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E L E C T R I C A L CO N N E C T I O N

A U T UMN 2 0 17

TECH

I

n an attempt to look forward,

Construction Skills Queensland

(CSQ) and the CSIRO recently

developed the report,

Farsight for

Construction: exploratory scenarios

for Queensland’s construction industry

to 2036

. And while it’s impossible

to tell the future, thorough analysis

of industry trends and emergent

technologies has allowed CSQ and the

CSIRO to put forward four possible

scenarios of what the industry will look

like in about 20 years time.

1.

The Digital Evolution

: Robot labour

technologies have not progressed

as quickly as expected. Little

has changed in the industry but

most major projects are using

BIM software, which provides 3D

modelling and an all-encompassing

system for managing every stage of

the construction lifecycle. Tradies

are still working in hands-on roles,

but using exosuits to enhance their

strength and agility. A range of

wearables are also being used

which offer biometric measurements

such as heart rate and perspiration

levels while monitoring the

wearer’s location to alert them to

dangerous situations.

2.

Smart Collaboration

:

The promise

of smart robots has not been

fulfilled but Australia is embracing

prefabrication with large numbers

of modular houses and buildings

being built in factory facilities. The

industry is harnessing new tools

to make the construction process

safer, more productive and less

labour intensive. Drones are being

used to undertake surveying work

and autonomous vehicles are

common on building sites.

3.

Globally Challenged

: This scenario

sees the Australian workforce

under pressure from advanced

manufacturing and robotics facilities

in Asia. The majority of construction

work is being outsourced to more

innovative and

low cost producers, reducing

the domestic workforce by 90%.

Australia has failed to develop and

use smart robots which are capable

of undertaking a wide range of

manual tasks such as bricklaying.

4.

Rise of the Robots

: Australia has

emerged as a global construction

innovation hub. The country is the

go-to place for testing and refining

exosuits and intelligent robots.

Advanced prefabrication facilities

are attracting massive foreign

investment and creating high tech

new jobs. Tradies are now working

as ‘building assembly technicians’

and overseeing robotic systems.

They are aided by virtual reality and

3D laser mapping devices which

allow them to walk around and

inspect augmented construction

models in a real world environment.

We can’t know for sure which, if any,

of these scenarios will come into being.

But one thing is certain – the industry

will be very different from what we

see today.

Sweeping change doesn’t happen

overnight however. It happens

incrementally, one innovation at a

time. And, most of the time, these

innovations make our lives easier and/

or safer.

With this in mind,

Across the Trades

has put together a collection of new,

innovative products that we reckon will

change things for the better.

INDUSTRY’S INNOVATIONS

The construction industry

has always been a hotbed of

innovation. In centuries past,

inventions like reinforced

concrete and electric welding

redefined the limits of what

we could build with steel and

concrete, while more recent

advances in battery technology

allow us to complete power-

hungry tasks with grinders

and reciprocating saws

chord-free.