It’s clear there is no scarcity of skilled jobs in the construction industry, and the need is only expected to grow. However, there is a scarcity of advanced skilled workers to fill those jobs. What isn’t so clear is what the offsite and modular industry will have to do not only find workers but also what the industry itself will look like in the next 10 years.
Soon we will be seeing commercial applications of drones, laser scanners and robotics used on job sites.
Today’s new hires are not that interested in getting into a machine and operating it on a site 100 miles away from home, but they do like the idea of getting into a simulator and operating a machine 100 miles away. We’re going to need these new technologies to finish the work that needs to be done even with fewer workers.
We need to find a way to attract young workers if we are going to keep this industry stable and instead of putting a shovel in their hands, we will be putting a joystick in their hands.
Offsite and modular construction is in the midst of an exciting technological shift. Project teams are trading their paper processes for iPad apps, and drones are buzzing over construction sites collecting digital data. But there will still need for hands-on workers to meet the rise in building demand.
Today there are new offsite factories being started every week producing everything from energy-saving wall panels and trusses to modules and components ready to use in all types of construction. But if we think tomorrow’s factories will look like they have traditionally looked for the past 50 years, we are in for a rude awakening. Not only will the factories themselves begin changing from labor-heavy production lines to more robotics, but the products we build will also be radically different.
The single-family home may be the ultimate luxury in 10 years. Factories like Boxabl are expanding rapidly to meet the demand for a new type of home the average family can afford. Auxiliary Housing Units (ADU), small dwellings like container homes, tiny houses, and maybe even some type of home we haven’t even thought of yet will be the standard single-home dwelling in 10 years.
And how we build them will soon become unrecognizable in today’s world. If we can build homes 24/7/365 on an automated assembly line, all we will need is to build enough factories to meet the needs of this new type of housing. Robots and automated machinery are the future of our industry with components being built in factories, then brought together at the job site where they are unloaded off the trucks, put into place by skilled workers 1,000 miles away using a simulator, a joystick and drones.
The labor force needed both in the factories and at the job sites will become manageable but at a higher cost. The construction industry is changing quickly, and that’s a good thing. If we are to build more with less and deliver better outcomes, the future of construction must be digital. You can count on the world’s next wave of construction jobs and construction projects to be high-tech and cloud-connected.
Gen Z and Millennials with their thirst for a different way to work are the future of construction but many in the offsite and modular industries are fervently holding onto the ways we have done it for 50 years.
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
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