Global labour-productivity growth in construction has averaged only 1 percent a year over the past two decades, compared with growth of 2.8 percent for the total world economy and 3.6 percent in manufacturing. The industry, therefore, is turning to technology solutions that utilise artificial intelligence to solve long-standing and deep-rooted challenges, particularly in productivity. Hence, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the global Construction market is forecasted to reach USD 4.51 Billion by 2026, according to a new report by Reports and Data.
The challenges of this year remind us of the importance of data in navigating constant uncertainties. The pandemic has proved to us that automation and AI-based applications can be critically important in the construction sector and absolutely will be in the near future. AI has been a driving force in identifying patterns in data to automate processes and generate insights, and as such, the construction industry is one of the main economic sectors where automation has the greatest potential to address inefficiencies and low productivity.
How does AI and machine learning support construction projects?
Construction projects generate an extraordinary amount of data, yet a great deal of the data remains unstructured and unused due to outdated processes or using tools that are not integrated. As projects progress and a business scales, the need increases proportionately to be able to quickly access and analyse data. Bringing data out of silos and making it easily accessible across your organisation helps facilitate data-driven decision-making to be faster and more precise.
Extracting meaningful insights efficiently can only be possible if data sources are integrated and expertly managed. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning can help take full advantage of collected data, enabling enterprises to explore patterns and trends, assisting in forecasting scenarios and preventing costly mistakes and delays. Indeed, the predictive ability of AI can turn teams from being ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’.
How does McTWO support your construction business?
RIB Software understands how construction enterprises and projects need to be equipped with New thinking, New working methods, and New technology to succeed in the New era of construction. For that commitment, they have developed a powerful software solution – the MTWO Complete Construction Cloud - for contractors, project owners, and real estate developers, to connect all stakeholders, processes, and data, all in one place. But they didn’t stop there. They developed McTWO, the artificial intelligence solution for the construction industry.
As a unified cloud platform that houses all your data securely and allows for full-spectrum data usage, MTWO digitally documents valuable data throughout the project lifecycle on one single platform. In conjunction with this, and powered by Machine Learning and Deep Learning, McTWO supports firms to establish a real-time decision-making system by generating predictions, forecasts, and recommendations through analysing your historical data and extracting value from it.
McTWO is an end-to-end AI solution that helps construction firms with:
Data collection: easily collect project data through the voice interface.
Data analysis: unleash the true value of your data.
Insights and predictions: accelerate real-time decision making and automate processes.
McTWO makes a significant difference in both the planning and execution phase of a project. With the advent of the McTWO AI assistant, the planning process can now take advantage of the massive amount of project historical data from MTWO to produce scenarios for sound upfront planning. In the project execution phase, users gain a deeper understanding of the issues impacting their project delivery process, for instance, identifying the causes of project delays and assessing labour productivity.
McTWO is designed for both office and site teams. Since MTWO is a single source of truth that is updated in real-time, teams are always on the same page, enabling more informed and quicker decision-making.
How does McTWO support different teams involved in a construction project?
1. Automate processes and predict impacts for office teams
AI has been a driving force in identifying patterns in data to automate many of the mundane but essential tasks in running projects. McTWO identifies trends, creates forecasts and offers recommendations by analysing your accumulated data, making the ‘complex’ simple. For instance, with McTWO, the tedious manual mapping of materials into catalog groups can be done in just seconds; McTWO can predict the cost and schedule impact of a defect based on the parameters of the defects.
2. Provide fast access to information and real-time analysis to field teams
(1) Increase field productivity and seamlessly connect the jobsite and the office with voice assistant.
Equipped with NLP (Natural Language Processing) technologies, McTWO Virtual Assistant enables field staff to easily conduct task reviews, communicate rapidly, efficiently prioritize QA/QC procedures, and update progress status, all of which greatly improves onsite safety by working hands-free, allowing site inspectors to be focused on the task at hand rather than on the clipboard.
(2) Quick access to project information and in-depth analysis with Chatbot
McTWO Chatbot enables teams to have instant access to project information at their fingertips. With McTWO chatbot, estimators, project managers, procurement managers, and executives can quickly make data-driven decisions with confidence by simply asking technical and project-related questions. The end result is teams being able to make the best-informed decisions throughout the project lifecycle, saving time on long meetings and unnecessary phone calls.
For instance, executives can have the summary of awarded contracts or an overview of risks and Project managers can generate evaluations of business partners and project milestones, all within seconds. Estimators can have the breakdown of project estimation and cost comparisons within a few clicks. New MTWO users can easily become familiar with the MTWO platform by asking McTWO “how-to” questions.
Integrated with Mixed Reality solution
McTWO is connected with iTWO lens, RIB’s Mixed Reality solution for the construction industry. While using iTWO lens, users can report defects or update project progress through voice commands, with reported information being easily updated on the MTWO cloud platform.
The time is now to begin thinking about how your organisation can be empowered by AI
By using AI in utilising accumulated data, better decisions can be made. Using data, construction businesses and projects can pivot its operations to meet growing demand and build a more insightful and responsive enterprise. In the long run, AI can save your project costs and significantly increase the quality. With the potential that AI offers, the time is now to begin thinking about how your organisation can be transformed to give your business a competitive edge so that your business is able to compete within the digital landscape that is quickly becoming the norm. Teams equipped with AI have more transparency, increased efficiency, and fewer change orders – all of which minimises delays, keeps budgets under control, and keeping your valuable customers happy. To learn more about machine learning and deep learning for construction, visit our website.