[CLUB NUMERIQUE] Artificial intelligence and digitalization in the construction industry: Why now?

Club du numérique en mouvement invites you to its event #3

"Artificial intelligence and digitalization in construction: why now?"

Proposed by Pr. Dr. Zoubeir LAFHAJ Chair Holder in "Construction 4.0" Ecole Centrale de Lille

For decades,technological innovation has been revolutionizing business, bringing countless benefits and long-term growth. Today, these technologies are set to transform the structures that underpin cities and their development. Comparing today's construction sites and buildings with what they were just a few years ago will show massive changes.

Professor LAFHAJ proposes to explain how, thanks to considerable technological progress, several new technologies are helping to bring buildings to life. He analyzes the various challenges ahead and how the construction industry will evolve by 2035.

One of the technologies bringing new waves of change isArtificial Intelligence (AI) and digitalization. Thanks to ubiquitous wireless connectivity, the development of drones, the Internet of Things, BIM, worksites and buildings today generate tons of data.

The presentation will outline what we need to understand aboutAI and how it can be used to improve safety on construction sites, facilitate the monitoring and management of Major Construction Projects, facilitate work efficiency, ensure building maintenance and contribute to sustainability. By combining artificial intelligence, connected worksites and intelligent buildings, stakeholders in the construction sector can ensure better management and minimize harmful ecological impacts.

Professor Dr. Zoubeir LAFHAJ :

Pr Dr. Zoubeir LAFHAJ has held the "Construction 4.0" chair since January 2017, an industrial research chair that addresses the challenges of modernizing the construction industry in France and Europe. The industrial research expertise of Pr. Zoubeir LAFHAJ focuses on (i) additive manufacturing (3D printing) for construction, industrialization and robotization of construction, (ii) applications of AI, blokchain and BIM in construction and finally (iii) productivity, lean, and collaboration with all stakeholders in the construction industry. He is working at international level to ensure that the CC4.0 Chair becomes a European Construction 4.0 Hub involved in a strong international network with theworld'smost advanced experts .

He has recently published five scientific books in French on "la révolution de la construction lean", "la blockchain dans la construction", "les femmes dans la construction", "La Logistique dans la construction" and "La vision de la ville et du chantier en 2049". He has written over 150 scientific articles, supervised 31 doctoral theses and 15 postdoctoral fell ows . He isa member of the editorial board of several A-rank scientific journals and an elected member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC).

Pr. Dr. Zoubeir LAFHAJ has given hundreds of lectures in 3 languages on 5 continents to professors at prestigious universities, companies and chambers of commerce. He is President and Founder of the ACE Workshop (Architecture Construction Ingénierie), where he annually hosts the leading innovators in theconstruction sector, providing a forum for dialogue, debate and sharing.