Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Construction Industry Report

This report explores innovation and entrepreneurship within the construction industry, focusing on emerging and mega trends. It identifies key trends such as green design and construction, sustainability, better safety equipment, artificial intelligence, Building Information Modeling (BIM), modular and prefabricated buildings, and self-healing concrete. The report analyzes the impacts of these trends, including increased demand, reduced employee turnover, and changing customer perceptions. Furthermore, it highlights specific entrepreneurial opportunities, such as businesses focused on modular and prefabricated construction and the application of artificial intelligence in BIM. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of innovation opportunities in fostering entrepreneurial ventures and building a strong market presence. The report references various books, journals, and online resources to support its findings.

Opportunity Innovation
and Entrepreneurship

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Emerging and mega trends in construction industry....................................................................1
Impacts of the trend.....................................................................................................................3
Opportunities................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Innovation opportunity includes different elements in its processes through which
individuals identify, acts as well as realizes various combinations related with resources along
with market needs to gain benefit from future economic potentiality (Acs, Szerb and Autio,
2015). Entrepreneurship opportunities are situations in which products or services are sold at
higher prices than cost of production. The construction industry is selected for this report. The
report includes information about impact of mega along with emerging trends which helps in
providing opportunities for entrepreneurial business due to the impact of trends.
MAIN BODY
Emerging and mega trends in construction industry
Construction industry is a vast as well as unique industry from other fields. Such industry
comprises activities related with building, maintaining, alteration and repairing structures of real
estate properties. This industry is growing which contributes towards the growth of economy of
United Kingdom. It is an investment led sector and results in high profits which attracts interest
of government. Government makes contracts with such industry in order to develop
infrastructure based on transportation, education and so on. The main sectors of such industry
are commercial, industrial, environmental and civil construction (Trends in Construction
Industry. 2019). The emerging as well as mega trends in construction industry are as follows:
Green Design and Construction building: This trend is growing in construction
industry and is adopted by many contractors who performs their operations in such field. Every
construction project aims to enhance their participation towards LEED certification that is
Leadership in Energy as well as Environmental Design which focuses towards new along with
commercial building projects. Green building practices focuses towards reducing implications of
carbon footprints with the help of construction projects. It helps in enhancing asset values,
reducing operating costs and so on in construction industry. Architects who has adopted such
trend are benefited in delivering valuable properties to their clients which improved their image
in competitive market.
Sustainability: This trend is closely related with green design and construction building
but it is a broader trend as it includes various methods along with models which are used for
making a better place. Sustainable construction project includes elements related with efficient
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resource utilisation, promoting social culture and preserving natural environment. It features
building designs whose aim is to bring natural light in construction projects which reduces
electrical costs (Castaño, Méndez and Galindo, 2015). It helps in integration of existing structure
into new structure or project by using recycled building materials and designing of building in
such manner that reuses drain water for multi purposes.
Better Safety Equipment: In order to reduce construction related accidents,
uncertainties or fatalities, various better safety equipments are used at construction sites in recent
years. These equipments includes head protection helmets, hand safety wears, protective
footwear, glasses and many more. Various signage as well as barriers are also used to alert the
workforce at the time they cross construction area which helps in preventing huge troubles.
Smart work boots with GPS transmitters is the emerging trend that helps supervisors for the
purpose of spotting workers during the time of any accident or fatigue. Such technology impacts
on reducing chances of accidents at job sites. Such trend results in management of risks as well
as providing safety to job site employees.
Artificial intelligence: Such trend has begin its emergence in construction industry. Such
industry has adopted artificial intelligence in the form of robotics at job sites. AI uncovers
various ways in order to personalize aspects in construction cycle. Machine learning as well as
artificial intelligence helps in improving efficiency of job sites which results in saving money at
various procedures. Robots are used for bricklaying or autonomous equipments which helps in
operating along with completing various tasks without interacting with humans. Such
