AI in Construction: Then, Now, and What’s Next

Back in October 2023, our Senior Information Manager, Hooshiar Ahmadpanah, discussed how Artificial Intelligence (AI) was becoming an emerging component in the Building Information Management (BIM) sector and the wider construction industry. Two and a half years later, AI is well and truly embedded into our every day lives and has transformed the way in which we work. Hooshiar reflects on how AI is being used in the construction industry today, where it is delivering real value, and how we are using it from a BIM perspective.

What Has Changed?

“In 2023, AI was still a new and unknown tool. The industry widely recognised its potential, but it was more at an exploratory stage as people were still understanding what it is and what it could be used for.

“Now, it is integrated into our everyday lives and acts as a time saving tool through automating processes that before would have been extremely time-consuming. An example of this is instead of trying to understand a spreadsheet containing mass amounts of data. Instead, AI tools can do that for you and discover the potential of your dataset.

“The NBS Digital Construction Report 2025 revealed that over 40% of companies within the industry are using AI, whereas this number was less than 10% in 2023. This number will certainly increase in the next few years, with the Report predicting that by 2030 the percentage of construction companies using AI will almost double compared to now.

“As more companies start to adopt the use of AI, tools will continue to evolve and develop as new processes and new needs are being created.”

Where is AI Delivering Value?

“There is no use in using AI if it is not going to add value to your company and meet the needs.” The NBS Report states the key areas in which AI is providing value in construction is:

• Pattern recognition
• Data analysis
• Automation of repetitive workflows
• Improving decision-making processes
• Design generation

“Interestingly, companies are beginning to create and implement their own tailored, company-specific AI tools, with 21.7% of businesses creating and using AI tools internally – including calfordseaden.”

Challenges in Today’s Landscape

“Despite the significant increase of AI understanding, some of the same challenges still exist as they did in three years ago. Most of these challenges are created by us, mainly through a reluctance to adapt to an AI-enabled environment and fear that AI will replace humans. It is here to assist us in helping us use our capabilities more effectively. The real concern should be if we do not adapt ourselves, we will be replaced not by AI – but by someone who has adapted themselves to AI.

“The money saved on repetitive tasks can be used to train our workforce to effectively use AI, creating more opportunities, increasing analysis reliability, and providing a platform for creative solutions. The creativity, judgement, and understanding of client requirements will always be driven by humans.”

AI Today from a BIM Perspective

“BIM generates data across the entire building lifecycle – from facilities management to design coordination and quality assurance/control – providing us with strong potential to leverage this capability.

“For example at calfordseaden, we are able to use AI to support tasks such as COBie health checks and comparing data against Asset Information Requirements (AIR) and Exchange Information Requirements (EIR). We also carry out model health checks, analysing large datasets exported from BIM tools like Solibri to enable deeper insights and more advanced research.

“Internally, we are exploring the possibility of developing plugins for BIM software, as well as conducting research to produce academic papers.”

Looking Ahead

“In three years, it is predicted that the use of AI among construction companies will be around 75%, so to be able to be competitive and thrive in a such rapid-growing industry, we need to constantly monitor and adapt.

“In our field, the software/tools market will no longer be exclusively limited to a few companies, creating more competition and lowering costs for the end user. This is an opportunity to discover new ideas and processes of job delivery to enhance efficiency.”

At calfordseaden, we value the importance of authentic intelligence and we see AI as ‘Artificial Intelligence Assistance‘. We treat AI like any other assistant in the business, allocating its use appropriately to support our technical experts in delivering our professional services.

For more information on our BIM + Digital Transformation services, please get in touch.