Covering market sentiment , challenges , risks and plans for the future , the report reflects an industry facing one of the most pivotal points in its history . Underlying the volatility experienced by industry participants over the past 12 months is the acknowledgement that technology solutions are now delivering improvements – and will continue to play a more strategic , analytical and defensive role in the future .

The construction sector will continue to have a fundamental problem with how it operates unless it capitalises on the opportunity to digitise its processes and business – effectively stopping the ripple effect of not knowing what is happening in real time .

“ How We Build Now highlights the challenges and opportunities the construction sector continues to face . Interestingly , some respondents indicated they would cut some of the technology in their business in the spirit of cost-cutting . While it is important that technology delivers value to the business , I would encourage all decision-makers to carefully assess what role that technology is playing day to day on projects and understand the long-term risk of removing it . The construction sector is still one of the least digitised industries in the world with a huge opportunity for margin improvement with the right technology . Now is not the time to be going backwards in the spirit of cost-cutting ,” outlined Tom Karemacher , Head of APAC at Procore .

Insights :

Rework benefits are maintained but improvements must be made : The focus on quality and safety , and the link to reducing rework is paying off for construction firms in Australia and New Zealand . While projects experienced a 12 % uplift in reduced rework with this year ’ s research participants across ANZ , one in 8 hours is still being spent on rework . Smaller-size firms proved to be leading the way with positive outcomes .

Industry participants are solving volatility , risk and cash pressures themselves : Costs , margin , productivity and payments are an interconnected suite of challenges that place extreme pressure on cash flow . Consequently , participants are writing contracts in new ways , swapping reduced margin for advance payments and secured cash flow . The risk of project insolvency is now a recognised industry-wide issue that impacts more than stand-alone projects .

The future is infrastructure – for some : The infrastructure space was acknowledged as providing the greatest opportunities for the construction industry . However , only onethird of firms believe they can successfully participate in infrastructure tenders and deliver on the project . It ’ s no surprise larger firms ( 100 + employees ) are more confident than firms with less than 100 employees – 17 % more confident .

Data is everywhere : Half of ANZ construction businesses plan on designing a data strategy in the next 12 months ; however , only 3 in 10 are very confident this will be successful . Senior decisionmakers say that change management and data security are among the greatest threats . This is a pivot point for the leaders who champion the change . They need to recognise their role and responsibility for implementing those same technology solutions and programs to achieve greater productivity and profitability . Construction management software platforms grow in popularity : Around half of participants are currently using construction and payment technologies , which will lead to improved productivity and profitability .

Ongoing labour shortage : Just 3 in 10 ( 30 %) businesses are very confident they have the necessary skills over the next 12 months to grow . An ongoing lack of skilled talent has driven a slightly weaker sentiment in Australia ( 4 %), while New Zealand sentiment weakens by 8 % when compared to last year .

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