Harinarain, N; Caluza, S and Dondolo, S (2021) Bricklaying robots in the South African construction industry: The contractor's perspective. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-7 September 2021, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
The construction industry has been slow in adopting new technological innovations, even though studies have shown that the adoption of automation and robotics would result in the construction works being executed in safer environments, with better alternative building methods, that could ensure that the works are executed with greater accuracy therefore improving the quality of construction works. This paper investigated the contractor’s perception of adopting the semi-automated mason (SAM) a bricklaying robot in the South African construction industry as an alternative building method that would contribute to the introduction of automation and robotics in the industry. A qualitative research design was used. The non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select 20 construction companies based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal for the purposes of conducting this study. Data were collected through telephonic semi-structured interviews with respondents from construction companies and were thematically analysed using NVivo 12. The study revealed that the construction industry professionals are willing to adopt the semi-automated mason into their working structures, but believe that, currently, the South African construction is not ready to implement such technological innovations. The challenges identified by the respondents where the high unemployment rate in South Africa, the risk of mass job losses among manual labourers and the cost of the robot would be great barriers to companies willing to adopt SAM.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | bricklaying robots; construction automation construction industry; semi-automated mason; robotics |
| Index terms: | mason, accuracy, construction company, interview, South Africa, automation, construction industry, purposive sampling, unemployment, qualitative research, technological innovation, construction work, robotics |
| Subjects: | research methods, professional development, Geography, automation and robotics, industry analysis, organization, research design and methodology, data collection methods, practitioner, operations management, economic analysis, innovation and technology management |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here