From drawing to robot. A survey of automation to promote digitization in the construction industry

Robotic Process Automation is a technology that is rapidly growing with continuous developments. Involving the use of software bots, it automates repetitive tasks and processes, resulting in saving both money and time. Simultaneously, the construction industry has been relatively slow to adapt to the quick digitalization of society. This study explores the possibility of implementing automation in the construction industry to automate repetitive tasks and processes in project planning. Based on semi-structured interviews with high-profile employees within the construction industry, RPA experts and an information security expert, a need for automation has been explored and identified. Based on the results, the industry is currently grasping the limit of carbon dioxide emissions. The project planning stage is described as time-consuming and repetitive with constant adjustments. Furthermore, it involves tasks such as listing materials, calculating budgets and conversion of units to present a building’s expected carbon dioxide emissions over its lifecycle. Therefore, there is a demand for a streamlined process where the calculations and transfers are done automatically by interconnecting software programs that are used in the currently individual tasks. In summary, the study found that the process examined is suitable for automation based on feedback from RPA experts, developers, professionals in the construction industry, and an information security expert. Automating the process would also lead to greater efficiency and enable workers to focus on more critical tasks such as analysis and decision-making.