[QUOTABLE] Construction Equipment is Only One Part of Productivity Improvement

Stephen Roy, president, Sales Region Americas, Volvo Construction Equipment, discusses where productivity will come from on jobsites in the future.

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"There’s so much disruption around us… [All major automotive manufacturers] are into electric cars now. Artificial intelligence has been around in manufacturing for some time. People are getting more comfortable with [technology]... and expecting it. They’re used to what they can do on their own apps and that’s moving over into the business world.

"The construction industry is a laggard in total digitalization compared to other industries… It’s so ripe for disruption because the productivity hasn’t been there… Productivity can come from machines for a little bit. But the rest of it is going to come from how that machine works with other machines on the jobsite.

"Our prototype excavator today is without hydraulics. I’m not sure that’s going to be the first version that comes out because we have to learn the wear and tear on the different systems in not having hydraulics. But hydraulics are not very efficient. You lose a lot of energy through hydraulics. So in smaller machines, if there are ways to do things without hydraulics, we could get some efficiency.

"Machines will have a part to play, but it’s how the connected machines work together. All of those things combined is where we get the benefit of productivity."

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