Top Trends in the Construction Industry to Follow in 2022 | 2020 was quite a difficult year for the construction industry, coming with unexpected halts, closures, and delays, but 2021 saw remarkable improvements, particularly in the residential and infrastructure areas. With such a complex recent history, unforeseen circumstances, and challenging global events still affecting us today, you might be wondering what the future will bring for the construction industry. Fortunately, there is a simple answer. New trends are constantly emerging in this field, and here are just some of the top tendencies in construction to follow come 2022:
New and improved materials
While the need for construction is continuously on the rise, so are the prices of traditional construction materials. In order to increase revenue, while aiding in sustainability efforts as well, new materials have emerged as a more cost-effective solution. Potential options to watch out for in the following years include recycled materials, engineered timber, eco-friendly concrete, transparent aluminum, engineered cementitious composites, and other similar solutions. New materials could also be engineered to have certain properties suitable for the project at hand, allowing construction companies to improve efficiency and reduce building costs even further.
The growth of 3D printing
Although we might not be ready to 3D print buildings on a larger scale quite yet, this technology still has some very practical uses, such as printing equipment parts, building components, and different materials. What’s more, 3D printing could also be used for building low-income or emergency housing, as its speed and lower costs could be particularly beneficial in this area. However, 3D printing solutions could provide even more advantages for construction companies, as it helps to reduce waste and decrease turnaround times, while providing more flexibility and efficiency through custom-printed and custom-designed parts.
Modern modular solutions
Modular buildings have first started gaining popularity in Europe, but are slowly beginning to take over the world. By allowing companies to fabricate and build components off-site and then quickly assemble them on-site, modular buildings can be finished in almost half the time compared to traditional construction projects. Not only does this significantly reduce the costs of building, but it also reduces shipping costs, required material, and construction waste, while often delivering higher quality. Due to these benefits, modular solutions are set out to be an even more prominent part of the construction industry in the upcoming years.
IoT integration options
In countries like Australia, on the other hand, IoT integration has become one of the biggest construction industry trends that only continues to grow. Businesses often decide to work with an experienced IoT company in Australia that uses the latest technology to evolve operations. By delivering true IoT integration, such experts are able to deliver customized solutions to any business, thus allowing them to reduce risks, increase safety, save money, improve operational efficiency, and even reduce environmental impact. Clearly, such a solution can offer a number of benefits, and is among the most important trends to look out for come 2022.
Building Information Modeling
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a digital tool in the industry that helps to represent the functional and physical characteristics of a facility. Although it might be a standard in construction, BIM continues to improve and advance through newer versions. A number of different programming levels are now offered through this tool, most interestingly 7D (seven dimensions), which can be cloud-based and offer information on all phases of construction. From materials and costs to building schedules and other relevant aspects, plenty of helpful details can be included in BIM software.
Smarter, optimized cities
In an effort to improve the quality of life, support the economy, and invest in environmental stability, cities are slowly changing as well. In the near future, smarter cities will increase the complexity of urban construction, mostly through aspects such as WiFi-enabled lighting, pedestrian sensors, and intelligent roads that aim to reduce emissions. To keep up with these changes, construction companies will need to improve their technical knowledge, as well as evaluate the equipment and skills required for making smarter plans and developing more modern and efficient cities.
A globally declining workforce
Even though a shortage of labor is nothing new in the industry, this issue is slowly getting worse, and has only been highlighted during the pandemic. Job openings in construction have significantly increased over the last few years, but the percentage of new hires is highly disproportionate, thus creating an even worse labor shortage that might affect projects, deadlines, and customer satisfaction. At this moment, investing in HR departments to ensure the effective recruitment of qualified professionals and the retention of skilled workers seems like the best solution. In addition, opting for new construction equipment, providing competitive wages and bonuses, creating apprenticeships, and utilizing similar tactics could also be of help.
Evidently, most new construction industry trends are heavily technology-oriented. In order to achieve success in 2022 and further, construction companies must increase their knowledge, invest in the right areas, and partner with tech-savvy businesses.
