It’s been a while now since ChatGPT and AI tools like it burst onto the scene. But do they have any practical applications for the construction industry? Richard Stockley, MD at RRC International, says yes, particularly when it comes to health and safety training.
The latest generation of generative AI tools have been hailed as a major breakthrough, but while the chatbots and wacky image generators are impressive, it’s easy to think of them as simply a novelty.
Construction is ultimately a practical industry, and most of its digital tasks are more about calculation, modelling and computer-aided design rather than text or image generation, which have been dominating headlines since the Gen AI boom. Even if these tools could be adapted for the construction sector, they aren’t exactly trustworthy when it comes to calculations, making them essentially useless in this context at least at the moment.
But there is one area where Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT will have a very clear impact on the construction industry: training, such as in occupational health and safety.
E-learning has utilised machine learning – a lower level of AI – for years already. Machine learning allows e-learning modules to moderately tailor content to an individual learner’s needs and performance. It can also give basic pre-written feedback to simple, predictable mistakes.
E-learning has drastically improved our ability to train and learn on the job. But, it has some limitations when compared to its immediate ancestor, classroom-based learning. Human teachers are adaptable by nature and can handle the curve balls and unpredictable roadblocks individual learners face. They can read facial expressions, they can change lesson plans based on the learners’ mood, and they can have a full blown dialogue about a particular subject, providing contextualised feedback.
While ChatGPT-style LLMs can’t do all of those things, they can provide the dialogue aspect of learning helping to make e-learning more engaging than ever before.
The other major benefit of Generative AI is it makes the production of content much cheaper. We therefore expect to see a huge number of highly specific, highly specialised learning modules springing up, improving the specificity of training.
This means more effective, more specific training, delivered more efficiently both in terms of cost and time. The impact will be overwhelmingly positive, as better health and safety training will improve learning on the job, theoretically resulting in a net reduction in incidents, accidents and ill health.
The double-edge sword of new technology must also be acknowledged though. With more training modules being generated without critical human review, there is of course a risk of a reduction in quality. That’s why any AI deployment in critical areas such as health and safety training must be done with caution, by experts.
In short, though, yes, ChatGPT really could have a positive impact on the construction industry.
