Latest news with #ConstructionIndustry
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amid the hype, contractors find practical safety uses for AI
This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter. Since artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, has become widely available, the tech has dominated headlines as businesses and workers alike seek answers and best practices. Construction companies have been bombarded with pitches from companies offering AI-supported products, especially in the area of jobsite safety. 'I think what the biggest challenge that our contractors are facing is they're … frustrated because it's coming at them so fast,' Greg Sizemore, vice president of workforce development, safety, health and environment for Associated Builders and Contractors told Construction Dive. In this complex landscape, safety experts say they have brought skepticism to the countless pitches as they evaluate the best ways to implement AI into their workflows in an effort to improve jobsite safety. 'We spend a lot of time telling our contractors, 'be careful what you draw down,'' Sizemore said. 'The caution right now is don't take it at face value.' But industry leaders leveraging AI say the good news is that the guidance for the use of generative tools remains the same: Use it as a tool to speed up workflows rather than to replace or add on to existing processes. In February, Skanska unveiled Sidekick, an AI chatbot. The tool is designed to help the company explore catalogs of data from its numerous projects without introducing secret or proprietary information to the public domain. Built using the same tech as ChatGPT, users can ask Sidekick questions and it responds with answers based on a collection of internal data that will remain within Skanska's proprietary cloud. The product is for internal use only and will not be sold commercially. 'We can start to leverage the experience and knowledge from across all of Skanska so that, 'Hey, I'm not simply learning from my own mistakes and avoiding those, I'm learning from the mistakes of thousands and thousands of other Skanska projects,'' said Will Senner, senior vice president of preconstruction for Skanska. Sidekick helps to identify which projects and tasks pose the biggest risk, Senner said, assisted by the huge amount of data the Stockholm-based contractor and developer has collected. 'The success of that effort's going to be dependent on the quality of the underlying information that you've got and the breadth and depth of that information,' Senner said. The large amounts of information collected on jobsites can be a good starting point, said Patrick Scarpati, director of construction technology and innovation for ABC. Even smaller builders often incorporate photo capture or security cameras on their jobs. 'There is a lot of data thrown around on jobsites now with a lot of digital-based project management platforms,' Scarpati told Construction Dive. 'We're still learning as an industry how to structure all of that, right? Data governance, that's the true power of AI, right?' Milford, Massachusetts-based Consigli Construction Co. has begun leveraging fixed cameras, drone footage and 360-degree documentation for AI safety analysis, said Jack Moran, senior construction technology director for the firm. Consigli has also actively beta-tested DroneDeploy's Safety AI platform — which captures and seeks to identify potential hazards on site — on several K-12 and higher education projects with plans to roll out use wider soon. Moran said the contractor is also using it to collect data. 'We are also exploring AI, machine learning and text bots to streamline the collection and management of safety-related data, such as training records, certifications and materials tracking to better improve and inform our safety operations,' Moran told Construction Dive. 'Additionally, we're evaluating how natural language tools can help teams more easily report, query, and retrieve safety documentation across the project lifecycle.' Sizemore said when talking to ABC members about AI use, often someone makes a 'Terminator' reference — indicating wariness over the tech and its impact. The comments are a joke, Sizemore said, but they represent real concern. 'These are leaders of companies going, 'Are my employees going to be replaced in X amount of years because of AI?'' Sizemore said. 'And we always bring it back to education and understanding what AI can actually offer you.' AI is not an additional tool to be added to an existing workflow, Senner emphasized. It also won't fully replace a worker yet, especially not someone with expertise. 'In our mind, the end game of this is not chatbots, right? Like, this is not about, 'Hey, here's a chatbot to ask questions about safety,'' Senner said. 'This is about how can we deliver the right safety insights to our people at the right time.' And — unlike the goals of Terminators in blockbuster movies — that human element should remain, Moran said. 'Importantly, we don't treat AI as a substitute for human judgment. It's a supplement that helps us scale our attention and gain better visibility across complex, fast-moving jobsites,' Moran said. Recommended Reading Agentic AI is the new tech buzzword. Here's what builders need to know.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
NI Water: Rates increase of £100 could solve NI's infrastructure crisis
A £100 increase in the average household rates bill could largely solve Northern Ireland's water infrastructure crisis, a new report has study was commissioned by the bodies representing the construction industry, housing associations and the NI Chamber of increased rates payments would be accompanied by borrowing by NI underfunding of NI Water has led to a shortfall in wastewater infrastructure, which in turn, is limiting house building and contributing to water pollution. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where households do not pay directly for their NI Water receives a government subsidy which diverts more than £300m annually from the Stormont Executive's are a property tax levied on households and businesses and are the main tool which the Executive can use to raise previously paid for water through a portion of their rates bill but that link was broken in report suggests essentially recreating that link through an infrastructure said: "This retains public ownership of NI Water, supports long-term strategic investment and minimises pressure on the NI Executive's budget."It added that the levy could be decreased once NI Water's investment backlog is response to the rates proposal, a Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said the minister is willing to consider alternative approaches but does not want to add to the "financial burden" of the public. They added that Liz Kimmins is "very aware of the challenging financial circumstances of many people across our society". The Executive parties are opposed to water charges and also generally try to keep rates increases at about the rate of Sinn Féin-controlled Department for Infrastructure is holding a consultation which could lead to all house builders in Northern Ireland having to pay into a wastewater infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has set out a second proposal which would involve voluntary contributions from said developer payments alone would not solve the problems but would be a "step forward on the journey towards having the infrastructure we all need".A consultation on those proposals closes on week a budget watchdog, the NI Fiscal Council, warned that a developer levy would not raise a significant amount of money."It could help at the margin, but it is not as much of a gamechanger as something bigger on regional rates or domestic charging," its chairman Sir Robert Chote said.
