2020 Construction Trends: 30+ Experts Weigh In

What kind of changes have you seen in the construction industry over the last year? Now, what about the last decade? The construction industry of 2010 looks dramatically different than the one at the end of 2019 – and for a good reason. Today’s jobsites are filled with more technology and talent than ever, and projects are being delivered at accelerated rates. 

But, as in years past, more change is on the horizon. So, what can we expect to see in the construction industry over the course of the next year – and even the coming decade? 

My crystal ball predictions for 2020 construction trends? Considering that the building industry needs to increase output by 30% to meet demands, the pressure to deliver is mounting. I anticipate there will be concentrated focus in these three areas to alleviate the pressure:  

 Off-site Construction– Better initial planning, site constraints, and tightened schedules will only be met with off-site construction.

 Skilled Labor Shortage – Programs and companies will be investing in creative ways to fill this shortage. This will come by increasing investment of government, education, and company resources.

 Increased Technology Investment – The above two points need technology as a leverage to accelerate these changes.

But this is just my perspective. Recently, we also turned to experts, thought leaders, and innovators in the industry to get their thoughts on 2020 construction trends and predictions. What we heard was a powerful mix of big trends, new strategic focuses, emerging innovations, and even internal cultural shifts. We’ve compiled their insight below, organized by prediction round ups like mine, and the categories that matter most in the industry today:

 General Prediction Round Ups 

 People

 Technology

 Business

You can use the navigation links above or scroll down to read the list in whatever order you choose. But if you’re looking for even more in-depth insight on the must-know 2020 construction trends, I recently moderated a  webinar: “Tomorrow’s Construction: 2020 Trends and Predictions.” In our webinar, we hosted industry experts to discuss some of the biggest topics sure to drive buzz across the industry in the next year and future. Watch now! 

We hope these 2020 construction trends and insights below will inspire you to take a fresh approach to all your upcoming projects and work. 

 

2020 Construction Trends: Round Ups

These 2020 construction trends and predictions summarize a range of the hottest topics and challenges facing the industry today. 

Josh Cheney, Customer Outcome Executive, Autodesk Construction Solutions: 

 

“2019 was an incredible ending to an incredible decade.

The jobless rate dropped from 9.6 to 3.5%, M&A/investment activity has been tremendous, and value added to the U.S GDP from construction activity is at a ten-year high. 

What does 2020 hold in store? Here are my five predictions:

1. Labor Shortages – Assuming construction continues to grow at its current pace, I expect the pain of skilled labor shortages to become more of an issue.

2. Rise of the Machines – Boston Dynamics, Dusty Robotics, Built Robotics, CivDrone, etc. are all making significant progress to offset the labor shortage pain. We are kidding ourselves if we don’t think robots will play an ever-increasing role in construction.

3. Mixed Reality (AR/VR/MR) – Mixed reality is another potential bandaid for labor shortages. Visually understanding a project in precon will help to reduce design clash and change orders, and hopefully, this savings is passed on in the form of higher wages and better benefits for industry workers.

4. Sustainability – Resources are finite, and our population is only going to grow. Software like BuildingTransparency.org‘s EC3 will begin to address carbon usage. Younger generations are also going to hold older generations more accountable for environmental effects.

5. Industrialized Construction – I expect to see continued growth in modularized construction and offsite prefabrication. There are too many efficiencies to ignore.”

[Tweet “Resources are finite, and our population is only going to grow. Software like BuildingTransparency.org’s EC3 will begin to address carbon usage. – Josh Cheney, @ADSK_Construct”]

Allison Scott, Director, Head of Construction Thought Leadership & Customer Marketing, Autodesk Construction Solutions: 

“2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the construction industry:

 Increased commitment and investment in new business models – compression of the market with additional mergers and acquisitions as firms seek to gain more market share and increase bottom-lines; including more firms adding additional services upstream – like architecture / design services – and downstream, like fabrication or trade contractors in-house; or operations/facilities management services. Additionally, as technology adoption grows, we’ll continue to see more firms add technology and innovation services like VR/AR, drone capture, and laser scanning to their list of in-house capabilities.   

 Continued focus on Digital Twins – the industry has been toying with the notion of Digital Twins for a long time. Creating a digital twin of a piece of equipment, like an air handler, is real today but is not yet fully functional for an entire facility. As BIM models become more sophisticated, the use of integrated smart sensors (IoT) grows, and AI come into focus, the industry will heighten its focus on the Digital Twin concept and start to put some elements into deeper practice. It will still be many years before a full DT is realized, but it will get exponentially closer in 2020.

