Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to offer significant benefits to construction companies, from cost reduction and project-management automation to enhanced safety via computer-vision monitoring.
But most construction companies in the U.S. remain wary of AI. According to data collected between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, only about 1.5 percent of firms in the construction industry recently used AI. Just 2.26 percent expect to use some type of AI in the near future.
Uncertainty around the uses for and risks of AI tools is likely preventing construction companies from taking advantage of the benefits AI has to offer. But uncertainty can give rise to opportunity: Construction leaders who invest time and resources into learning about and piloting AI can secure a significant advantage over their less adventurous peers.
AI for the Construction Back Office
When handled manually, back-office functions can be time consuming and tedious, resulting in high rates of burnout and increases in labor costs. Fortunately, these functions are often standardized and supported by clear and simple processes, which make them an ideal first use case for AI in construction. Let’s explore some of the most common use cases for AI in the back office of a construction company:
| Use Case | How It Works | Key Benefits |
| Project Planning | AI can streamline many time-consuming project management tasks, including monitoring budget spend and flagging overages, scheduling tasks and meetings, and determining appropriate resource allocations. Because AI can have an immediate impact on project planning and is relatively simple to implement, this makes a great first use case for construction companies. |
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| Payment Review | AI can perform cost analysis, data extraction and visualization, contract reviews, and automated reconciliation of costs and payments. |
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| Safety Management | AI can monitor for safety hazards. For example, it can use computer vision through on-site cameras to identify accident hazards and safety violations — like failure to wear hard hats — and monitor forklift movements to help avoid collisions. |
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| Project Completion Analysis | AI can monitor construction sites and data to determine how far a project has progressed, flagging possible delays based on the existing timeline. |
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| Predictive Maintenance | AI can alert technicians when machines are due for maintenance and proactively schedule maintenance sessions. AI can also flag when a machine is malfunctioning and needs maintenance outside of its normal schedule. |
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| Supply Chain Management | AI can help optimize supply chain management by monitoring and tracking inventory, predicting and flagging delays and shortages, and using data to forecast supply and demand trends. |
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Understanding AI Risks
AI offers many potential benefits to construction companies, especially when applied to back-office functions. But like any technology, without proper oversight, it can open an organization up to serious risk. That’s why always having someone review AI outputs and implementing strong governance are crucial to ensuring AI is working correctly and securely.
Here are some of the top risks construction leaders must proactively address if they plan to use AI:
- Inaccurate outputs. AI can generate incorrect outputs — otherwise known as hallucinations — especially when the underlying data is incomplete, low quality, or poisoned. Even when data is sound and the tool is used properly, AI can still produce hallucinations. According to a survey from Quickbase, just 10% of U.S. and UK professionals claim to be “extremely confident” in the accuracy of key project information from their AI-powered tools. As they adopt AI within their organizations, construction professionals must review all outputs to remedy inaccuracies and address the underlying issues that created them.
- Bias. AI can fall victim to the same biases as its users, as those human biases may be embedded in training data. Construction professionals should regularly review training data and AI outputs for possible instances of bias.
- Security issues. AI can expose construction companies to data breaches and hacks, especially if they use AI trained on public or open-source data. If that data source is breached, it provides a gateway into the company. Bad actors may also poison the data, impacting the accuracy of the company’s AI tools. AI also increases connectivity between systems, for example, by connecting disparate databases to feed data from across the company into one AI platform. More points of connectivity can make it easier for bad actors to gain access to — and infect — more systems across the organization. Fortunately, proper data governance can help secure systems and mitigate risk.
Overcoming AI Roadblocks
Once construction leaders understand the benefits and risks of AI, the next step is to select an AI use case, explore potential tools and platforms, and plan for the implementation process. Before moving forward with implementation, leaders should understand and proactively address the most common roadblocks to AI success:
| Roadblock | Description | Strategies |
| Lack of buy-in | Oftentimes, leaders aren’t bought into AI initiatives, which means these projects don’t receive the support, resources, or level of priority needed to be successful. | Clearly explain the benefits of the new technology, along with supporting evidence and examples, to the leadership team. Look for ways to quantify the benefits of AI (e.g. estimated cost savings). |
| Unclear vision | Leaders don’t always have a clear understanding of their goals in deploying AI, including the right use cases to introduce AI into the business. | Align on a detailed AI strategy. Your strategy should include an AI use policy and governance, implementation plan, project timeline, change management plan, and a definition of success based on clear and measurable KPIs. |
| Low-quality data | Poor data governance leads to low-quality data, which can result in poor AI performance and hallucinations. | Implement strong data governance practices like assigning a data steward to oversee data quality and integrity, creating a data classification system, enforcing strict access controls, and defining policies for data retention and disposal. |
How BDO Can Help
Construction firms that want to secure a competitive advantage through AI need to move quickly. Otherwise, they risk falling behind their more technologically adventurous peers.
BDO supports construction companies at every stage of the AI journey, whether they’re just starting to explore the technology or are already implementing AI tools and looking to expand their use cases. BDO’s deep construction industry and AI experience is available for construction leaders looking to:
- Understand the capabilities and limitations of AI
- Proactively address AI risks and potential roadblocks
- Determine whether to buy or build AI platforms
AI offers immense potential for the construction industry. By understanding the risks, constructing leaders can harness AI to gain a competitive edge.
Ready to explore AI for your company? Contact us today.