Robots are set to take 600,000 UK builders’ jobs in the next 20 years, according to a new report.
Nearly one in three construction roles could be wiped out over the next two decades by robots and digital technology, the report found.
Research by London-based engineering giant Mace said 600,000 of the current 2.2 million positions in the industry could be automated by 2040 in what it called the ‘fourth industrial revolution’.
Nearly one in three construction roles could be wiped out over the next two decades by robots and digital technology, the report found (stock image)
One of the hardest hit jobs will be bricklaying, where numbers are predicted to fall from 73,000 to just 4,300, said the report.
By 2040, there will be just 15,500 carpenters and interior fitters, down from 260,000 now, and the number of labourers will slump from 127,000 to 7,500.
There may be just 6,500 painters and decorators in 20 years, compared with 110,000 now, the study said.
While increased robotics and automation may take jobs, it will increase safety and speed up construction projects, Mace said.
It will also create new roles such as computer programmers, not normally found in the construction industry.
Mace said the building sector needed to adapt to these major changes or face a crisis.
It said the situation was being made worse by immigrant builders being deterred by Brexit and questions about whether foreign staff will be allowed to work in the UK once we leave the EU.
Mark Reynolds, chief executive of Mace, said: ‘Everyone acknowledges the current skills shortages need to be addressed.
‘Our research highlights the opportunities offered by the digital revolution.’
Robots are set to take 600,000 builders’ jobs in the next 20 years, according to a new report. Pictured is a robot called Hadrian, which can build an entire house in just two days
Mace said output per worker in the construction industry had been flat over the past 10 years, compared to a 30 per cent improvement in services and a 50 per cent increase in manufacturing.
Many construction companies are investing in robot builders.
In July it was revealed a construction giant Caterpillar had created a robot that can build an entire house in just two days.
The construction giant has backed its Hadrian X giant truck mounted building robot that can lay 1,000 bricks an hour, glueing them into place as it goes.
Mounted on the back of a truck, Hadrian X is simply driven onto a building site, and can put down 1,000 bricks an hour using a 30m boom, allowing it to stay in a single position while it builds.
The $2m (£1.5m) deal means the robot, which can work 24 hours day, and finish an entire house in just two days, is a step closer to appearing on building sites around the world.
Mounted on the back of a truck, it is simply driven onto a building site.
It can put down 1,000 bricks an hour using a boom, allowing it to stay in a single position while it builds a house.
Fastbrick, the firm behind it, says it could revolutionise building.
CEO Mike Pivac said:’We are a frontier company, and we are one step closer to bringing fully automated, end to end 3D printing brick construction into mainstream.
HOW HADRAIN X BUILDS A HOUSE IN 48 HOURS
A robotic ‘hand’ that can grab bricks, pick them up, and place them down in sequence.
The whole process is automated.
Bricks are fed onto a conveyor belt that travels along a long robotic arm, or telescopic boom.
The bricks travel along the boom and are gripped by a clawlike device that lays them out methodically, directed by a laser guiding system.
Until the brick shell is finished and the house’s other elements need to be added, the structure never needs to be touched by human hands.
The robot has a boom 92ft (28 metres) long that is connected to its main body.
At the end is a robotic ‘hand’ that can grab bricks, pick them up, and place them down in sequence.
A 3D computer-aided design (CAD) is used to work out the shape of the house or structure required, and the robot then calculates where each brick should go.
Mounted on the back of a truck, it is simply driven onto a building site.
Mortar or adhesive is also deliver under pressure to the hand of the arm and applied to the brick, so no external human element is required.
It can even leave spaces for wiring and plumbing, and scans and cuts the bricks if they need to be re-shaped.