According to the "Attitudes to Construction Technology/KHL" report, cited by ConstructionTechnology, which surveyed approximately 100 contractors, consultants, equipment manufacturers, and others regarding their priorities for technology, appetite for investment, challenges in technology adoption, and the benefits they hope to achieve depend on the technologies they will use.

Software takes the lead

About 18% of respondents reported that project management software (other than BIM) was the most effective technology acquisition, followed by 16% for BIM, 12% for autonomy or remote control, and 11% for machine control.

Despite capturing a considerable share of the headlines when it comes to construction technology, robotics, 3D printing, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies were much lower on the list.

This also demonstrated that such technologies, although potentially transformative in the future, are still in their early stages and more costly to implement.

3D printers gaining momentum

However, respondents showed interest in these technologies for the future. When it came to robotics, 10% of respondents said they were potentially interested in investing in the future.

For 3D printing, this figure was 6%, but for AR and VR, it was only 2%. The areas where respondents reported the highest interest were machine control (11%) and project management software (11%).

The figures come as construction professionals show greater appetite and willingness to invest in technology.

More than two-thirds of respondents (68.1%) said their technology budget would either be the same as last year or increase. Nearly a quarter (22%) said the budget would be slightly larger, while 10% said it would be much larger.

Investment drivers

Meanwhile, construction professionals chose four clear reasons for construction businesses to invest in digital technology. These are:

1. Increased productivity and efficiency
2. Reduced on-site risk and safety improvements
3. Winning projects
4. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) governance

Surprisingly, they ranked environmental social governance (ESG) last on their list of reasons for technology investment. Carbon reduction also received relatively low scores.

It was not clear whether this was due to a lack of willingness on the part of the construction industry to take responsibility for climate change or due to the failure of the construction technology industry to send clear messages about its solutions' ability to help reduce emissions.

Recruiting technology specialists remains a challenge

Among the challenges faced by construction companies interested in expanding technology use was finding staff with the required skills and knowledge.

Almost two-thirds (61%) of respondents reported this as an issue, compared to 26% who said they had no difficulties and 13% who were unsure.

The white paper attributed this to training or retraining options in new technologies failing to keep up with the pace of technology adoption.

It also suggested that people might still not be aware of technology-based career opportunities within the industry.

Commenting on the launch of the white paper, Construction Technology magazine editor Andy Brown said, "This gives credence to the widely-held view that interest in investment in digital technology is growing.

"While interest in project management software and machine control largely aligns with last year's survey responses, the increased interest in robotics was a surprise, along with the growing interest in digital twins.

"In an industry still referred to as 'traditional,' this survey suggests that the adoption of digital technology is well underway."