Artificial Intelligence in Construction

In this day and age, technology is starting to play a big part in the trades like is does in business, medical, design, architecture, and more. We are even beginning to see artificial intelligence in construction. New software, apps, and robotics are being developed to help enhance the overall job production and completion time, as well as to manage jobs that were once filled with humans.

Artificial intelligence is among these new pieces of technology and is one that we use almost every day but don’t always pay attention to it. Artificial intelligence is the technical ability to enable computers and machines to copy human intelligence. These pieces of tech can make decisions, remember images and things they saw, recognize things such as speech and translate the language. With AI being developed, more machines are learning how to remember algorithms, input data, recognize patterns and make decisions without having to be managed by a human.

On a construction site, some of the common duties you see are generating projects, conducting daily data reports, plans for the job, estimate job costs, budget management, and controlling progress photos of the job. These are just a few of the many jobs that are contracted for construction sites. Do you think Artificial Intelligence would be useful on a construction site? Do you think it would help enhance productivity and organization?

After conducting research and examining how Artificial Intelligence can operate, there are a few reasons why it is thought that AI would be useful on construction job sites. The first one, which is a major priority for job site managers, is a safe construction site. It is vital that the site itself is safe as well as having employees that are trained and aware of the dangers that can occur and how to manage and prevent them. Within the past years, there hasn’t been much improvement in safety on job sites, although there are certain pieces of tech such as drones, smartwatches, two-way radios, and site sensors that are being implemented more into job sites in hopes of promoting safety.

Artificial Intelligence is among these and is bringing hope to the construction industry in both areas of productivity and safety. VINNIE, which is an AI developed engine, was created to identify construction workers in photos and videos to determine if they are wearing the proper personal protective equipment based on the job. If VINNIE doesn’t see hardhats, safety vests, gloves, or safety glasses, for example, it will alert a superior. VINNIE which stands for “Very Intelligent Neural Network for Insight and Evaluation” would be a great addition to any construction site, as it could potentially increase job productivity as well as keep the workers safe.

We have seen the elevation of self-driving and self-managing cars from Tesla and there is not a piece of tech being created that will be able to manage itself and be completely autonomous. These machines are being created to use 3D maps, sensors, cameras, and GPS to provide real-time data without the need for human management. On construction job sites, especially with the bigger more in-depth commercial jobs, there are times where changes on the terrain and the outline of the job itself change. This machine can easily pull data and compare it with pictures to determine the best way to manage the change. All of this can promote job productivity as well as the overall job completion time.

Other Uses for Artificial Intelligence in Construction

Finally, a very important component in construction is planning and scheduling. Usually, on a site, there is a planned outline of when each part of the job needs to be completed and which worker is working on each part. AI can outline the job and its deadlines to create a manageable and flexible schedule for everyone on the site. This can include something as simple as the hours of each construction worker and which piece of the job they are responsible for. This can also help with the actual layout of the job itself to match a certain completion date.

Technology will continue to evolve through trial and error. The hopes for these pieces of tech is that it will enhance job productivity, job development, and management of the site and its workers. What do you think? Do you think it will help to improve the construction industry?