Innovation and New Technology in The Construction Industry

Presentation to the Saskatchewan Construction Association

June 2017

INTRODUCTION

Bob Hildenbrandt

• VP Business Development – Graham

• Member of the Canadian Construction Association Board

• Part of the CCA Executive

• Past Chair of the Institute for BIM in Canada

• Co-Chair of the Lean Construction Institute of Canada

TODAY’S PRESENTATION

Perspective on our Construction Industry

• How are we doing? Where are we at?

Future state of our Industry

• How must we change to get there?

Role of Innovation and New Technology

WHY IS CONSTRUCTION IMPORTANT

One of the first businesses developed

Virtually all other businesses rely on construction

People spend 90% of their time indoors

Major impact on health and well-being

WHY IS CONSTRUCTION IMPORTANT

Total Annual Revenues ~ $10 trillion

Added value ~$3.6 trillion

6% of global GDP

Employs over 100 million people

Largest global consumer of resources and raw materials

WHY IS CONSTRUCTION IMPORTANT

Population of urban areas increasing by

200,000 people per day!!

All will need housing and infrastructure

WHY IS CONSTRUCTION IMPORTANT

Our industry must transform

But, our industry is challenged!

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION

Our infrastructure is ageing

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION

Projects are bigger and more complex

HOW DOES CANADA COMPARE

Canada ranks 15th of 138

HOW DOES CANADA COMPARE

HOW DOES CANADA COMPARE

CONSTRUCTION PERFORMANCE

Construction has performed poorly when compared to other industries

Why?

INTERNAL CHALLENGES

The industry must also confront internal challenges:

• Lack of innovation and delayed adoption

• Informal processes or insufficient rigour & consistency in process execution

• Insufficient knowledge transfer from project to project

• Weak project monitoring

INTERNAL CHALLENGES

The industry must also confront internal challenges (continued):

• Little cross-functional cooperation

• Little collaboration with suppliers

• Conservative company culture

• Shortage of young talent and people development

CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT

TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORK

How do we transform our industry?

TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORK

TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORK

What needs to happen at a company level?

TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORK

What can we do as an industry? How?

TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORK

What role does government play?

TRENDS – DRONES AND ROBOTICS

UAV Industry Continues to Grow• FAA Prediction of 7 million drones by

2020

• Commercial application for construction:

- Earthworks management

- Location validation

- Project management

• New collaborations taking place

TRENDS – DRONES AND ROBOTICS

The Rise of Robotics: Virginia Tech and Lowes robotics test

• Non-motorized exoskeletons address common lifting injuries

• Harness features carbon-fibre rods to act as artificial tendons

TRENDS – AUGMENTED & VIRTUAL REALITY

Need to clarify the difference:

• Virtual Reality – immersive experience

• Augmented Reality – information overlaid onto realtime visuals

New Companies Emerging in the Augmented Reality Sphere

• DAQRI’s Smart Helmet testing

• New DAQRI Smart Glasses

• Trimble and HoloLens collaboration

• New HoloLens testing

TRENDS – AUGMENTED & VIRTUAL REALITY

DAQRI Smart Helmet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9t6Osl1Lbc

Microsoft HoloLens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic_M6WoRZ7k

TRENDS – SENSORS

Health and Safety Sensors

• LifeBand sends a signal, through a mobile application, if signs of mental fatigue are shown –measuring brain activity

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpMm1gTl3j4

Large Scale Testing

• Washington University study on large scale infrastructure projects

TRENDS – SENSORS

Mercy Hospital Expansion Project (St. Louis)

• Wireless environmental sensors deployed across project

• Tracking ambient qualities, temperature, humidity, noise, vibration etc.

• Sensors refined to meet the needs of project managers

TRENDS – SENSORS

Safety Sensors

• Triax Technologies unveiling its belt-mounted sensor to log worker movements

• Accelerometers and gyroscopes detect sudden falls and movements

TRENDS – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Microsoft Build 2017 Showcase

• Using current technologies such as sensors and cameras

• Teaching software to recognize and react

• Future state is to program machinery to step in to clean or maintain etc.

• Tools can also be used for asset management (i.e. locating tools)

• Low-hanging fruit in terms of innovation; many technologies already in place

TRENDS – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Microsoft Build 2017 Showcase

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL-c00M2CnI

QUESTIONS?