b'(continued from page 4)disrupted numerous industries by providing projects usually involve building something that has never been built in the exact same way, and in aimmediate and highly personalized responses to user dynamic and constantly changing environment.questionsandtasks,improvingefficiencyand productivity.Thistechnologyhasbecomeuser- Along with installing materials by utilizing skillsfriendly, allowing construction crews to benefit from developedfromyearsofexperience,skilledtradeAI. There are currently several tools that do not workers execute tasks that involve intuition, splitdemand any more technical knowledge than second decision making, creativity, flexible taskMicrosoft Excel. These user-friendly tools are reorientation and interactive communication. We havecurrentlybeingleveragedtosupporttrainingand potentiallyhundredsofyearsbeforemachinesaredevelopment, optimize internal processes and equipped with an AGI capable of simulating theincrease job site productivity. human intelligence and behaviors necessary to replace skilled construction labor.AI-Enabled Scheduling: ALICE, short for ArtificialIntelligenceConstructionEngineering,is AddressingLaborChallengesbyComplementingan AI construction scheduling platform that Human SkillsOptimizes project schedules by applying AI Construction labor challenges have plagued thealgorithms to project resources and constraints. The industryformorethan100years.Thesechallengesprogram generates dozens of schedule sequence remainpervasivetodayandappeartobegettingoptions in minutes and allows users to quantify the worse. Theres a widening gap between workerscost and time impact of different decisions by exiting and entering the workforce there are fewerrunning analyses of different scenarios. For young professionals entering the market to replace aexample,ALICEcantellthescheduleandbudget retiring generation.impactsofaddinganadditionalcreworpieceof equipment. Users of ALICE have reported tangible Meanwhile, construction productivity is decreasingreductions in project direction as well as labor and the number of workers required per dollar of construc- cost savings. tion put in place is increasing as the value of work decreases. These labor-related challenges contribute toEstimating with Deep Machine Learning: contractorsfeelingliketheyredoinglessworkforTogal.AI is an AI-enhanced preconstruction higher costs. With few options to acquire talented andtechnology that claims to be the first and only experienced field leaders, contractors need to startestimating software that utilizes machine learning promoting from within their organizations, prioritizingalgorithms fine-tuned for automatically detecting, the training and development of younger generations,measuring, comparing and labeling project spaces and features on design drawings. The Associated while seeking to optimize internal processes thatGeneral Contractors of America (AGC) named ultimatelyresultingreaterproductivity,lowercostsMiami-based Coastal Contractors a 2023 AGC and higher profit margins.Construction Innovation Award finalist for using Togal.AI to complete construction bids faster and While AI will not be able to address all the workforcemore efficiently. Coastal Constructions chairman challenges facing the industry, contractors are at aand CEO stated that using Togal.AI cut nearly criticaljuncture.Withashortageofclearsolutions,14,000 hours of work, saving close to $1 million in they must either think creatively and be open tothe companys first year using it. innovative ideas or risk falling behind early-adopting competitors.Safety Monitoring with Computer Vision and Predictive Analytics: Newmetrix is an AI platform, New Tools Availablerecently acquired by software developer Oracle, that In recent years, AI has become significantly more de- uses computer vision or visual recognition and mocratized and commercially available to consumerspredictive analytics to analyze photos and videos taken from construction sites. It identifies safety and industry professionals. For instance, ChatGPThazards and provides feedback to the user regarding (continued to page 13) 11'