The Construction Industry
"The construction industry might be a key ally and a counterweight to the big energy companies, who were continually thwarting green legislation and sustainable development policies" ~ Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission
The construction industry serves almost all other industries, as all economic value creation occurs within or by means of buildings or other “constructed assets”. As an industry it accounts for 6% of the global GDP. It is also the largest global consumer of raw materials, and constructed objects account for 25-40% of the world’s total carbon emissions.
Compared to many other industries, the construction industry has traditionally been slow at technological development. It has undergone no major disruptive changes. It has not widely applied advances in its methods. As a result, efficiency gains have been meager. In the United States over the last 40 years, for example, labor productivity in the construction industry has actually fallen. Labor costs have risen and the methods used are not very different from how we built homes over 100 years ago. In order to be affordable and meet the needs of the communities we serve we must rethink and become innovative at how our homes are built. Inefficiencies must be stripped away from the process while healthier material choices and durable energy efficient designs area a critical part of the solution.
Environmentally conscious buildings must be designed for dramatic reductions in energy use, global warming potential, and carbon footprint. Structures must provide a healthy, supportive environment with consistently high performance levels over the long term. The value of the building must be measured over the full span of its useful life, from initial acquisition costs to ongoing maintenance and final disposition.
Each building must generate one unit of energy for every unit it consumes throughout a year. Annual energy consumption includes the on-site usage, plus all of the primary energy needed to extract, generate, transmit, and distribute those units of energy to the site (Torcellini et al., 2006).
We now face the greatest threshold to cross in the construction industry ever.
Compared to many other industries, the construction industry has traditionally been slow at technological development. It has undergone no major disruptive changes. It has not widely applied advances in its methods. As a result, efficiency gains have been meager. In the United States over the last 40 years, for example, labor productivity in the construction industry has actually fallen. Labor costs have risen and the methods used are not very different from how we built homes over 100 years ago. In order to be affordable and meet the needs of the communities we serve we must rethink and become innovative at how our homes are built. Inefficiencies must be stripped away from the process while healthier material choices and durable energy efficient designs area a critical part of the solution.
Environmentally conscious buildings must be designed for dramatic reductions in energy use, global warming potential, and carbon footprint. Structures must provide a healthy, supportive environment with consistently high performance levels over the long term. The value of the building must be measured over the full span of its useful life, from initial acquisition costs to ongoing maintenance and final disposition.
Each building must generate one unit of energy for every unit it consumes throughout a year. Annual energy consumption includes the on-site usage, plus all of the primary energy needed to extract, generate, transmit, and distribute those units of energy to the site (Torcellini et al., 2006).
We now face the greatest threshold to cross in the construction industry ever.
“The world is changing faster than ever before. Consider just one of the global megatrends shaking up the construction industry: the population of the world’s urban areas is increasing by 200,000 people per day, all of whom need affordable housing as well as social, transportation and utility infrastructure. In the face of such challenges, the industry is almost under a moral obligation to transform. Its transformation will have transformative effects elsewhere: on the wider society, by reducing construction costs; on the environment, by improving the use of scarce materials or by making buildings more Eco-efficient over time; and on the economy, by narrowing the global infrastructure gap and boosting economic development in general.
While most other industries have undergone tremendous changes over the last few decades, and have reaped the benefits of process and product innovations, the Engineering & Construction sector has been hesitant about fully embracing the latest technological opportunities, and its labour productivity has stagnated accordingly. This unimpressive track record can be attributed to various internal and external challenges: the persistent fragmentation of the industry, inadequate collaboration with suppliers and contractors, the difficulties in recruiting a talented workforce, and insufficient knowledge transfer from project to project, to name just a few.
The industry has vast potential, however, for improving productivity and efficiency, thanks to digitalization, innovative technologies and new construction techniques. Consider the rapid emergence of augmented reality, drones, 3D scanning and printing, Building Information Modelling (BIM), autonomous equipment and advanced building materials – all of them have now reached market maturity.
By adopting and exploiting these innovations, companies will boost productivity, streamline their project management and procedures, and enhance quality and safety. To capture all this potential will require a committed and concerted effort by the industry across many aspects, from technology, operations and strategy to personnel and regulation.” ~ The World Economic Forum “Shaping the Future of Construction: A Breakthrough in Mindset and Technology (2016)
Photos: Creative Commons: Some rights reserved. Thank you Flickr Photographers Quinn Dombrowski, Fran Simo', Kore'boy