AI takes on construction

FIRMS ARE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO HELP MANAGE, COORDINATE, AND IMPROVE PRODUCTION.

- ABRAHAM JEWETT

Every employee hopes to get along with their coworkers, but what happens when the person you’re exchanging water-cooler pleasantries with isn’t a person at all?

An increasing number of construction companies, along with professionals in the architecture and engineering fields, have begun to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help with business management, coordination, and production.

The gradual paradigm shift could be traced to construction firms’ desire for increased output, as human employees are often unable to maintain the level of efficiency of their robot co-workers.

One company on the forefront is ALICE Technologies, which develops programs that help with construction managing, scheduling, and planning.

In February, ALICE Technologies released ALICE Manage, which is designed to mitigate issues that may arise on a construction site and help smooth the transition from blueprint to finished product.

“With the introduction of Manage, ALICE now brings the power of AI to the full project life cycle, from preconstruction through project management,” said René Morkos, CEO and Founder of ALICE Technologies in a news release. “With ALICE, contractors can develop an ideal project plan and easily tune that plan during the build based on changing circumstances. Our vision is to reduce global construction costs by 25%, and the introduction of Manage gives contractors the stem-to-stern project planning and management capability that can make this vision possible.”

REINFORCEMENTS

AI technology increases output in a variety of ways, such as improving building designs, risk mitigation and safety, and addressing labor shortages.