How can the construction workforce benefit from Industry 4.0?

The fourth industrial revolution – or Industry 4.0 – is characterised by an increased connection between automation, production and data exchange. A recent WBEF webinar discussed the implications for companies and the construction workforce alike.

Outlining the key advantages of Industry 4.0, Anil Sawhney FRICS, interim Head of Sustainability at RICS and webinar moderator, explains that the concept helps us question the way we design, redesign, procure, produce, construct, assemble, operate and think about the whole life of an asset.

‘In emerging markets where you have so much new construction taking place and public and private projects are competing for workers who have the right skills, Industry 4.0 is definitely going to help,’ he says. This is especially true in those markets where construction is outpacing any other type of work, he adds.

Construction lags behind in fourth industrial revolution

In other industries such as pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, companies that have successfully implemented common data environments (CDEs) are currently faring best, says Amy Marks, Executive Vice President - Global Strategy at Symetri, part of the Addnode Group. Such CDEs enable file migration, information sharing and technology use through the cloud, she notes.

While on the whole construction lags behind these other industries, progress is being made in parts of its workflows, such as from BIM through fabrication and transport of components to installation on site, and in manufacturing-informed design.

At the 2022 Advancing Prefabrication conference in the US, a survey found that nearly 60% of respondents, primarily contractors, were increasingly focusing on earlier stages of the design and build process. This shift involves deeper understanding and better tracking of decarbonisation, energy analysis, and implementing disassembly and reuse practices in line with design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) principles.

Technology creates opportunities – and skill gap

Early concerns that Industry 4.0 would lead to widespread job losses in construction have so far been unfounded, and while there continues to be a shortage of skilled workers technology has also had a positive impact on jobs.

Chris Cooper MRICS, Co-founder of and Director at Procur3d Consulting, points out for instance that roles such as head of innovation are becoming more meaningful as businesses give increasing value to innovation. For example, with the increased digitalisation and interconnectedness brought by Industry 4.0, we are seeing engagement with the supply chain earlier than has traditionally been the case – and not just from firms at the top level, but also tiers two and three, he says.

Cooper emphasises looking at specific outcomes to evaluate how effective a particular course of action is rather than simply following established procedures, and using data to help solve complex problems. He also believes that learning new skill sets is central to innovation. For instance, he points out that quantity surveyors are not usually associated with helping develop software, but is himself currently providing input into risk negotiation applications and using data to determine tender pricing.

Meanwhile, skill shortages in construction, exacerbated by an aging workforce, can be partly attributed to the misconception that automation will replace workers – discouraging people from taking up a trade, according to Ioannis Brilakis, Laing O'Rourke Professor of Civil & Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge.

However, it is also because the industry is not offering sufficient benefits to attract people from alternative career paths, Prof. Brilakis says. It’s crucial for universities to highlight that construction careers are viable and rewarding: in many instances, tradespeople can earn more and find greater job satisfaction than those working in offices, he adds.

The construction market is becoming more complex as technology is more deeply integrated into the process, adds Brilakis. He explains: ‘A century ago, construction shifted from direct labour to machine operation. … In the information age, engineers transitioned from direct design to two roles: users and designers of software. As construction continues to modernise across areas such as monitoring, modelling, forecasting, automation and robotics, we are going to need designers as well as proficient users of these systems.’

This has created a skill gap, Brilakis notes. For example, he says: ‘It used to be the case that the software world belonged to computer science. ... That is no longer true, because there is a big intermediate space where none of the traditional disciplines have an immediate expertise or interest … That’s an area we need to build skills for.’

Better data, education, communication and diversity vital to progress

Actual data is the gold standard. For example, if AI models are being trained on assumption-based designs rather than real-world data then results are likely to be inaccurate, believes Amy Marks.

We need to take a step back and ask whether we have the right data and whether it is well-organised, she says. Insights only come after data is collected, cleaned, structured and integrated. ‘We are still a long way from achieving cognitive learning that can self-adjust without much human intervention,’ she comments.

As such, Industry 4.0 will accelerate the pace of change and the need for new expertise and skills. ‘This will dramatically increase the need for education and continuing education. But it will also increase [demand] for flexible education, and whoever is providing it [will have] to be able to adapt to the needs of the time,’ says Prof. Brilakis.

In terms of soft skills, the most important is communication, especially when dealing with highly complex projects, he says. The more complex the points you are trying to make, the better and more precise your language skills need to be to convey them, he explains.

Chris Cooper adds that, on an increasing number of big infrastructure projects, clients are looking at how well executives and senior management in tendering companies communicate. How they work under stressful situations and deal with problems that arise on construction projects is also scrutinised, he explains.

To improve gender diversity and attract younger people into the workforce, it’s also essential for construction to rethink recruitment and reach out to places and platforms used by young people and women, as well as identifying educational institutions where data scientists are being trained, says Marks.

If Industry 4.0 is implemented properly, the role of surveyors will be slightly different, says Cooper. ‘It's more attractive because you're getting involved in more of the value-adding tasks than the risky ones or mundane administration,’ he says. It also helps increase diversity; remote systems enable those with disabilities, for example, to have careers in construction because they no longer have to be physically on site, he comments.

Invest in innovation to achieve transformation

Marks concludes that the construction industry has to move away from a project-centric approach concerned with who is going to pay for technology, and instead invest a percentage of contingency funds in innovation.

In terms of realising Industry 4.0, she says that ‘everyone in the world is very good at painting the vision of what's possible. I would … pick one or two things at your organisation that you can [do] today and will get you two steps closer to that transformation.’

How is technology being integrated into construction practices for current and future workforces? As the sector moves towards greater adoption of Industry 4.0., how will the spectrum of roles across construction be affected and is training and upskilling being carried out at sufficient pace?