 Transformation of data analytics to business intelligence – putting data at the center of the project and the business has been of strong interest for the construction industry in the last year and will continue to become increasingly important in the future. As firms continue to get their hands around capturing, organizing, and analyzing their data, there will be an intensified focus on transforming those data points into actionable intelligence – takeaways that can help a business make better and more accurate decisions. We will see increased use of dashboarding tools, increased development of new analytics capabilities, and the desire to create new KPIs where once there were none. Additionally, as technology adoption grows, we’ll continue to see more firms add technology and innovation services like VR/AR, drone capture and laser scanning to their list of in-house capabilities.”

[Tweet “As BIM models become more sophisticated, the use of integrated smart sensors (IoT) grows, and AI come into focus, the industry will heighten its focus on the Digital Twin concept. – @AllisonBroSco @ADSK_Construct”]

Ryan McMahon, Director Product Manager, Industrialized Construction at Autodesk:

“Significant changes and opportunities are on the horizon for the construction industry in 2020: 

 Firms will tap into new labor pools to address the skilled worker shortage: The industry will continue to be impacted by the skilled labor shortage. As a result, construction firms will need to learn how to access and utilize different and diverse workforces.

 Increasing costs of mistakes and delays will require better planning to de-risk: Opportunity and material costs are on the rise. As waste is becoming more expensive, and project delays are resulting in lower project turnover, companies will look to enhancing planning and preconstruction to reduce overruns.

 Standardization will become more commonplace: Every project has activities that are more repeatable and standard and can benefit from more automated processes. Companies have started to see more value when designing from a standard platform, including more confidence in estimation, de-risking projects, accelerated time to start and delivery of key portions, as well as the capture of intellectual property. Designers will start to see industrialized construction as enabling, allowing them to spend more time designing and less time on those tedious, error-prone tasks. Today, professionals know that utilizing IC accelerates projects and reduces costs, but they aren’t always quantifying these results. In 2020, expect to see a focus on real metrics to drive industry change.

 Digital thread for projects will change the way that teams work on projects: Small, incremental improvements are no longer enough. Project economics are forcing firms to reassess their tools and processes to find significant gains. Digital Twins, which represent the project lifecycle from design, engineering, quoting, fabrication, project status, and operations, will help to improve coordination dramatically. New tech ultimately provides new opportunities; we must look at how it can be used to make larger improvements.”

[Tweet “Today, professionals know that utilizing IC accelerates projects and reduces costs, but they aren’t always quantifying these results. In 2020, expect to see a focus on real metrics to drive industry change. – @mcmahonrw @ADSK_Construct”]

2020 Construction Trends: People

What are the biggest 2020 construction trends impacting labor and workforce? Find out.

Construction companies will look closer at their culture to drive change and innovation. 

Chad Holbrook, VDC Manager at W.E. O’Neil:

“Technology adoption in the construction industry can be painful. In order to remain competitive in 2020, we’ll see companies increasingly look towards culture change to drive digital transformation. Little successes here and there are essential to creating big momentum in the long-run.”

[Tweet “In order to remain competitive in 2020, we’ll see companies increasingly look towards culture change to drive digital transformation. – Chad Holbrook, @WEO_Built via @ADSK_Construct”]

Sean McGuire, Director, Innovative Technologies at Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA):

“While companies are increasing spending in technology, they’re not spending enough in personnel development of their labor force. Companies can’t really buy themselves out of a labor shortage; they need to invest in labor too. It’s the reason why more companies need (and are starting) to create roles for construction technologists (ConTechs). To future proof your company, you need at least one person focused on the productivity and the business side of innovation.” 

[Tweet “To future proof your company, you need at least one person focused on the productivity and the business side of innovation. – @MCAAGeek @MCAANews via @ADSK_Construct”]

Ariel Castillo, Construction Technology Specialist at BIMnomad:

“When it comes to Latin America, we expect construction tech adoption rate to increase in 2020. Mostly due to AEC professionals interested in replicating the success of the international firms where standard operating procedures have adopted the use of BIM. Also, we must consider a high demand from government institutions (Chile, Brasil, Argentina, Perú, among others) interested in exploring how BIM can help projects use resources more efficiently. As a consequence, firms bidding on government projects will have to embrace the culture shift.”

[Tweet “When it comes to Latin America, we expect construction tech adoption rate to increase in 2020. – Ariel Castillo, @BIMnomad via @ADSK_Construct”]

To increase diversity in the industry, companies will shift their focus from creating equality to building equity. 

Lauren Sugerman, Director of the National Center for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship & Employment at Chicago Women in Trades:

“When you look at equity in construction, you see it has historically neglected women. Fortunately, we are starting to see a gender lens applied to some aspects of health and safety. In the coming years, I expect that there will be more change in this space helping to work towards equity. We now have spaces and groups for women to collectively share the challenges they face, and companies will have to change practices as usual to give women a full and equitable career in this industry.” 

