As the UK construction industry increasingly focuses on digital transformation, Dan Ashton of Proicere Digital analyses the impact of AI on scheduling, cost management and site safety
The construction industry is beset by operational inefficiencies, safety concerns, and schedule overruns. These challenges often lead to significant cost overruns and missed deadlines. Human error alone is estimated to account for over 20% of project delay costs.
With scarce resources, complex logistics and ever-changing regulatory requirements, construction project management has historically been a delicate balancing act.
However, artificial intelligence (AI) combined with the latest information promises to revolutionise the field, offering new opportunities to enhance efficiency, safety and project delivery.
A complex landscape
Construction projects are dynamic ecosystems where countless moving parts must work in harmony. Space and time are limited resources, and projects can be delayed by factors often beyond the control of site managers, such as extreme weather, supply chain disruptions or even the most mundane of failures, such as mechanical failures. Delays
quickly snowball, pushing timelines and budgets off track.
Additionally, modern construction is becoming increasingly complex. Sustainability goals, tighter regulatory frameworks, volatile markets for purchase and delivery, and the involvement of a growing number of stakeholders require precise coordination and real-time updates on people, equipment and materials. In this context, AI emerges as a game changer, transforming how projects are planned, executed and monitored.
Mining data to drive improvement
Construction projects generate vast amounts of data over their typically long lifecycles, from design plans to cost estimates and safety records. AI’s strength in this context is
in identifying patterns and insights that can be otherwise hidden to human minds.
AI-powered tools can learn from the successes and failures of past projects, offering a single source of truth that combines modelling with scheduling, sequencing, cost data and sustainability analysis. This holistic approach enables teams to predict outcomes more
accurately and make data-driven decisions at every stage of a project.
Transforming project delivery
AI is already reshaping the way construction projects are delivered, bringing improvements in planning and scheduling, cost management and safety:
1. Planning and scheduling
AI-driven algorithms can optimise project schedules by considering resource availability, risks and external factors like weather conditions. Advanced modelling tools enable teams to visualise site logistics, reducing the likelihood of bottlenecks and ensuring smooth coordination. For instance, a large construction site with multiple phases may face challenges such as coordinating heavy vehicle movement or precisely placing materials in confined spaces. AI facilitates just-in-time delivery and efficient use of space, preventing costly delays.
2. Cost management
AI enhances cost efficiency by predicting material requirements with precision and ensuring compliance with safety and environmental regulations. This allows the opportunity to assess the influence of external factors, such as market volatility, and local labour strengths and weaknesses. It also minimises waste and lowers inventory costs: exact amounts of materials needed for the job can be calculated and planned to arrive when needed, avoiding overstocking, shortages, as well as excessive logistics and ensuring projects are procuring materials and assets at the right time.
3. Safety Improvements
Construction remains one of the most dangerous industries in the UK, with 51 fatalities annually. AI can significantly improve safety through scheduling, coordination and analysis of documentation and historical logistical records in order to identify potential hazards before they occur.
For example, AI-integrated 4D modelling ensures people, materials and equipment are in the right place and that stakeholders are aware of the dangers associated with their works, and the works going on around them.
The fast updatability of site visualisations based on new data helps mitigate risks as the construction site evolves or as conditions change. Imagine, for example, new recommendations for evacuation routes rendered on-demand in the morning planning meeting.
By reducing human error and enhancing situational awareness, AI addresses common causes of accidents such as collisions, falls and electrocutions – without compromising productivity.
The challenges of AI adoption
Despite AI’s potential, resistance to change and the skills gap pose challenges to its adoption.
The construction industry has historically been slower to embrace technological innovation. A “this is how we’ve always done it” mindset often prevails, coupled with fears that AI could render some roles redundant. In some corners of the industry, there are concerns about where data is held and who has access to information.
But given the industry’s notoriously low profit margins, it is clear that traditional methods are no longer sufficient. If construction is to attract the next generation of talent, digitalisation is non-negotiable.
Adopting AI will require upskilling the workforce to effectively work with new tools. Training programmes will be essential to ensure that construction professionals can gain maximum benefit from planning tools, while maintaining the human expertise that underpins successful project management.
A future of collaboration between humans and AI
AI is already making a positive impact on project management, from optimising schedules to improving safety and reducing costs. By unlocking efficiencies and enabling smarter decision-making, AI can address many of the industry’s long-standing challenges. However,
its successful adoption will depend on a collaborative approach that combines cutting-edge technology with human oversight.
No technology can replace the discipline, experience, and common sense that epitomises construction project managers and their teams. AI, then, represents an opportunity to empower the workforce to build a smarter, safer and more profitable sector. But it is the synergy between human expertise and technological innovation that will ultimately drive the industry forward.
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