When it comes to effectively leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in preconstruction, the problems begin...well, at the beginning, said panelists at the 2024 Toronto Summit: Future of Preconstruction, held in September in Toronto.

They may actually begin before the beginning, said Bray Tucker, founder of Tucker Technology. He said the challenge in fusing AI with preconstruction is that the preconstruction phase is the “most human-tasked part of the construction.” From building quotes, developing and adjusting time allotments, incorporating value engineering and working on preapprovals, “it’s like business development [and] it’s hard to automate,” Tucker said.

The preconstruction process in commercial construction helps ensure that the project hits deadlines, budgets, and client expectations by highlighting and addressing the sequence of people and events that will complete the project, as noted in a recent report from Construct Connect. 

“Just like the projects being built, solid foundational work in preconstruction carries over greatly into the strength of the project,” adds Construct Connect. “Variations in preconstruction stages occur depending on variables such as the type of structure or project (e.g., hotel, school, road, or bridge), project delivery methods, the scope of work involved, or if it is a public or private construction project. 

Panelists pointed out that AI and other technologies produce increasing amounts of potentially valuable data. Still, they warned that the information will only be useful if it can be properly harnessed.

"We are now gathering data, but we're not very good at it yet," Tucker said. He added, "We need to come up with a way to talk about preconstruction information, so it has a standard" and allows for easy flow and communication between different entities.

The challenges make it “super tough, but also super interesting with emerging technologies” waiting in the wings to help improve preconstruction efficiency, safety, and other benchmarks, panelists said.

However, there's some good news amidst the concern about tangible hurdles. After years of relative neglect, "preconstruction is super sexy," Bray said. "Interest [in leveraging AI in preconstruction] is at an all-time high," he said. Before, "industry was dancing around preconstruction, but they had not figured out it was extremely important. It’s the beginning, the genesis.”

Technology leveraged properly stands ready today to help tomorrow, said Preethy Vaidyanathan, VP of Product, Matterport. AI can dive into data to "amplify the predictive part of risk mitigation," among other benefits, she said. She also called on the creation of standards or "common documentation" to allow for the easy access and sharing of metadata to fuel AI applications.

Panelists agreed that AI has the potential to help the construction industry address problems with fragmented data and a chronic labor shortage. Construction companies need to better understand their digital nature, and technology companies must also be more realistic about their product capabilities.