Innovative technology vital for future of

Innovative technology can be applied not just to new industries but every area of society and the economy. While Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry has dwindled, the construction industry remains very strong, thanks to robust urban infrastructure and residential construction activities. A population of more than 7 million in a tiny city implies that there is huge potential for growth for the local construction industry.

However, the construction industry is confronted by many challenges. The first one is an aging population. The average age of construction workers in Hong Kong is approximately 50 years old and there is a lack of young and skilled workers. The second challenge is the expensive project costs. Frequent project delays add further pressure to costs and hamper efficiency. The third challenge is the large number of work-related injuries, an indication of poor site management and insufficient technical and safety training for workers.

To solve the above problems, we cannot subscribe to the common perception that the construction industry is labor intensive, so introducing foreign labor is the only solution to high project cost and manpower shortage. Rather, we should recognize that innovative technology is an alternative fix.

In the early days, the construction industry in the SAR started to draw lessons from overseas experience in using prefabricated parts as a way to promote the approach of modular, standardized and digital construction. Despite the years-long promotion, the industry still has yet to put these advanced technologies into practice. While a prefabricated building is still a concept in Hong Kong, foreign countries and the Chinese mainland have fully adopted this construction method. For instance, the UK proposed the innovatization of its construction and infrastructure sector in 2016.

This was with the intention to digitize and industrialize the construction sector, as well as to manage the entire life cycle of construction projects with innovative technology. Digital and information technology is applied throughout the entire value chain of the construction industry and extends to the post-completion phase. While physical construction work is predominantly the prefabricated parts produced by factories, the whole process from digital design, construction to maintenance are closely knitted by these advanced technologies.

The Chinese mainland’s construction industry began to innovate in 2016; the innovation process was accelerated by policy initiatives in the following two years. The ratio of prefabricated buildings, which was the highlight of the process, to the number The author is a director of the One Belt One Road Research Institute at Chu Hai College of Higher Education.

of new constructions was set by the government and had become an industry goal at that time. In September 2016, Premier Li Keqiang decided to promote prefabricated buildings technology as a way to facilitate the restructuring and upgrade of the construction industry. It was proposed at the beginning of 2015 that the total floor area of new buildings would have to consist of 30 percent of prefabricated structures by 2025. In the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), an additional action plan was included so as to increase the national average ratio to more than 15 percent by 2020. As per the requirements of the central government, Guangdong province set a ratio of no less than 15 percent by 2020 and no less than 35 percent by 2025. Guangzhou and Shenzhen, which account for 50 percent of the construction industry in Guangdong and are regarded as the pivotal cities for development, set a more ambitious target ratio of 30 percent by 2020 and 50 percent by 2025.

The rationale behind the adoption of the prefabricated building approach is that the standardized manufacturing process in the factory not only can guarantee the quality and reduce the cost of prefabricated parts, but also help reduce construction waste and the risk of work-related injury on the construction site. Factory-based production involves machinery and equipment, various advanced manufacturing technologies, such as artificial intelligence and automation and so on can also be employed to reduce the reliance on skilled workers.

The digital design and construction process, which requires a high level of accuracy in assembly work, can help improve the quality of each assembly work process and hence facilitate supervision, lower the chances of re-doing work, project delays and construction errors. Prefabricated parts, in contrast to producing the materials in-situ, ensure a better estimation of the work progress. There is no need to halt the project for the preparation of construction materials, therefore, reducing the chance of project delays.

The whole process involves transforming the construction sector into an advanced manufacturing industry by using technology and innovation to improve project effectiveness and efficiency. At the same time, it can trigger off a healthy cycle for each sub-process, product and service to further innovate and develop. It is also possible to introduce new technologies from other industries like green technology and inventive materials into the construction industry. It can alter the traditional landscape of the construction sector by reducing human errors.

If the construction industry on the mainland is to advance as per the target set for Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the swift development of construction technology will expedite the popularization of prefabricated buildings and increase the production volume and investment in the entire value chain. If Hong Kong does not initiate any change in this area, its construction sector will be significantly outperformed by the mainland’s in the near future. By then Hong Kong companies will lose their competitive advantage in the local market in the face of high-tech and low-cost construction technique offered by mainland construction firms. On a regional level, Hong Kong’s construction sector would miss many opportunities created by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area project and the Belt and Road Initiative.

This is an excerpt translation of the author’s Chinese article published in Tai Kung Pao on Tuesday, Dec 18.