Making job sites more efficient
Sensitive new construction technology is helping towers rise quicker than ever before
From a distance, the Mirabella Condos construction site at Lakeshore Boulevard and Windermere Avenue looks like any other. But amid the cranes, portables and scaffolding, a recently developed system of sensors is providing real-time insights to help the builder deal with problems — water leaks, cracking concrete, excessive construction noise — as they’re unfolding.
The sensors are a feature of something called the Job Site Insights (JSI) platform, developed by PCL Construction inc. and being adopted at the Mirabella by the quartet of developers — Diamante Urban Corp., Fengate Capital, DF Lake Shore and LIUNA — that launched the 38- storey project in September 2017.
JSI is among a handful of new construction technologies that are “at the top of the list of real- estate disruptors” for 2021, according to a new report about emerging trends in real estate from PWC Canada and the Urban Land Institute. “After years of talking about how the real- estate industry was on the cusp of proptech adoption, digitization has truly accelerated during the pandemic,” the report says, in part to compensate for worker shortages and site shutdowns.
According to PWC Canada partner Fred Cassano, this acceleration is badly needed. “Making job sites more efficient will get more products to the market faster, and help drive down the overall cost of housing,” he says, adding that new forms of construction tech — including the ones featured below — are also improving the quality of condo construction and getting buyers into their units sooner.
By using sensors and historical data to provide virtual models of buildings, digital twinning helps contractors adhere to building codes and safety protocols, plan and analyze their work more efficiently, and reduce material waste. JSI, for instance, relays data from Mirabella’s interior spaces, site equipment and sensor-wearing workers to a dashboard-like program that allows DCL project staff to monitor factors ranging from temperature and humidity to noise levels, vibrations, water leaks and concrete maturation.
As well as making sites safer, and construction less disruptive to neighbours, this monitoring delivers a “10- times return on investment,” according to Mark Bryant, PCL’S chief information officer. “Canada’s extreme temperature swings can have dramatic impacts on things like concrete, drywall, paint and hardwood flooring. Humidity can also wreak havoc, with 55 per cent of construction insurance claims being water- related. Being able to monitor these factors enhances our ability to work more productively, efficiently and effectively, conserve materials and reduce our carbon footprint, and avoid insurance claims and additional costs. I think it’s only a matter of time before this kind of tech becomes part of the building code.”
Emerging 5G networks, meanwhile, will make digital twinning even more useful, Pwc’s Cassano says, by increasing both the rate and volume of data that can be shared between sensors and predictive- modelling software.
E- portals
As it stands, construction tech can only do so much to speed the completion and lower the costs of condo projects. That’s because municipal delays and added government fees and taxes account for nearly a third of the cost of a new home in the GTA, according to a recent study from the Building Industry and Land Development Association ( BILD) and the Canadian Home Builders Association. The study found that average approval times for single applications across the GTA stretched “well in excess” of the maximum allowable times under provincial legislation, with every month of delay adding approximately $2.21 per square foot to the cost of highrise condos. This is because developers continue to pay taxes and fees until a project is complete, and these costs are passed on to buyers.
“The consequences of these delays are real, and the need to innovate and find solutions is urgent,” says Dave Wilkes, BILD president and CEO.
That’s where e- portals can play a critical role.
When used to track, receive and submit building applications, they can speed approvals and create “a more collaborative environment within and across planning and related municipal departments involved in the development application review process,” the BILD report says, adding that changes to municipal workflows in response to the COVID-19 pandemic represent an important first step in achieving widespread use.
“Part of the opportunity for efficiency lies with the government, part of the opportunity for efficiency lies with our industry, but the need for efficiency is indisputable,” Wilkes says.
Elevators, robotics and autonomous vehicles
Not all advancements in condo construction are focused on data. New elevator tech, for instance, is being used to expedite lofty projects such as The One, an 85-storey spire at Yonge and Bloor.
The Mizrahi Developments condo is the first in the country to use Otis Canada’s Skybuild “self- climbing” elevators, which expand to give construction crews indoor access to completed floors as they’re added.
“Our crews will be using Skybuild elevators to move people and equipment around the job site, both during active construction hours as well as off hours for cleaning and material distribution,” says Joshua Lax, Mizrahi’s vice- president of development. The company predicts the highspeed lifters will bring a “substantial productivity boost based on the time we’ll save,” he says.
Other construction innovations — autonomous vehicles such as Volvo’s TA15 electric dumper, for instance, and robotic equipment that can handle specialized tasks such as welding, drilling and bricklaying — are similarly aimed at driving costs down and helping supply keep up with demand, Pwc’s Cassano says.
He believes the need for these innovations is particularly acute in the wake of hurdles brought on by the pandemic, including the need for more physical distancing among workers, and hesitancy among developers to start new projects.
“We need more supply in the market to deal with immigration, and I think technology has a huge role to play,” he says.