STRUCK was allowed to contribute to ING's construction sector magazine about AI applications. 

In recent years, the construction sector has been digitalizing less quickly. While acceleration is needed. More needs to be done with fewer people. And it needs to be greener. That is why the next step in digitalization needs to be taken. AI can help with that.

AI in construction

AI is about smart systems that can analyze the environment and take action themselves. Recently, research was conducted by Tata Consultancy Services among senior executives working at the largest companies in the world. This research shows that managers in the Netherlands mainly want to use AI for innovation and revenue growth. They are less interested in using AI to improve business operations or reduce costs. Quite surprising, because cost savings are easier to achieve and also ensure a better return.

AI can change the construction and installation sector in the Netherlands enormously. For example, by reducing costs and making everything more efficient and sustainable. One of the most important opportunities lies in making design and construction processes smarter. For example, a huge amount of data can be analyzed via machine learning to discover patterns. AI can then predict the use of materials or the amount of energy that is consumed.

AI can also be used for project management and planning. With advanced algorithms, construction projects can be planned and managed more accurately. This results in fewer delays and deadlines are better met. 'Predictive maintenance' is also an area where AI adds value. Using sensor data, AI can predict when maintenance is needed. This saves costs and ensures that installations last longer.

Construction sites can be made safer by monitoring them with drones and smart cameras. This way, a potential threat can be recognized in time.

But there are also challenges and concerns when using AI, such as privacy, ethical considerations and the need to retrain employees.

The graph below shows that the Dutch construction sector is lagging behind the industry and ICT sector in the use of AI:

In conversation with Max van Riel from Struck and Fedor Klinkenberg from Brainial

Two examples of AI applications in the construction sector are Struck and Brainial. What do these companies do? And why is AI important for construction?

Struck (Amsterdam) is a start-up company that helps contractors, architects and developers understand building regulations and laws and regulations. This is often complicated and a lot, while there is not always enough knowledge or people available for this. AI helps to accelerate construction and save costs. For example, Struck works with a chat function with source reference. And a large amount of documents (> 44,000) can be searched. Think of the new building code, aesthetic documents, Breeam documents, zoning plans, parking standards per municipality, etc.

Max van Riel is co-founder of Struck: “Complying with the complicated laws and regulations costs time and money. Yet society expects more and, above all, faster construction. The savings (time and money) are in the preparation of a construction project. AI can be involved in the plans at an early stage in places where manpower is often not available. Quick checks are carried out in the initial phase of a project, so that better choices can be made immediately. The architect will of course remain the lead author in the creative process, but help and support through AI applications is welcome. Many foreign architects work on a construction project. And they can now ask questions about Dutch laws and regulations in their own language.”

Brainial (Utrecht) is a scale-up company that helps entrepreneurs in construction with tenders and tenders. Brainial's AI application analyses all documents. Pieces of text are recognized, categorized and linked together. And everything is made searchable. This can reduce search time by 90%.

Many construction projects are put out to tender. Clients often provide a great deal of documents and information. Under great time pressure, you have to absorb and understand all this information. Are you missing a detail? This can entail risks and additional (failure) costs. That is why contractors are often very reserved in large projects.

Fedor Klinkenberg is a business expert and Co-founder/CEO of Brainial: “In construction, there is a lot of demand for information from unstructured data, especially in tenders. Of course, you want to estimate what the risks are. And you want to learn from what went well in winning projects. With our scanning method, you can quickly save 50% of time. Time that you can then use for other things. By using AI intelligently, personal skills can be used even better.”

What does Jan van der Doelen, Sector Banker Building & Construction, think?

“The construction sector is challenged to build faster and more efficiently. But construction is becoming increasingly expensive and there are fewer and fewer people available. AI applications can help to accelerate and save (failure) costs. The examples of Struck and Brainial show that. This allows you to optimally deploy the limited number of people you have. Namely where they are good at: interaction and creativity.”

“There are already many applications in the construction sector and more are being added all the time. We will see which applications are the most successful in the coming years. Entrepreneurs have to make choices about what they will and will not use. They are often guided by the fear of losing the competition. My advice? Look at the DNA of your company and only choose solutions that really add value to your company.”

Tips for entrepreneurs

· Invest maximally in AI knowledge and networks

· Start small and expand where real added value is created

· Doing nothing is not an option, your peers are probably already busy…