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How Data Is Driving Change in the Construction Industry

By Sergio Hernández - CIAL Dun & Bradstreet México

President and CEO

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Companies are transitioning from analog to digital. It doesn't matter how traditional a company is or what industry it belongs to, the direction is the same: How to take advantage of technology and data to optimize and grow.

One industry that is experiencing this change is construction, which in Mexico contributes around 7% to national GDP , in addition to having exceeded 135,580 completed works in 2022.

The information generated by this sector is enormous, making it difficult to collect and manage. As a result, some inconveniences arise, such as a greater investment of time and resources in the manual preparation of reports, errors when entering data, uncertainty about the veracity of the data, and a lack of unification in figures and results derived from their operations.

Therefore, the construction industry must rely on the proper collection, administration, and analysis of data in order to avoid information biases, and that these do not generate accidents, increases in costs, and delays in the delivery of infrastructure.

Digital Tools for Construction

This sector has begun to move into digital territory, and it does so hand-in-hand with technological innovations.

The construction industry is undergoing profound transformations, and it is facing them through machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), analysis and visualization tools, cloud-based project management platforms, vector-based or message-based solutions.

Through these technological tools, construction companies can have access to real-time information, which allows them to anticipate events, boost productivity, achieve the objectives of each project, avoid having to redo completed work, and, consequently, make the most appropriate decisions for their needs.

Examples of the above include the accurate preparation of budgets, the allocation of the optimal number of workers who will participate in the construction of works and infrastructure, the improvement of communication channels from the pre-construction phase, and the prevention of the loss, theft, or misplacement of documents or files.

In fact, 75% of companies say that these technologies have helped them to avoid having to redo work; in terms of efficiency, the sector achieves an average savings of 15 days in the development of a project and manages 48% more construction volume per person. In addition, 79% of construction companies have optimized their safety programs.

The challenge of data and its management lies in studying and processing it strategically; for this reason, with the help of Smart Data, construction companies can know the quality and durability of the materials for each type of work, and which are the most suitable, as well as their performance under certain weather conditions considering humidity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure.

Democratization of Data in Progress

Along with technology, new data-based careers have emerged, which have begun to gain relevance. The presence of data analysts, data scientists, data translators, or data engineers, among others, indicates that companies need data-driven professionals in their ranks, professionals who drive them through information.

By staying in touch with data, its storage, and administration, these specialists use it in a way that is accessible and reliable to streamline work in different stages of real estate projects and to manage their resources.

Therefore, costs are improved, waste is avoided, schedules are met, and accurate projections are created for the purchase of inputs.

Without a doubt, construction companies will rely on these data experts to promote projects that will make them compete with national companies and, as a consequence, contribute to the country's economy.

The skills and competencies of data experts will focus not only on situations related to technology and information processing, but also on the advances of this industry by adapting their knowledge to this area.

On the other hand, the management of data in real time, even through data centers, will support the construction sector not only to establish, maintain, or improve business relationships through reliable and structured information, but also to predict its growth, avoid risks, and for companies belonging to this industry to make the best decisions, especially after the decline it experienced in 2020.

Due to this, the creation of data centers has increased, especially due to the adoption of cloud services and the opportunities it represents for this sector, especially in the improvement and expansion of its infrastructure.

These facilities are responsible for working with complex data in order to indicate maintenance intervals for machinery and equipment, as well as review periods.

As a result of the above, it is estimated that the data center market in the national territory will grow at an average annual rate of 9.37% in 2022-2027, according to the Mexico Data Center Market – Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities 2022-2027 report.

Queretaro has a portfolio of 15 data center projects of different types, which represent an investment of US$3 billion for the next 10 years.

The use, analysis, and management of data are the foundations that will allow the construction industry to cover more aspects, in addition to traditional elements, such as the evaluation of materials and the modernization of infrastructures.

In short, big data will help to make intelligent decisions based on concrete information, whether in controlled scenarios or in the event of eventualities, as well as to choose the most suitable suppliers and even to analyze and understand the trends in the real estate market. In this sense, its use is not a luxury, but an indispensable tool for companies to remain competitive in this market.