When you think of hi-tech, the construction, real estate, and building maintenance sectors are not exactly the first thing that comes to mind. These fields are considered conservative, traditional, and based on manual labor – fields that are in no haste to adopt technological innovations.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
This makes sense. These are very competitive sectors with low profit margins that make risk-taking difficult, particularly when it comes to technology.
However, all that is now history. Over the past 4 years, a true revolution has been taking place, with the construction, real estate, and property management sectors increasingly adopting technological innovations intended to streamline construction and planning processes, upgrade building materials and methods, and offer customers higher-quality end products.
In early 2021, two interconnected trends could be seen. First, rising investments in the cleantech field, with a transition to renewable energies and emissions reduction (a trend influenced, among other things, by the election of President Biden and the 2020 oil and gas industry crash). This trend developed alongside an increase in the number of IPOs and a rise in companies' market value in general, and, in particular, the growth of renewable energy companies and the increasing importance of indexes of sustainability, such as ESG.
In parallel, we've seen an increase in demand for construction and real estate technology. The construction industry is the largest and most polluting industry in the world, both in terms of construction stages (concrete production, construction waste) and in terms of the energy consumption of buildings (whether residential, commercial, or industrial).
These trends support innovation in all aspects of construction and project management, including digitization of construction sites, use of advanced monitoring technologies, use of advanced materials, use of big data for safety purposes and greater resource efficiency, and the integration of 3D printing and greater use of robotics.
Drones and sensors
Today, the first signs of change on the ground are visible at many construction sites. Thus, many sites are monitored by drones. Datumate, for example, collects real-time data to monitor work progress. The site manager can follow the process on a tablet, comparing building plans to their execution. Intsite has developed optimization and automatization capabilities that can prevent accidents in the use of heavy construction machinery.
And that's just the beginning. In the future, advanced technology will be integrated even further in construction and maintenance operations. The global construction industry is on the verge of adopting, at an increased pace, cloud-based apps and technologies that will enable coordination between workers, in order to ensure maximum efficiency, prevent bottlenecks, and reduce delays resulting from lack of coordination and budget gaps.
Trusstor, for example, uses sensors that can monitor the location of workers and equipment and thereby improve work safety and efficiency.
The coronavirus lockdowns accelerated the use of technological solutions, both on construction sites and inside buildings. At construction sites throughout the world, advanced construction technologies have come increasingly into use, as well as remote monitoring due to lockdowns and the absence of many workers from sites. These solutions allowed companies to overcome delays in project completion. In building interiors, we've seen the increased implementation of clean air solutions by real estate and property management companies such as Aura Smart and Ureases.
A young, vibrant sector
The year began with a stable showing of the hi-tech construction sector, and even a small uptick in the number of startups and entrepreneurs in the field. Today, no less than 200 Israeli startups offer applied technologies and solutions for the construction industry, developing different tools such as robots, sensors, drones, 3D printers, and more. Automatization and digitization tools are available for planning and construction stages, upgrading materials, and managing buildings.
The sector is still considered young in Israel, but has been attracting immense global attention. Israeli startups are at the center of the innovation programs of leading global construction and real estate organizations and companies, receiving recognition in major investment rounds for project development and execution. Other players in the field are venture capital funds, innovation labs, and multinational companies such as Trimble, Autodesk, and Hilti, all of which have opened development centers in Israel.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
The Israeli government has also realized the importance of the process, and about a year ago, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Innovation Authority issued a call for proposals to companies developing advanced products and technologies in the construction sector to receive grants of up to NIS5 million for technological innovation projects in construction.
We believe the business potential in these fields continues to be strong. The activities of the Export Institute and the Foreign Trade Administration on the world stage have increased awareness globally of Israel's capabilities in integrating innovation in construction and maintenance operations. These activities contribute to the diversification and expansion of the Israeli export market, which is critical in periods of global trade contraction.
Noa Aharoni heads the Cleantech Unit at the Israel Export Institute
This article might include sponsored and commercial content/marketing information. Israel Hayom is not responsible for its nature or its credibility. The publication of such content or information shall not be considered a recommendation and/or an offer by Israel Hayom to purchase and/or use the services or products mentioned in this article.
