How Automation and Robotics Should Inspire Rethinking Construction Jobs

Construction’s skills gap is spurring a renaissance in robots that can fill the labor demand if contractors can supply the right support skills

May 7, 2018

BuiltWorlds.com, FMI

Since 2013, talent shortages across the U.S. engineering and construction industry have worsened, with a record 89% of participants reporting talent shortages in the 2017 FMI study.

FMI Talent Development Study

About half of the current open positions in the construction sector could be automated.

Today’s acceleration in use of industrial automation (e.g., robot bricklayer) and assistive technologies (e.g., exoskeletons) could quite possibly be the one light at the end of every engineering and construction (E&C) firm’s tunnel right now.

the notion of a machine completely replacing human labor might seem far-fetched for many, there is already a strong movement toward humans and machines working together in the built environment.

According to FMI’s most recent talent development study, recruiting talent has long been a challenge for the E&C industry, and it will only become more severe in the future – across a broad range of industry sectors. Since 2013, talent shortages across the U.S. E&C industry have been worsening, with a record 89% of participants reporting talent shortages in the 2017 FMI study.

In light of today’s technology and E&C trends, leaders need to think about how they will change processes, systems and operations in preparation for the inevitable digital transformation. Done right, it can be a game changer. But you must ensure that your change management plan addresses both technology and culture, or you will be doomed to fail.

Read the BuiltWorlds/FMI research brief here to find out more about how these five key takeaways can power an organization’s culture to succeed with the complexity of construction automation:

Building a culture of innovation takes time and requires many real-time course adjustments
Internal collaboration influences external collaboration
Cultures that encourage trust and collaboration more readily generate innovative ideas and withstand disruptive changes
Many innovative cultures recognize opportunities where others see risk
Setting a vision for innovation and clarifying what innovation means to a company is key

More resources on working industrial robots