isolated IT and OT digital data so they can use AI/ML technologies to turn it into refined information. Information that could optimize their decisions today and ultimately predict the future.
Next, electrification and autonomous operation are already beginning to reshape the transportation industry. It’s clear that the environmental benefits of electrification and the cost and safety benefits of autonomous operation will make a big difference in construction projects; this autonomous excavator is a great example.
In the manufacturing industry, repetition and automation have been the principles, which have increased productivity, so many in the industry are starting to think about how these principles might also change the construction industry. Architects and general contractors may re-think how buildings are constructed, and along with that, what tools and machines will be required when the units of construction become much larger.
Improving productivity isn’t the only priority for the construction industry; another is construction site safety. For instance, out on the job site we now have the ability to ensure that only someone certified with the proper training can start a machine, like one of those 19-foot scissor lifts. Likewise, we can monitor the site environment around a number of parameters, such as temperature, humidity, water leakage, atmospheric pressure, noise, vibration and air particulates. And the implications of augmented reality and hands-free, voice-enabled technology to enhance safety are just beginning to be explored. It’s clear a connected job site of the future will not look like it does today.
And finally, the commercial buildings, hospitals or solar farms we build will all be much smarter. We’ll use sensors to ensure the quality of the air and water and everyone will operate much more precisely in how they consume power. In addition, everything from LNG (liquefied natural gas) plants to office buildings will protect us from unintentional threats like fires, as well as the intentional threats we all face in the modern world.
We have a long road of innovation ahead of us.
I just returned from United Rentals’ 19th Total Control conference in Dallas where we did the unofficial launch of the new book, Precision Construction, the sequel to Precision: Principles, Practices and Solutions for the Internet of Things. If you’re interested in construction, this new book gives anyone who makes, rents or uses construction machines a glimpse of this new, software-defined world, utilizing the knowledge and experience of over 20 co-storytellers from the construction industry. Precision Construction will be available next month on Amazon as both a traditional book and on Kindle. You can also register hereto get the Kindle eBook version free for a limited time. Use coupon code: TCL.