Can robots solve the housing shortage?

Technology is changing at a very rapid pace, developing current and future strategies for adoption in the construction industry can be a challenge to say the least. But being able to adopt technology in the right manner is key to growing businesses in the construction industry.

For those who work in the construction sector there are two words that must have been repeated over and over again in your world – “Skills shortage” – but what does this actually mean (apart from the obvious!). Well in simple terms how can we built more with less people to build it? If a shortage of skills cannot accommodate what we currently construct how can you increase house building or commercial units. We need a change of pace, maybe even an embracing of technology.

Let’s start at the beginning – you need labour to construct but it is in short supply so how do you fill the void – apprenticeship programs will help short term as will workers from overseas but you can argue these are not long term solutions to the problem (particularly when you overlay the cost element). So maybe we could do something that increased output without the need for large resources being available – why not build the resource?

For a number of years Japan has used off-site construction methods that have limited the amounts of skills it needs in the sector but has still allowed for more houses to be built that in the UK. The issues in Japan resonate with a lack of skills due to the aging population. This method of building a home in a factory is starting to come through in the UK with at least one Yorkshire housebuilder adapting technology to allow homes to be manufactured in a factory and then shipped to site allowing for minimal on-site skills requirements.

The Japanese story is an interesting one with examples of advanced warehouses being 77% more productive than normal warehouses despite having half the staffing levels – effectively robots are handling around 65% of the activities. The cost savings over the life of a factory could quite easily be significant.

Robot bricklayers have been developed overseas. A prototype can build a house in two days, according to its inventors. However, even they admit that it will probably be a decade before its use is widespread on building sites. So this kind of techno-fix, while undoubtedly enticing, won’t be an answer to the UK’s immediate housing challenge but similar investment could support the industry longer term.

So does the UK need to listen and adapt. Yes of course it does. The construction industry has seen little increase in productivity over the last 20 years while if I think about a number of manufacturing businesses, they have invested heavily in technology and seen productivity increase significantly, in fact without it they would no longer exist. The second issue is construction workers demographics highlights an aging workforce and due to lack of investment there is a clear issue in that a large proportion will soon retire – who will replace them. Will innovations such on-site automation and robotics really make enough of a difference to the demand for skills, or is UK construction growth doomed to languish due to the shortage of skilled labour available to meet demand?

Feel free to contact me 0113 288 2276 or lee.a.wilkinson@uk.pwc.com if you wish to discuss this blog or anything relevant to property and construction.

 

Enjoy the weekend

Lee