The construction industry has a reputation for ingrained conservatism, where progress is prey to rigidly traditional ways of working, contractual conflict, stagnant productivity, supply bottlenecks, and shortages of skills and labour, compounded by negative perceptions of male dominance and unattractive working conditions.
But with colossal challenges come colossal prizes, and there is a growing contingent of tech start-ups turning their attention to construction. Bringing a fresh look at the industry and a welcome boost of technological innovation, Contech (construction technology) investment remains solid when others like Proptech or Fintech find themselves amid a general downturn.
In this Business Insight Note we survey some of the exciting developments and technologies seeding a reinvention of the construction sector. These include:
- Digitalisation, modelling and twins
- Automation and robots
- The supply chain
- Sustainability and materials