Technology key to productivity gains

With the construction industry historically poor regarding delivering projects on time and on budget new technology – such as BIM, automation, remote operation and connectivity – could play a key role in changing this.

New technology could significantly boost construction’s productivity.

Talking about new technology, Alan Berger said, “It will also start driving the much-needed ‘lean’ productivity improvements on job sites that have transformed factories in recent decades. These systemic productivity improvements will be much greater than can be achieved by incrementally better equipment.

“Those that are early adopters of these technologies will reap the benefits, while the rest of the industry scrabbles to catch up. How to develop and build digital services will be one of the keys to success. It will also move the sector from today’s largely ‘break it -fix it’ approach to a service offering based on data defined in the R&D process.”

Berger and Goransson also state that the equipment produced by OEMs has improved across the board, to the extent that there is a now a commoditization of products and as such the industry is likely to see less brand loyalty then before. As a result of this the way customers buy equipment may also change, with the technology options offered by OEMs becoming increasingly important.

“As machines become more alike, we foresee buying behaviour shifting from owning equipment towards a pay-per-use and/or rental business model. Although brand loyalties will still be important in the future, we expect the combination of commoditization and new ownership models to loosen established brands’ hold on consumer loyalty, leading to a fiercely competitive market landscape,” said Goransson.

“The packaging of new machine sales with future services based on digitalised platforms will define success, both for value and premium brands, largely driven by customer demand for more insightful data.”