AI and construction

The construction industry has, over time, experienced a range of technological advances, from the way buildings are designed to the way materials are produced and how they are combined to form buildings.

If one considers the shifts from hand-drawn plans to CAD, 3D models, environmental modelling, and on to BIM and VR, or from hand tools to electrical tools to robotics, onsite construction to offsite fabrication, and so on. Each innovative technological change has brought with it more effective and efficient ways to design and construct buildings, assess performance, and indeed, a certain level of disruption to the norms of the day.

Today, in a very short space of time, there have been shifts or potential shifts from computational design (CD) to algorithmic design (AD), machine learning (ML) to artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP) to generative artificial intelligence (gen AI), through to artificial general intelligence. While many of these technologies are yet to become fully mainstream, there is already a long list of AI building design tools readily available, and the changes or potentialities are significant. The promise of such emergent innovative technologies is an enhancement of efficiency, production, and safety. What is clear is that these are set to become disruptive technologies at all levels of the construction industry, from conception to design, to detailed assessment of designs, planning and evaluation, material extraction and production, the process of selection, fabrication, and construction, through to the management and running of buildings.

AI in planning and design has the potential to use algorithms that can analyse vast amounts of data to help architects and engineers create smarter designs. While machine learning (ML) algorithms might assist in predicting potential project risks and identifying areas for improvement, Virtual reality (VR) simulations powered by AI allow stakeholders to visualise projects before final decisions are made, potentially reducing the possibility of design errors and thus risks.

AI in project management can potentially help optimise project schedules and resourcing, while natural language processing (NLP) algorithms enable automated analysis of various project documents, such as contracts and permits. Analytic tools can in turn assist with estimating, costing, value engineering, embodied carbon estimates, and so forth.

In terms of safety and risk management, AI has the potential to assess site issues, further expanding already used algothimic tools such as agent based modelling to estimate both site workers and final occupants potential behaviour, for example, in fire scenarios. Smart equipment, such as intelligent safety helmets, can also directly help detect hazards and alert workers on site. The use of hand held sensors and helmet cameras can help monitor and check site processes, safety procedures, and adherance to protocols.

The same tools, along with AI algorithms, can help analyse images to detect construction and defects, enhance quality control processes, and perform snagging and general checks.

Already-implemented robotic surveying and construction tools, then powered by AI, can increasingly perform repetitive construction actions and improve through learning while having the ability to maintain quality control, potentially more constantly, efficiently, and accurately than human workers. While equipment sensors can help monitor mechanical machinery performance and prevent downtime due to error and failure,.

Artificial intelligence is currently and will potentially continue to revolutionise the construction industry, from the earliest stages of design and procurement through to how buildings are made, occupied, and used. The potential lies in achieving unprecedented levels of efficiency and productivity. What is seemingly clear is that these kinds of changes in such a short space of time and throughout the spectrum of processes that go towards the making of buildings are unprecidented and will most likely be disruptive to the norms beyond any other change. The change will have both positive and negative aspects, depending on perspective.

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