Technology in the Construction Industry in British Columbia

Supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, and the surge in material costs disrupted lives and project activity. In response to these challenges, many construction companies came to realize that investments in technology are needed to improve productivity, workflow inefficiencies, and overall worker safety.

Canada’s construction industry lags other countries in digital-technology adoption and most organizations today feel they must adapt their digital strategy to succeed in the new market landscape. Owners, contractors, and designers have often resisted investment in must-have digital tools and applications to help them gain efficiencies and reduce costs in their back-office functions.

Can You Afford to Ignore Construction Technology and Innovation?

The industry now recognizes that they must modernize or be left behind. The next three to five years could well be a ‘make or break’ time frame for many companies.

1. Develop enterprise-wide strategy and track progress - A strategy can help set goals to build digital capabilities and allocate required funding within specified timelines.

2. Identify business outcomes - Technology must be intrinsically linked to the business’s overall objectives. Build motivation and change management plan The workforce needs to buy in to change.

3. Attract and retain talent - Include skills development, transition support, clear communications, and success measures

4. Partner with trusted advisers - Embarking a technology transformation can be daunting and pose significant risks. The industry will need to partner with trusted advisors who are able to combine technical insights and expertise with construction industry-specific experience to provide tailored solutions that address the industry’s key issues.

Investing in New Technologies

The industry is divided in its outlook for the next five years despite the anticipated need for infrastructure asset replacement and repair, renewable energy projects, and new residential housing. Currently there is more investment dollars being invested in technologies to support project management, project execution, and bid development.

Construction Labour Shortages and Technology

90 percent of B.C. construction companies say their projects are also being impacted by labour shortages. As it stands today, the industry can’t keep up with today’s labour force requirements. Nine out of ten companies said that they are currently experiencing a labour shortage. Technology offers ways for companies to weather the scarcity of labour since the industry realizes that it’s not attracting the talent it needs and it can’t entirely rely on immigration to fill the gap. While education is one lever, technology is another. In the world of modern construction, technology can help to attract young workers who have grown up in a digitally interconnected technological world and want to make an impact in the greening of industry.

Annual Corporate Spending on Technology in the Construction Sector

Anticipated technology and digital transformation spending as a percentage of their annual corporate operating budget in the construction industry.

Construction Technology Adoption

Construction companies are putting their digital investment dollars into

• Big data and analytics

• Demand driven supply chain

• BIM and digital twins (virtual representation synchronized with physical things, people or processes)

• Blockchain and smart contracts

• Additive manufacturing (3D printing and computer controlled process and materials, usually in layers)

• Robotics

• Cybersecurity

• Cloud storage and computing

Big Data in Construction

You can’t digitally transform your organization without a fundamental data transformation. In an industry run on slim profit margins, companies that have a better handle on their data and can trust its veracity and quality will stand a far greater chance of delivering projects on or ahead of time, on or below budget, and delivering superior returns compared to their competitors.

Big data can reduce project costs and timelines, identify safety issues and material wastage, improve sustainability, and increase efficiency. Globally, many construction companies are using real-time, cloud-powered analytics of large and unstructured datasets. Through predictive analytics, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), companies are better able to analyze historical material, time, personnel spend, and evaluate a project’s risk profile to help them decide if a project is worth bidding on, its cost and contingencies.

Demand-Driven Supply Chain

Demand-driven supply chain (DDSC) integrates links along the supply chain to anticipate demand and enable faster and more cost-effective delivery of materials and services. It requires visibility and transparency in the supply chain. While DDSC has been leveraged for years in the manufacturing industry, the pandemic highlighted the importance of active supply chain management in the construction sector. Investments in new technologies intersect with DDSC to enhance supply chain management accuracy and effectiveness.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) & Digital twins

BIM uses 3D modelling to digitally render construction designs and analyze construction phases and site logistics, increasing both efficiency and productivity by providing a central repository for project data, providing critical project data spanning design criteria, materials, construction, cost, and warranty and operation documentation.

Robotics and Automation

Drones, exoskeletons, collaborative robotics and other technologies are being used to a great or considerable extent on the construction site. The key business case for robotics is worker health and safety followed by schedule efficiency and productivity. This is aligned with the manufacturing sector, where automotive companies have already invested in tools like exoskeletons to improve workplace safety.

Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Advanced construction companies plan to introduce or are in discussions to implement smart contracts built on blockchain technology, finds the research. The objective is to improve transparency, accountability, and traceability. It’s a single source of truth covering all aspects of a construction project, and as such, can also deter fraud by eliminating suspicious and duplicate transactions. Information on purchased materials can be visible on the blockchain, including production and quality certificates.

Internet of Things and Sensors

Canadian construction companies have various reasons for investing in wearables and Internet of things (IoT) sensors, including to improve productivity, planning, and estimating, sustainability or health and safety. IoT sensors are immensely valuable on construction sites to detect and mitigate risks like water pipes freezing and potentially bursting in the winter. IoT sensors can cover a broad array of attributes including water, temperature, air quality and particulate counts to fire risks, the structural integrity of a building, monitoring proper curing and quality of concrete and more.

Accordingly, IoT sensors offer an interesting value proposition to insurance companies which can use sensors to better understand and mitigate risk by requesting that construction companies deploy IoT technology to detect, mitigate and control risks and thereby reducing project risk, insurance claims and litigation.

Cyber Security and Construction Risk Management

With all the benefits of technology and digital connectivity there is also risks from ransomware to spear phishing and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, cyberattacks in Canada are on the rise. Cyber breaches can result in both financial and reputational loss and could jeopardize work on future projects. No industry is immune from these risks.

Only about a third (32 percent) of construction companies have definitive plans to implement cybersecurity technologies over the next three years and 17 percent have put it on the table for discussion to implement. The remaining 13 percent admit they have no plans to implement cybersecurity tools.

As companies leverage technologies – such as robotics to assist in builds, drones to monitor worksites, and sensors and connected devices to operate smart buildings – they generate, collect, and store vast quantities of data. Cybercriminals are looking for vulnerabilities or ways in to steal personnel, account or financial records, architectural and engineering designs, intellectual property data, or confidential or sensitive project information, or to gain control of critical infrastructure.

Cybersecurity starts with awareness and identification, assessment, prevention and defence, and response. Increasingly, cybersecurity-related provisions are being included in construction projects and tailored to specific project needs and risks. Do the terms of your supply and construction contracts cover cyber risks, provide early warning regimes, indemnification, or restrict the storage of data? Are there measures stipulating that sensitive information be destroyed or returned when the contract ends? Are security frameworks, testing and audit procedures in place?

Bringing it Altogether: The Connected Construction Site

Projects create an enormous amount of valuable information. BIM and digital twin technology provide the ability to combine and integrate technology across the project team to develop a unified data model which will be what defines the construction landscape in the 21st century. We call it the “Connected Construction Site.”

Are Construction Companies Investing in the Right Technologies?

Who makes the investment decisions? How supportive of technology use are your project teams and skilled trades? How well is change management being communicated throughout the organization?

The unwillingness to change established ways of working is typically the biggest barrier for wider adoption of technology. This is particularly true in the construction industry.

A successful digital strategy starts with board and executive sponsorship. But only 44 percent of the companies surveyed say that top management assigns a “great” or “considerable” significance to digital transformation. Department heads and those closest to identifying the organization’s needs and limitations will need to play a larger role in guiding their organization’s digital maturity. They will also need to review their workforce capabilities. For companies that want to innovate and lead digital transformation will require hiring new talent. The ability to reskill or upskill employees on various technologies will depend on how effectively is your organization is at recruiting data scientists, technologists, and other professionals into the construction industry.

How Can Method CPA Help?

At Method CPA, we work closely with you to understand your organization’s challenges and look to establish long term strategic, financial, and operation goals. We know there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and in an environment with so many technological solutions, we can help you harness the technology that is best for your organization. Method CPA can help you master new technologies, drive digital innovation, gain insights from your operational data, and stay on top of regulatory changes, including all environmental, social, and governance issues.

The Canadian Construction Association has been a vocal advocate for accelerating the adoption of innovation in the industry and modernizing procurement strategies to encourage innovation, promote long-term value and sustainability, and support shared risk. From analytics to drones, robotics, 3D printing, BIM, and IoT, digital technology leads to improved productivity, safety, and decision-making on projects.