Everything – from the potential impact of tariffs to the software your project team is using to develop better buildings – is changing.
As we unwind during the holidays, Scott-Long Construction also has an eye to the future: These trends will have a bearing on how we work together in a rapidly changing industry.
Talent Shortage in Commercial Construction?
How well does your construction partner attract and cultivate talent? Our methodology hinges on having decades of expertise spanning not only evolving best practices cross-industry, but vertical experts in everything from historic renovation to operationally demanding environments like healthcare, adaptive reuse and manufacturing.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the construction sector will need to add nearly 700,000 new jobs by 2031 to keep up with demand. However, filling these positions is proving difficult due to several factors, including an aging workforce, a lack of interest among younger generations and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Labor Outlook for the Construction Industry: Challenges and Opportunities (CONEXPO-CON/AGG 365)
Construction Tech: Drones, AI, BIM, IoT, Oh My
In 2024 we documented our evolving practice in several ways, including how we’re using software to streamline and make our processes more predictable.
But project management software is just the beginning. It’s full-speed ahead on all technology fronts, from exciting experimental proofs of concept to mind-boggling capabilities that are on the ground now.
Victoria Sokolova at Epicflow did a great roundup of emergent high-impact tech that will change the way we work. She flagged a lot of the things on our radar. Highlights include:
- Modular construction and 3D printing: More base components of a building can be assembled offsite and transported to the building site, reducing waste and lowering lead times, among other benefits
- Generative AI: Industry-specific applications are part of the cutting edge of AI, with niche experts in areas like law and medicine training their own versions of the big-platform AIs we always hear about. From helping automate design to compliance to visualization, our industry is one of AI’s beachheads.
- Digital Twins: Muscular new computing power, the Internet of Things (IoT), and other emergent tech synergize to create exact real-time replicas of buildings. Building information modeling (BIM) and digital twinning can enable a virtual tour of a structure at any time, immerse a teammate in the planning stages…these 1:1 digital replicas will improve planning, safety, and cross-team visualization and collaboration.
- Robots and Drones: Automating dangerous or remote tasks in energy and construction is just one of the ways drones and robots will appear more often as co-workers onsite. Some estimate drones already in use at nearly 40% of construction sites. Humans and bots will form more of a jobsite ballet as construction applications of the tech rapidly evolve.
Economic trends and policy are also going to impact financing and job starts in 2025. It’s a lot to keep track of! What factors are you watching most in the commercial construction landscape?