Mary Van Buren, president of the Canadian Construction Association, attributed those lags to Canada’s harsh climate and reliance on public procurement processes, which prioritize low-cost bids.
She said approximately 75 per cent of Canada’s construction industry consists of small businesses with five or fewer employees, which makes adoption of new technology more financially challenging.Article content Jordan Thomson, senior manager of infrastructure advisory at KPMG in Canada, pointed to technologies used in the manufacturing sector such as 3D printing, which has been adapted for the construction industry to lay concrete and build complex steel shapes, along with drone-based surveying, which can help contractors accurately lay out work and monitor progress.Article content“You can imagine you’re working over your head a lot, your arms and shoulders get fatigued.