TY - JOUR
T1 - Implications of Construction 4.0 to the workforce and organizational structures
AU - García de Soto, Borja
AU - Agustí-Juan, Isolda
AU - Joss, Samuel
AU - Hunhevicz, Jens
N1 - Funding Information:
We want to thank the different research teams from the DFAB HOUSE at the NEST building and the NCCR Digital Fabrication; special thanks are given to Konrad Graser, Pascal Breitenstein, and Prof. Dr. Guillaume Habert for their support during this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The counterpart of Industry 4.0 in the AEC/FM industry is known as Construction 4.0. Its essence is the digitalization and automation of the AEC/FM industry. As robots and other technologies make their way into the different phases of the lifecycle of construction projects, the concern about the future of jobs and wages will increase. While the use of robotics has the potential to improve productivity and safety, it should not necessarily reduce total employment in the construction sector in the long run. It is expected that existing roles will evolve, and new roles will be created (e.g., in addition to designers there will be a need for employees with digital skills). Focusing on the construction phase of a robotically built concrete wall, the different roles were evaluated. From this study, it was found that there will be a time in which conventional construction and robotic technologies will coexist, leading to a higher job variability and new roles, both at the managerial and operations/execution levels. Although this study is not meant to be an exact representation of how the AEC/FM roles will change as a consequence of Construction 4.0, it opens the debate and research in this area.
AB - The counterpart of Industry 4.0 in the AEC/FM industry is known as Construction 4.0. Its essence is the digitalization and automation of the AEC/FM industry. As robots and other technologies make their way into the different phases of the lifecycle of construction projects, the concern about the future of jobs and wages will increase. While the use of robotics has the potential to improve productivity and safety, it should not necessarily reduce total employment in the construction sector in the long run. It is expected that existing roles will evolve, and new roles will be created (e.g., in addition to designers there will be a need for employees with digital skills). Focusing on the construction phase of a robotically built concrete wall, the different roles were evaluated. From this study, it was found that there will be a time in which conventional construction and robotic technologies will coexist, leading to a higher job variability and new roles, both at the managerial and operations/execution levels. Although this study is not meant to be an exact representation of how the AEC/FM roles will change as a consequence of Construction 4.0, it opens the debate and research in this area.
KW - Construction 4.0
KW - construction automation
KW - digital fabrication (dfab)
KW - human–robot interaction
KW - industrialized construction
KW - organizational structure
KW - platform-based integration
KW - project delivery and contract strategies
KW - project-based integration
KW - robotic construction
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U2 - 10.1080/15623599.2019.1616414
DO - 10.1080/15623599.2019.1616414
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85066063580
SN - 1562-3599
VL - 22
SP - 205
EP - 217
JO - International Journal of Construction Management
JF - International Journal of Construction Management
IS - 2
ER -