[Tweet “We are starting to see a gender lens applied to some aspects of health and safety. In the coming years, I expect that there will be more change in this space helping to work towards equity. – @laurensugerman @pinkhardhats81 via @ADSK_Construct”]

Purvi Irwin, Practice Manager for Architecture at CADD Microsystems:

“We’ll see technology helping to remove some of the barriers to diversity. For someone in my role, for instance, you don’t necessarily need to be in an office. If you’re building a Revit template, for example, you could have the freedom to work from wherever and control your own schedule, as long as you are done by the deadline. Technology will help empower everyone to have a more flexible work-life balance. This will definitely help to create equity across the board.”

[Tweet “Technology will help empower everyone to have a more flexible work-life balance. This will definitely help to create equity across the board. – @BIMchiq @CADD via @ADSK_Construct “]

The tides of construction’s productivity crisis will turn. 

Az Jasat, Senior Customer Success Manager at Autodesk:

“In recent years, we’ve been quick to criticize the construction industry’s safety record and low productivity trend. However, new evidence suggests the situation is improving; projects are becoming safer and the labour force is becoming more productive due to a commitment to innovation and process change. Furthermore, companies are showcasing their improving capabilities on even the most complex projects. While it continues to be a challenging industry, I expect there to be more attention on both digitization and industrialization of construction methods, bringing them up to par with, if not ahead of, similar advancements in manufacturing.”

[Tweet “New evidence suggests the situation is improving; projects are becoming safer and the labour force is becoming more productive due to a commitment to innovation and process change. – @azjasat @ADSK_Construct “]

Construction firms will invest more in career development.

Angeline Gleason, Director of Preconstruction at McCarthy: 

“With a young workforce replacing seasoned professionals, it’s imperative that we develop our new preconstruction generation as quickly as possible. One strategy that will become essential in 2020 and in the future will be to cross-train by cycling individuals through the various phases of a project—from pursuit to estimating to design management to construction. This encourages teamwork and a better understanding of a project’s lifecycle to help prepare preconstruction professionals to develop a successful plan. It’s difficult to plan construction when you haven’t been in the field managing construction, and it’s difficult to construct/build when you don’t understand the plan or how to develop one.” 

[Tweet “With a young workforce replacing seasoned professionals, it’s imperative that we develop our new preconstruction generation as quickly as possible. – Angeline Gleason, @McCarthyBuild via @ADSK_Construct “]

Simone van Loon, Head of Product Management at ITANNEX:

“The construction industry is evolving; we are more aware we have to digitize our processes and change the way we traditionally think about design, plan, build, and operate. All our processes can be transformed to more efficient, but to change, we need to align people, technology, and processes. Aligning the first one, people, is sometimes harder than we think. I think 2020 will be a lot about people. Give them attention, look at them, and listen to them, evolve both their hard skills and soft skills; they will be the key to success.”

[Tweet “I think 2020 will be a lot about people [in construction]. Give them attention, look at them, and listen to them, evolve both their hard skills and soft skills; they will be the key to success. – Simone van Loon, @Itannex via @ADSK_Construct “]

Collaborative delivery methods will gain popularity and build stronger project relationships. 

Sarah Tenpas, Assistant Superintendent at The Boldt Company:

“The biggest trend for 2020 is the call to action of transparency in construction seen through the embracement of Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA) contracts by owners. IFOA contracts are not a new concept, but more owners are beginning to allow this option for project delivery. This is challenging all parties involved in the contract – owners, contractors, architects – to be more collaborative and transparent. High, emotionally intelligent individuals are critical for the success of this project delivery method. It is an uncomfortable transition in our traditional industry. However, the reward is stronger OAC relationships and opportunities to streamline design, cost, and schedule by eliminating confiding contractual language.”

[Tweet “The biggest trend for 2020 is the call to action of transparency in construction seen through the embracement of Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA) contracts by owners. – Sarah Tenpas, @TheBoldtCo via @ADSK_Construct “]

2020 Construction Trends: Technology 

What are the hottest emerging 2020 construction trends when it comes to technology? Read what industry influencers have to say, below. You can also read about the 7 technology innovations expected to disrupt the construction industry in 2020 on this Redshift blog.  

Artificial intelligence will make a very real impact. 

Jenny Moshea, Head of Technology at Sellen Construction:

 

“The technology that will have the biggest impact in the AEC industry in 2020 will be the emergence of artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to autonomous data capture and processing. Sellen is always looking to incorporate emerging technology into our workflows, and we make sure we do that in careful doses, but autonomous, frictionless data capture will make the journey more fluid and allow our people to focus on the day-to-day work while creating a safer environment.”