South China Morning Post
15-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Home-grown construction innovations set for global rollout
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong's Construction Industry Council (CIC) is set to transform local know-how into customisable and adaptable solutions when it stages the Construction Innovation Expo 2025 (CIExpo) from December 11 to 13 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. CIC chairman Thomas Ho On-sing says CIExpo 2025 will showcase smart construction technologies and Hong Kong professionals' expertise in adapting them for projects at home and abroad. Four thematic zones of innovation According to CIC chairman Thomas Ho On-sing, the triennial event will showcase latest smart construction technologies as well as the ability of Hong Kong's building professionals and tech partners in integrating and tailoring them for construction projects at home and abroad. Building on the success of the 2022 edition, which drew over 21,000 visits, 173 exhibitors and more than 2,500 conference participants, CIExpo 2025 will be divided into four thematic zones: productivity, smart construction, sustainability and safety. In addition to the exhibition halls, the three-day event will host live demonstrations, immersive site tours and a robust line-up of international conferences covering: International Construction Leadership and New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF) Construction Safety Culture and Smart Site Safety System (4S) Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) / Multi-trade integrated MEP (MiMEP) Sustainable and Smart Construction practices Export-ready solutions
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Diales Group First Half 2025 Earnings: EPS: UK£0.009 (vs UK£0.013 in 1H 2024)
Revenue: UK£21.6m (flat on 1H 2024). Net income: UK£469.0k (down 31% from 1H 2024). Profit margin: 2.2% (down from 3.1% in 1H 2024). EPS: UK£0.009 (down from UK£0.013 in 1H 2024). AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 3.8% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, compared to a 4.6% growth forecast for the Construction industry in the United Kingdom. Performance of the British Construction industry. The company's shares are down 4.2% from a week ago. Be aware that Diales Group is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant... Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rohas Tecnic Berhad's (KLSE:ROHAS) Returns On Capital Not Reflecting Well On The Business
What underlying fundamental trends can indicate that a company might be in decline? When we see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) in conjunction with a declining base of capital employed, that's often how a mature business shows signs of aging. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. In light of that, from a first glance at Rohas Tecnic Berhad (KLSE:ROHAS), we've spotted some signs that it could be struggling, so let's investigate. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Rohas Tecnic Berhad, this is the formula: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.0034 = RM1.4m ÷ (RM631m - RM210m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024). Thus, Rohas Tecnic Berhad has an ROCE of 0.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Construction industry average of 8.2%. View our latest analysis for Rohas Tecnic Berhad Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Rohas Tecnic Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Rohas Tecnic Berhad has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of Rohas Tecnic Berhad's past earnings, revenue and cash flow. We are a bit worried about the trend of returns on capital at Rohas Tecnic Berhad. To be more specific, the ROCE was 8.6% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. Companies that exhibit these attributes tend to not be shrinking, but they can be mature and facing pressure on their margins from competition. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Rohas Tecnic Berhad to turn into a multi-bagger. In the end, the trend of lower returns on the same amount of capital isn't typically an indication that we're looking at a growth stock. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 39% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere. If you'd like to know more about Rohas Tecnic Berhad, we've spotted 2 warning signs, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant. If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
