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A New Type of Construction Worker

Wednesday, 23 January
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If you’re an information or technology geek, this is a great time to apply your skills in a construction industry career. With the expected growth of the industry over the next decade, combined with the labor gap, we need good craftsmen!

Combined with new innovations and use of data that is changing the industry, the technologically savvy could have a very prosperous career path just by learning some additional construction skills. Whether you are a seasoned craftsmen or new to the trades, it will benefit you to learn more about these three big technologies affecting the industry:

Robotics

Using robots in construction projects are a great way to increase safety because robots can replace work that is dangerous, monotonous, or where heavy lifting is needed. With the labor shortage, robots are even more welcome than ever.

 

A recent breakthrough in this area is the semi-automated mason, or “SAM.” SAM is a robot that is designed to do bricklaying in collaboration with a masonry craftsman, increasing their productivity by up to five times! These and other similar robots, such as rebar tying robots or vehicle driver robots will require humans to supervise, evaluate, measure, and operate.

 

Robotics are also being used currently in modular construction to build floors, walls, and roof panels offsite, and then they’re assembled together on the foundation and completed much more quickly than traditional building methods.

 

Drones

Drones – or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) as they’re officially named – can also be used to minimize risk and increase construction efficiency. They’re really great for safety inspections, because they can more easily explore areas with tight space or otherwise at other high risk.

 

Drones are most commonly used for site surveying in a very efficient amount of time. They can, for example, survey huge acreage sites in less than an hour – where the average worker would usually take over a day to complete similar measurements. They can also take that data and convert it into two dimensional or even 3D maps.

 

More builders are also using drones as a tool for monitoring and tracking the progress of job to completion. This kind of surveillance enables better assessment of a project afterwards. A company can objectively look at what went well, and what can be improved for future jobs. Human workers are needed to be able to operate, maintain, and supervise drone activity.

 

Digital Collaboration

It’s crazy how many construction companies are still using paper binders, excel spreadsheets, and other physical reports rather than digitizing their process. Digital tools, on the other hand, allow several different people to work on areas of a building project simultaneously with an online centralized exchange of information. This also gives quick and easy insight into the stage of progress for each member of the team.  Programming, AI development, machine learning, and analytic skills are highly sought after for a digital collaboration roles in the construction industry.

 

At Madden, we’re supportive of new technology that helps our clients operate safer while improving both quality and the bottom line. In fact, we sponsor a local high school robotics team that’s learning about these new technologies by building and competing with other schools. And if you’re looking for a position where you can apply your technological skills, call Madden! We work with employers that are looking for talented craftsmen like you.

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