Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful technology with a range of capabilities, which are beginning to become apparent in all industries nowadays. The increased popularity of AI in the construction industry, however, is rather limited in comparison to other industry sectors. Moreover, despite AI being a hot topic in built environment research, there are limited review studies that investigate the reasons for the low-level AI adoption in the construction industry. This study aims to reduce this gap by identifying the adoption challenges of AI, along with the opportunities offered, for the construction industry. To achieve the aim, the study adopts a systematic literature review approach using the PRISMA protocol. In addition, the systematic review of the literature focuses on the planning, design, and construction stages of the construction project lifecycle. The results of the review reveal that (a) AI is particularly beneficial in the planning stage as the success of construction projects depends on accurate events, risks, and cost forecasting; (b) the major opportunity in adopting AI is to reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks by using big data analytics and improving the work processes; and (c) the biggest challenge to incorporate AI on a construction site is the fragmented nature of the industry, which has resulted in issues of data acquisition and retention. The findings of the study inform a range of parties that operate in the construction industry concerning the opportunities and challenges of AI adaptability and help increase the market acceptance of AI practices.

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Opportunities and Adoption Challenges of AI in the Construction Industry: A PRISMA Review

In recent years, due to the rapid development of the fourth industrial revolution and new platforms of information technologies, intelligent systems have received widespread attention in many industries and have brought the potential to improve the efficiency of the construction industry. These facts led to the appearance of a new concept in construction industry called Construction 4.0. Therefore, this article seeks to explore the state of implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the construction industry and analyze their impact on the formation of the Construction 4.0 concept. In order to achieve the aim of this article, a literature review was conducted using the most relevant publication in this field. Moreover, authors carried out a bibliometric analysis among 195 selected research articles related to the Industry 4.0 and Construction 4.0 to identify interconnections between these concepts. The results show that Industry 4.0 has the greatest impact on productivity growth in construction and that interest in digital technologies is growing every year, but their penetration into the construction industry is currently slow and limited. The authors suggest that further research needs to be focused on future ethical issues that may arise and on synergies between Construction 4.0 technologies.

Impact of Industry 4.0 Platform on the Formation of Construction 4.0 Concept: A Literature Review

This paper reviews the recent literature on skill and labour shortages in the labour market with special emphasis on the construction sector in the European Union Member States, foreseeing the Construction 4.0 era. The free movement of people is one of the rights of all citizens of the EU which also includes the free movement of workers. Labour shortages in the EU are expected to increase in the future due to a declining population and an ageing workforce. In order to recognize and forecast labour shortages, EU Member states use a variety of instruments but they do not answer as to whether it is possible to use migrant labour to appease those shortages. There are several systems used to classify labour shortages in the EU Member states. Most of the countries classify labour shortages in relation to different sectors or occupation groups as well as by skill levels, but in some Member States, classification is made according to the type of employment. Instruments used to measure labour shortages significantly differ from country to country. Several criteria are used for creating lists of shortage occupations and most of the criteria include demand side and supply side criteria. A majority of the Member States are facing labour and skill shortages in various sectors and the construction sector is not an exception. As total employment in the construction sector decreased, so did the share of employed migrants. Labour shortages in the construction sector can be eased by the availability of a labour supply willing to accept unqualified and low-paying jobs. The construction sector seeks low-, medium-, and high-skilled individuals and is most likely the sector where most of the incoming migrants will be working, which has an impact on the development and implementation dynamic of Construction 4.0.

