Technology is changing construction. These days, a wall and ceiling contractor needs a programmer on staff just to keep up with all the gizmos coming in through the door.
Augmented reality is the latest technology to garner attention. Through specially designed visors, augmented reality shows you your workspace and virtual representations of what you plan to build within it.
“It’s a way to visualize a model overlaid into the real world,” says David Keane, virtual design and construction specialist at Baker Drywall Prefab, Dallas.
How do you get involved with this kind of tech? How do you become a state-of-the-art construction company?
I have three ideas for you.
Think Different
The old Apple tagline, Think Different, is as relevant today as when it was first used. Augmented reality will change not just how you do business, but how you think about wall and ceiling construction. Mixing reality with models will launch a new way of working. It will open up in your firm new approaches to skills training, collaboration, layout, work processes, quality control and worker safety.
Do you feel behind in this area? Don’t worry about that. Most wall and ceiling companies haven’t begun to think about using this new technology. Only a handful of firms have bought augmented reality headsets, which can cost between $3,000 and $5,000. They’re just incubating ideas and testing them out.
“It’s like-minded people flocking together right now,” says Travis Vap, president of South Valley Drywall, Inc., Littleton, Colo. “We go to the same conferences and meet the same people. We’re benchmarking what’s out there and sharing it with each other. We’re just getting educated.”
What you can do is start nurturing company values that emphasize change, open-mindedness and collaboration. Make everyone, from top managers to field foremen, eager to get started. Find a way to acknowledge and reward innovative thinking.
Hire Programmers
To take advantage of augmented reality, you’ll need building information models to power the visualizations. So, BIM is a first step to move forward with augmented reality. That means you’ll need modelers. And, augmented reality means you’ll need programmers.
Ideally, you’ll want to hire department candidates with schooling in construction management, BIM modeling and architecture. And, yes, they’ll need to know how to write code.
“Ultimately, we’re writing computer programs,” says Vap about his firm’s AR efforts. “We’re taking our 3-D [BIM] models, which we already do, and combining them with software.”
Bardia Jahangiri, VDC specialist at Baker Triangle Prefab, has an architecture background. “I shifted to construction a few years ago, and I also started programming,” he says. Jahangiri is the ideal type of candidate. He has field experience, so he understands constructability. He knows how to code, so he understands user interface design.
What will this cost you? Of course, I have no idea what Jahangiri draws for a salary. But, one wall and ceiling executive told me last summer that his BIM department costs $130,000 a year—that’s the salary for one BIM modeler, software licenses and the cost of annual software maintenance.
If you’re having an “ouch!” moment reacting to that figure, then think about the pain you’ll feel if you stay in the Dark Ages. That will happen someday for some. So for now, at least try to figure out how to outsource some tech work and get in the game.
Be Transparent
Your firm needs to grow in the world of technology. So, keep a healthy tech dialogue going in your company.
But also communicate with other firms. Find a peer-to-peer group. Be willing to share information. Share your successes with the media—with writers such as myself. Publicity creates excitement and buzz, and buzz will draw talent and partnerships to you. I promise.
Finally, encourage your project managers, estimators, engineers, administrative assistants, mechanics, finishers—everyone—to dream. Help them explore. Let them attend tech conferences and hackathons. Remember, technologies such as augmented reality won’t go away. Technology doesn’t quit.
“It’s going to keep moving with or without us,” says Justin Robbins, BIM department manager at F.L. Crane & Sons of Fulton, Miss. “I’d rather be on board.”
Wouldn’t you?
Mark L. Johnson writes regularly about construction technology. Reach Mark on Twitter, @markjohnsoncomm, and at linkedin.com/in/markjohnsoncommunications.
