What does AI actually mean? It’s a term thrown around all the time in media and tech circles used to describe anything from the latest app to full-on doomsday robots. Wikipedia defines AI as “intelligence demonstrated by machines,” versus natural intelligence shown by humans and other animals. Since AI is still nowhere close to the any human-like “intelligence,” its working definition usually refers to software that’s very good at accomplishing narrowly defined tasks.
AI’s influence might not yet be obvious in your daily work, but executives stakeholders can’t afford to stay in the dark much longer. Thanks to an explosion of data from increasingly digitized construction processes and dramatic advances in machine learning, AI tools are making their mark in construction. Here are some examples of companies paving the way, using AI-powered technology to improve efficiency and safety, and seeing major results:
- Most construction projects end up behind schedule. It can take months to match the building sequence with the availability of contractors and materials; even when a schedule is in place, there’s no way to tell whether it’s the most efficient way to keep meeting project goals. Managers can now consider a few AI-powered solutions to improve project cycles, all the way from planning to monitoring to delivering. That’s the goal of ALICE, a scheduling engine that looks at millions of ways to build a project, guiding you to the best schedule fit for your time & cost requirements needs. With ALICE, you can easily the schedule implications and impacts from changing critical parameters like number of crews or type of cranes.
- Doxel is an AI-based application similar to ALICE, but operating more as a full service provider than a traditional software vendor. Doxel uses rovers and drones to capture progress on a construction site in full 3D, then inspects it real-time and compares it against original plans, budget, and schedule. Project managers then use progressive information to track labor productivity and make adjustments to keep the project on schedule. Doxel’s AI can also detect errors in the construction by comparing visual data from everyday scans of the jobsite to small scale design models.
- Autodesk’s BIM 360 Field includes a safety tool that can easily be used to complement Newmetrix's (formerly Smartvid.io) visual monitoring. Project IQ is a built-in application that analyzes a jobsite’s logged safety issues, then flags the ones that could be the most fatal.OSHA shows that around 67% of all construction-related fatalities in 2015 were caused by issues related to the “fatal four": falls, struck by accidents, caught between incidents, and electrocutions. IQ’s algorithm prioritizes things most likely linked to the fatal four, giving safety managers an easy way to focus planning and training efforts, and highlighting specific problems to be on the watch for on safety walks. Newmetrix can integrate with construction management systems like Procore as well. See our integrations page for how you can connect the Newmetrix AI into these systems in just minutes using our pre-built integrations.
Productivity levels in construction have trailed other sectors for decades, but these are just a few examples of what AI-powered tools companies are now using to work smarter. As you make decisions for your company, take a broader look at how this shift in technology can and should add value to what you do — as a first step, consider focusing your R&D efforts on digitization (McKinsey research finds that digitized AEC companies are 50% more likely to generate profit from updated technology.) Complacency is dangerous when it comes to AI, and in tomorrow’s workplace, only informed companies will survive. Don’t get left behind!
Get started today with our AI Starter Kit: Putting Artificial Intelligence into Action to Reduce Safety Risk.