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/1/17/pdf

Review of the Construction Labour Demand and Shortages in the EU

Construction 4.0 (C4.0) has tremendously impacted construction activities worldwide in recent times. This effect was made possible on account of innovations brought about by Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Industry 4.0 has the potential to create Construction 4.0 through the integration of the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure through useful component integration for industrial and technological development. Therefore, this study aimed to present a pathway for achieving sustainable innovations and inclusive technological and infrastructural developments. The following parameters were reviewed in this study as part of the goals and objectives set in the survey: identifying the adaptable areas of Construction 4.0 in design, planning, construction and maintenance as part of infrastructural innovation in order to study the industrial application drivers of I4.0 and C4.0 hindrances in achieving C4.0; achieving the automation dream through C4.0, benchmarking the social and economic implications of C4.0 and identifying the issues and challenges in achieving sustainable innovation through infrastructural development and documenting the disruptive tools of C4.0 in achieving a sustainable design through technological development and examining the critical factors influencing the effective adaptation of C4.0 in achieving growth. The authors utilised 200 construction firms for this study using the Cochran and Slovin’s formulas. In addition, the sample size of 150 respondents that constituted the study were construction professionals. The respondents used the simple percentage, relative index, Spearman’s rank, Mann–Whitney U test, Kendall’s Tau test, Student’s t-test, ANOVA and chi-square tools in the data processing. The study found out, among other things, the following as part of the parameters earlier proposed: the introduction of a circular economy by adopting intelligent innovation, engaging new tools, technological innovation diffusion and the vertical and horizontal integration of versatile tools like I4.0 and C4.0 for inclusive technological development. This study recommended the objective and effective adaptation of I4.0 tools to enhance C4.0 for technical development, circular economic integration and a framework for sustainable innovation and a system for the inclusive monitoring of innovations in the design and planning of construction maintenance.

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/79/pdf

The Disruptive Adaptations of Construction 4.0 and Industry 4.0 as a Pathway to a Sustainable Innovation and Inclusive Industrial Technological Development

The last decade has witnessed unprecedented changes in the technologies and processes involved in the construction industry. The philosophies associated with Industry 4.0 now reverberate in construction 4.0. Digitalization and interconnectivity in the cyber-physical systems of the sector are at the heart of such transformation. Construction 4.0 brings to the table a plethora of technologies and associated processes over the construction project lifecycle. The current study performs a state-of-art literature review to summarize the knowledge advancement in construction 4.0. A layered conceptualization spanning across project lifecycle utilizing the people-process-technology dimensions is presented to summarize the current understanding of Construction 4.0. The cyber-physical space is classified into the physical, digital tool, data, and core data security and interoperability layers. The inter-layer and intra-layer interactions and information flows are then conceptualized based on the extant literature, including the human interaction and interventions. The people-process-technology dimensions were discussed across the project lifecycle through interactions in these layers. It is observed that Construction 4.0 is set to be driven by data creation, data flow, data transformation, and data storage across the project lifecycle to ensure a collaborative environment across the stakeholders who interact and associate with different layers of Construction 4.0. The article finally presents challenges with the current formulations and explores ways to further our knowledge in the area.

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Construction 4.0: what we know and where we are headed?

The development of technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution is rapid. Construction 4.0 represents the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industries exploration of new technologies, equivalent to Industry 4.0 for the manufacturing industry. These concepts address multiple perspectives besides the technological, such as management and processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent research regarding construction projects addresses information and communication, automatisation or industrialisation technologies. A scoping review was the method used to perform a quantitative analysis of over two thousand journal papers published from 2015 onwards. The results show that new technologies are addressed separately, while synergy studies are uncommon. Longitudinal analyses show that there was no significant increase in journal papers concerning new technologies from 2015 to 2019. Information and communication was the search criterion with the least number of papers found. The environmental perspective of new technologies was present but the least common from 2019 to 2020. Hence, this review shows that there is an extensive research gap regarding Construction 4.0 technologies in the context of construction projects. Studies regarding synergy and environmental effects of new technologies should increase to start the progress towards a successful entry into the fourth industrial revolution.

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Quantitative review of construction 4.0 technology presence in construction project research

Collaboration and knowledge exchange possibilities between industry and construction 4.0 research

The architecture, engineering and construction industry focus on the project rather than on the product management. However, the development of digital and automated techniques requires more produc...

Exploring the applicability of configuration information in construction projects

Public and private clients are beginning to set complex optimization requirements, taking into consideration environmental and cost-efficiency parameters over the built construction’s lifetime. The ...

/pdf/optimization-parameter-sets-for-sustainable-concrete-in-fe201rto6m.pdf

Optimization parameter sets for sustainable concrete in tunnels

Traditionally, the evaluation of changes in construction projects focuses on implications for cost and time. Analysis of impact on the configuration and subsequent end-user functionality is less an ...

Malin Löfsjögård

Papers

Quantitative review of construction 4.0 technology presence in construction project research

Collaboration and knowledge exchange possibilities between industry and construction 4.0 research

Exploring the applicability of configuration information in construction projects

Optimization parameter sets for sustainable concrete in tunnels

Framework for change control in healthcare construction projects compared to current practice