Tech and automation can solve ‘productivity problem’

A huge 71% of those responding to the survey believed technology was key to boosting productivity. Yet just 3% of CIOs said productivity boosting tech had been brought onto site within the past year.

Manufacturing has experienced a labour productivity growth of 3.6% a year over the past 20 years, while construction had only seen a 1% increase over the same timeframe.

“There is a clear acceptance within the industry that a problem exists,” says Xavi Juarez, Director, HP construction services.

“For survey respondents to have seen little improvement in productivity across their careers is remarkable, considering the advances in technology during this time.

“A greater focus on harnessing tech and automating certain tasks is surely key to helping construction meaningfully improve productivity levels.”

The survey found 79% estimated that less than a fifth of the annual budget was invested in on-site tech, and 68% said their employer was open to using new tech. 57% reported the pandemic accelerated use of on-site and automation tech.

Layout, or setting out, errors were reportedly responsible for delays of over 15 days, equating to 9.4% of the total project budget. Around 5% of these delays were as long as three months.

But the costs aren’t just financial as 70% were concerned about potential for injuries caused by manual layout techniques.

Around 88% reported difficulty staffing layout work due to a lack of skills and labour.

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