Construction like every other business is seeing the effects of the explosion of technology. Today you cannot go to a construction site whether it is in Washington or Vancouver and not find tech as an integral part of the construction process. What tech companies use may differ, but the goal is always the same, save money, save time, and increase safety. There is no doubt that the new tech is accomplishing all three and we are only at the beginning of this new wave.
Pre-fabricated Construction Techniques
Today builders like Dean Kirkland WA and Vancouver based commercial real estate developer, can choose from a number of construction techniques to build commercial buildings. With the advent of 3-D printing and other cutting edge technologies, many parts of buildings can be constructed elsewhere and then moved to the constructions site and put together. This new age building approach saves time, and money and improves quality, and consistency. Because each part is made by machine, there is an assurance that the parts are well-constructed and built to exact standards.
Semi-Autonomous Machinery
Many construction sites are overcrowded with workers and the more humans on a site the more chance for someone to get hurt due to human error, which is the cause of most accidents and injuries on a construction site. Today construction workers are in the top two or three most dangerous job professions. This fact increases the need for replacement of as many of the humans on a construction site as possible. One way that this is beginning to occur, is with the use of semi-autonomous machinery. On a construction site many of the actions are repeated thousands of times depending on the size of a project. This might include cutting materials, hammering and nailing, gluing, riveting and other repeated operations. More and more machines are being used to perform these tasks on the construction site. These machines can be programmed to complete these repetitive actions and can perform them more quickly, more evenly and certainly more safely than a human. In fact it will not be long before the majority of jobs on a constructions site will be performed with fully autonomous machines. When this happens, for those humans who remain on the construction site, construction jobs will become some of the safest around.
Drone Squads
In 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration gave the go-ahead for drones to be legal for commercial uses including construction sites. What has followed is a flurry of activities and businesses dedicated to using drone technology to improve safety and lower the cost of construction. Today’s drones give builders the ability to view a property from every possible angle including from on top. Previously this was only possible with a helicopter or light plane which was costly and inconvenient. Drones can check for any possible defects in the foundation, or structures and are becoming a key part of construction site inspections. The new use of drones is in coordinated flight in what is called drone squads. They fly together to perform a task allowing builders to view the entire site simultaneously and perform several functions at once.