intelligence provides helping hand during planning the construction designs. Once information is
processed in artificial intelligence then they performs activities in same manner without chances
of mistakes (Garcia, Leles and Romano, 2017).
Building Information Modeling: It is an intelligent 3D based model which is used by
architect or construction professionals to plan, design, construct as well as manage infrastructure
along with buildings. It is similar to computer aided design in order to understand the perception
of clients and designing buildings or projects as per their demand. It results in efficiency as it
streamline procedures and immediate modifications are done in 3D designs. Such trend helps in
solving problems at planning stages as well as automates clash detection in order to provide
accurate as well as complete picture of construction project. It improves design quality and
provides clients the designs of intelligent piping, procedures and structures.
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Modular and Prefabricated Buildings: Such trend will gain more fans as well as
followers in construction industry. Modular constructions reduces impacts of landscape and at
the same time offers numerous tactics for the development of residential areas. Such trend helps
in manufacturing and assembling structures at off sites and after the completion of work, all
work is put together at construction site.
Self healing concrete: It is a type on concrete which heals itself when coming in
connection with air or water. In earlier time period, when concrete get cracked then water enters
between gaps along with bacteria as well as heat source and fixing of such crack was a difficult
task for builders. But self healing concrete helps in repairing itself back to original state. In
present time, the requirement of such trend is more as to fix the cracks within some time period
and without any effort.
Impacts of the trend
The impacts of emerging and mega trends are as follows:
Increases demand: Green designs and construction buildings results in reducing
environmental impacts by using resources again and again and reducing wastages which
increases demands of buildings with natural lights, rooftop gardens, larger windows and so on
(Jamali and Lanteri, 2016). Modular and prefabricated construction demand is also increasing as
it impacts on increasing competition due to the manufacturing of products at off site location and
assembling complete items at construction premises.
Reduces employee turnover: By providing better safety equipment to employees it
impacts on satisfaction or workers and reduction of employee turnover. If employee turnover
will be more that results in more efficiently performing work and achieving profitability.
Changing customer perceptions: Building Information Modeling helps in providing 3D
designs of sites to clients which helps in understand as well as changing perception of customers
at the time of designing homes. Now a days, with the help of such trend, architectural
professions are focusing towards changing perception of customers from wooden furniture to
metal furniture which results in providing meaningful architectural designs by impact on creating
a competition with the same industry.
Opportunities
After observing the impacts of trends, it has been analysed that the available
opportunities are as follows:
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Business for modular and prefabricated construction: Through this, an organisation
can manufacture products at factory places and deliver the complete items to clients which will
enhance development of construction area without any disturbances (Leyden and Link, 2015).
Artificial intelligence for Building Information Modeling: The another opportunity is
to use artificial intelligence for the purpose of designing buildings or projects on the basis of
customers demand.
CONCLUSION
As pert the report it can be concluded that innovation opportunities plays important role
in providing entrepreneurial opportunities in order to build a market image. Major trends in the
construction industry are Green Design and Construction building, sustainability, better safety
equipment, artificial intelligence, Building Information Modeling, modular and prefabricated
buildings, self healing concrete. All these impacts on increases demand, reduces employee
turnover, changing customer perceptions. The identified opportunities are business for modular
and prefabricated construction and artificial intelligence for Building Information Modeling.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal:
Acs, Z. J., Szerb, L. and Autio, E., 2015. The global entrepreneurship and development index. In
Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index 2014 (pp. 39-64). Springer, Cham.
Castaño, M. S., Méndez, M. T. and Galindo, M. Á., 2015. The effect of social, cultural, and
economic factors on entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research. 68(7). pp.1496-
1500.
Garcia, D. H., Leles, A. D. and Romano, R. R., 2017. Program Entrepreneurship and Innovation:
Education as the Core of Innovation. In Advances in The Human Side of Service
Engineering (pp. 235-244). Springer, Cham.
Jamali, D. and Lanteri, A. eds., 2016. Social entrepreneurship in the Middle East (Vol. 1).
Springer.
Leyden, D. P. and Link, A. N., 2015. Public sector entrepreneurship: US technology and
innovation policy. OUP Us.
Samli, A.C., 2016.Empowering the market economy through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Springer.
Online:
Trends in Construction Industry. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.thebalancesmb.com/top-construction-industry-trends-4125856>
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