The construction industry is among the biggest industries in the world with billions of dollars spent on goods and services annually. But the construction industry is also among the less digitized industries. Research says during the pandemic, more than 70% of construction companies were forced to alter their priorities in their operations, business plans, and environment. Companies realized the hard way that they had to adjust to the 21st-century digital trend in order for them to remain relevant in the coming future.
Although the demand to go digital seems pretty inevitable, many companies struggle to take their company completely digital due to exhaustion. The obstacles companies come across during digitalization are demoralizing to anyone. This is mostly because, during the course of project construction, you can never estimate what to expect due to its uniqueness, there are a lot of parties involved e.g. suppliers and contractors.
Investors have no interest in implementing new strategies, hence why companies struggle to find the required tools they can use for a long time. Furthermore, most of the time, construction usually occurs during bad weather conditions. This leads to workers requiring equipment that are safe and easy to work with. Fortunately for them, it is reported that construction enterprises are now getting up to speed with the prospect investing in digital technology brings. According to reports disclosed to the media, it is reported that before 2027, the digital technology market in construction is estimated to reach around 30 billion dollars.
Meaning of implementing digital transformation in the Construction industry?
Digital Transformation in the construction industry basically means the ability to effectively carry out operations by making use of digital technologies. The term digital technologies could literally mean anything whether it's software, an application, or a device that may be used on the construction site or at the office.
What advantages of Digital Transformation to the Construction industry?
Here are a few ways In which Digital Transformation can be beneficial to the Construction Industry.
Quality Cooperation;
With the help of digital transformation, contractors can share data with suppliers and architects, resulting in the strengthening of the construction network.
Durable and quality buildings;
by applying digital technologies, mistakes can be avoided during construction and planning. Digital technology provides detailed.
High Productivity
Digital Technologies increase the productivity rate of construction companies by developing optimized ways of designing, managing, planning, and constructing, various building projects.
The construction industry has one the highest rates of on-site death. Digital technologies help to significantly reduce workload. For instance, site workers can use sophisticated devices like laser scanners to collect useful data instead of putting their lives in jeopardy.
Disadvantages.
Over the years, digital transformation in the construction industry has been moderate, to say the least. We can all agree that digital transformation is not a feat to achieve plus compared to other industries, the construction industry is faced with difficulties that halt digitalization in the industry. Some of these obstacles include;
- Absence of Alignment; Construction companies work with various sorts of small-scale contractors and suppliers, which does not allow them to fully implement digital technologies. This is mostly due to part-time contracts with suppliers and contractors. Another key element is the cost of operation. Suppliers and contractors usually work under budget which as a result doesn’t allow the possibility of spending on expensive technologies.
- Unique business project; Most of the time, a unique business project requires a custom design and delivery strategy. It is quite difficult to apply high-tech technologies together with customized projects. Although the same can't be said if we are talking about long time projects
- Inadequate handling of data; The construction industry's collection and analysis of data has been below-par for quite a while. Following research carried out in 2020, the construction industry lost up to $1.85 trillion due to the mismanagement of data. Since implementing digital technology into any type of business requires a substantial amount of data, inadequate management of data can often become a barrier to the application of digital solutions. In order to avoid this fate, companies should enact data management strategies on both operational and managerial levels by developing software that records data for their contractors and suppliers.
- Lack of technical labor; construction companies find it hard to introduce new technology to their workers. But it is very crucial that the labor force and the companies are on the same page in order to implement the use of digital technology.
