Times have changed, no matter where you look, and the construction business is no different. New technology has made construction faster, more efficient and cheaper - but let’s look at exactly how.

Project Planning

Before the Gantt chart became electronic, project managers and planners around the world would manually adjust their project calendars the old fashioned way. It was time consuming, and it meant that every linked or subsequent task had to be moved manually whenever anything changed - from a late delivery to a rain day.

Fast forward to the new millennium, and project planning couldn't be simpler. A project program is created before a project commences, and changes are made at the touch of a button. Not only has this meant that project management itself is simpler, but it's virtually eliminated human error in planning, and made it easier than ever to have the right tools, equipment and resources on site when they're needed.

GPS Revolutionized Setting Out

The old fashioned method of setting out sites involved a lot of poking around in long grass, and sloshing through mud, looking for surveyors pegs. Thanks to GPS, land surveyors can give contractors exact co-ordinates for their building projects, which also eliminate costly setting out mistakes.

Computer Modeling Reduced Margins of Error

Before computers were used to design and create buildings, human error was a factor in design that had to be taken into account. With modern construction management software, contractors are able to apply real physics to structures like bridges and buildings, and test them in a virtual world, buildings, and building sites are safer than ever before. Not to mention that while the width of a pencil could affect the appearance of a whole structure slightly, modern design packages for the construction industry are accurate down to a matter of microns.

Plant Got High Tech

It's not only in design and planning that modern technology has a huge impact on construction, it’s made a difference on site as well. Modern plant and equipment, including heavy equipment, is designed to be safer, and to operate according to programming. It eliminates human error on site, and helps create buildings that are safer and longer lasting.

Communication

Today, construction companies can be a half a world away from a construction site, and still be in constant contact with their employees on the ground. Solutions to problems are found quicker and easier, thanks to technologies like smart phones and laptops. Instead of spending weeks determining what the problem is, videos and photos can be examined in boardrooms while on site staff talk construction managers and their teams through the issue at hand.

Without a doubt, new technologies in design, planning, and in construction processes have changed, and the whole construction process has changed too. It's faster, safer, and more reliable than ever before to build anything, anywhere, and it's only likely to get better.