MILWAUKEE, WIS.—The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has released a new white paper identifying 10 trends influencing the future of the construction industry over the next decade.
The Future of Building breaks the trends down into three areas: transformation of business, the industry and the environment, all of which are “challenging conventional norms in the industry and solving many of the bottlenecks the industry has faced for years,” an AEM release stated.
“With the passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is an opportunity for a generational investment to repair and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. Couple that with the ongoing shortage of skilled workers and aggressive goals to lower GHG emissions, and it all points to the construction industry coming to a critical juncture. But utilizing the technology and innovation outlined in this whitepaper, it will help produce the future society we desire,” AEM president Megan Tanel said in the release.
In terms of environmental change, the paper explores increased regulation of carbon-based fuels spurring adoption of alternative power solutions, a rise in renewable energy production and compact equipment going electric.
“Over the next 10 years, construction companies will see their fleets transform, while at the same time building out vital new infrastructure. We are seeing more demand for construction equipment fleets with cleaner solutions, including reduced emissions and lower noise levels. Construction companies will be critical in the nationwide energy transformation,” Volvo CE North American region president Stephen Roy said.
Industry transformation will involve connectivity improvements changing the nature of jobsites, a pathway towards autonomous machinery and the use of sensors to improve both safety and efficiency.
“Equipment technology is pivotal to many of these trends coming to fruition. The co-operation of bringing together all the existing technologies is the key to transformation, and connectivity enables it. Connectivity allows for efficiency and productivity gains throughout an organization and across our industry. This will enable construction companies to solve the safety, labor, efficiency and productivity challenges that they are expected to overcome,” Trimble senior vice-president of civil infrastructure solutions Pete Large said.
Business will transform through use of fewer workers with different skillsets, a shift toward subscription models, cybersecurity becoming central to corporate strategy and an increased use and value of construction data.
“AEM is committed to taking an active role in examining and shaping a shared industry vision for the future of construction so we can offer equipment solutions and insights to help the construction industry succeed. That’s why we brought our construction-based members together to take a look at the coming decade and identify the trends that are changing the industry and impacting construction business owners,” Tanel said.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed