New Developments and Technology in the Construction Sector

The construction industry has always been at the forefront of new technology. As long as there is a demand for new buildings, there will be a need for them to be produced more quickly, efficiently, and to a higher standard, using the absolute cutting edge of available tools and materials. In the digital age, the steady march of progress has become more of a sprint, and the demand for new tech is making the construction sector a more exciting place to be than ever before. Here are just a few of the trends that have become almost ubiquitous in the last few years alone.

Digital collaboration

Gone are the days of the project manager desperately trying to make four phone calls at once from an onsite office as a deadline goes whooshing by. Mobile applications allow communication between all team members at once; the internet of things allows field measurements to be transferred instantly from tools to surveyors, architects and planners; and the whole thing can be managed using fully customizable apps cheaply, efficiently, and most of all, easily. All of this can then feed into...

5D Building Information Models (BIM)

This is probably the most significant advance of recent years. Using data acquired from digital collaboration in the early planning and design stages, 5D BIM software can make intelligent 3D models of a development that is automatically updated throughout the life of the project. As the development progresses, imaging data can be added using high-resolution drones and laser mapping tools to update the model in real-time. Once the project is complete, the final model can even be used to ensure the continuing maintenance of the building for years to come. Not to mention the efficiency.

Smart buildings

Once the reserve of sci-fi shows, smart buildings have been launched into prominence by their startling ability to make energy efficiency in the built environment seem easy. A well designed smart building can monitor internal and external data to adjust variables such as energy use, ventilation and insulation, and even resonance to adapt to the stresses and strains of use. They can even gather data to be used in future developments to allow the efficiency of buildings to evolve intuitively, meaning the built environment, if developed with right tools, will actually improve itself as years go by.

Advanced materials

All of this fancy technology, however, is moot without innovation in the materials that buildings are actually constructed from. Naturally then, there has been an equally rapid change in this area too. Carbon fibre is becoming almost impossible to avoid in engineering thanks to its strength and incredibly light weight, and there are already advancements in lighter, stronger materials using carbon nano-tubes. All of this, however, pales in comparison to the 3D printing revolution. With its high level of customisation and variety of materials, manufacturing unusual tools and components are the obvious applications for now, but there are already companies in San Francisco, Beijing, and Dubai offering entire 3D printed housing developments. There is a very real possibility that the future of construction will move away from the mass prefabrication of today and towards the custom printed buildings of tomorrow.
New technologies like these can present a challenge for lead generation. How do you convince a conservative group of potential consumers that a daring new construction product is the way to go? Well, the easiest way is not to do it all. Modern developments are all about making the development process smoother and more efficient, and maintenance of existing developments effortless. With Crannull handling your lead generation, you can apply those same principles to your business development.

References

https://www.topengineer.com/blog/how-digital-tech-is-changing-the-construction-industry/
https://bcitf.org/upload/documents/research_reports/ImpactofNewTechnologyontheConstructionIndustry.pdf
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/technology-is-rebuilding_b_9533496.html
https://enewsletters.constructionexec.com/techtrends/2017/01/how-technology-is-changing-the-construction-industry/
https://esub.com/6-technological-advancements-shaping-construction-industry/
https://www.nap.edu/read/1101/chapter/9
https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/article/12162200/10-construction-trends-shaping-the-industry-in-2016-and-beyond
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/architecture-and-3d-printing
https://architizer.com/blog/3d-printed-buildings-future-or-gimmick/

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