Applicability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Methods to Construction Manufacturing: A Literature Review

The construction industry has suffered from stagnant productivity rate compared to manufacturing over the last 50 years due, in part, to its heavy reliance on manual processes and the highly complex and uncertain environment within which work must proceed. The manual nature of construction environment creates safety and productivity issues that are prone to human judgments and errors. AI techniques have potentials offer solutions to these issues, removing personnel from hazardous environments and enabling the implementation of industrialized concepts within a poorly structured environment. In recent years, AI techniques are starting to be adopted within construction, but its potential remains largely untapped. The application of industrialized concepts to construction, whether within a factory or on-site, comes with significant challenges such as the need to cater for one-off designs with limited repetition of construction components, sporadic demand for work, and logistical challenges resulting from the fact that each project is constructed and/or assembled at a unique location. This research reviews the state of art in AI techniques in manufactured construction and identifies the current and future potential for the application of AI techniques. The objective of this research is to identify the potential of AI applications in manufactured construction and provide a direction for the future research.